just. do. it.

Ok, if you are looking for a little bit of motivation in life and something simple that will help you, then this is for you. Years ago I was treating my body terribly, in highschool you start to go to parties and start to have more freedom including with food, then you go into university and your health gets looked past because you are studying and not getting enough sleep, and drinking on the weekends and not getting enough sleep, and then you’re diet tends to fall off the wagon as a result. This was at least the case for me. Along with this, I was barely exercising and if I was, I was doing it all wrong. My own mother said to me if I didn’t get my act together I may have a heart attack by my late 30’s (she was mainly joking, I hoped…). My parents have been active and eaten healthy since the day I was born, they are in their mid 60’s and biking, running, hiking, playing squash etc. so it was always encouraged to be active and healthy, but the only way I will do something is if I myself want to, and that has always been the case, so when I was younger I was so sick of hearing how I needed to eat better, exercise more etc. that I wanted to do the opposite. Therefore, at that time in my life I would go out both nights on the weekend and sleep all day and eat like trash. I was going to school and working and would stop at Little Caesars a touch too often on my way home. I also started vaping in the first year of university.  Lets just say, my health was not in the forefront of my mind. 

Of course we are all teenagers and young adults at one point, and we all have phases where we are not exactly prioritizing our well being. But in my third year of university, I was like “ya this is not working for me”, I just felt like crap. All the time. I was irritated and cranky, I was groggy (always), my brain was foggy, I felt sick, I was not sleeping well, and I can tell you right now that the effort you put into yourself feels easier than dragging yourself around all day fighting to do each task. I am not saying, working on yourself to be better is a walk in the park but it absolutely beats waking up everyday feeling like you are at a competition with life. You also will feel better about yourself, you will feel proud of yourself for doing the things you need to feel better. 

One thing about ADHD is that you can get hyper focused on doing something or a goal, and then forget about it the next day or find it lacking the importance it had the day before. It has happened to me more times than I can count, so I developed anxiety around the thought of bettering my life because of the fear of losing momentum and interest in it, therefore so called “failing”. But it was at this moment, on a random day that I told myself, Just. Do. It. Just do it! Just get out of bed the moment your alarm goes off, just don’t look at your phone first thing in the morning, just get yourself the self help book and just read for ten minutes a day, just go on your morning walk. If you are in a place in your life where you feel like you are not doing yourself justice, please pay attention. Overthinking is your enemy. If you allow yourself endless reasons for why you shouldn’t, you won’t. If you firmly say, I will do this and let go of any thoughts regarding it, you will do it. For me, it was the first self help book. This I found was a blessing in disguise because I firmly made the decision that each morning I would read for ten minutes before looking at my phone, but not only was I following my goal of doing something, the book itself was teaching me something every single day from reading with a clear brain. This first self-help book, changed my entire life. That is when all the positive changes started happening. I am not saying you need to read a self-help book if you don’t want to, but you would be capable of doing it and having it change your perspective if you want it to. 

The only reason the change happened was because I told myself I would change, I told myself just engage in the book, don’t count the number of pages but instead put a timer on so that you are focused on the book and not the number of pages you still need to read, or how long it has taken you so far. I have recommended certain self help books to numerous people and these are some of the reviews I have gotten; “I just can’t get over the way she talks” “I think this self help book is more of a focus for women” “I just can’t get into it”... what disappoints me the most about this is that it has never been about the writing for me, it is the message that the book is trying to send, it is the lessons that it is trying to give. We are all different, and what helps us grow and learn varies from person to person, so let's take a baby step by saying just try it. However, trying means actually putting your focus into what you are trying. If you struggle with getting up in the morning, commit to three days in a row where you immediately get out of bed, no overthinking, no teetering, just try committing for three days, and your body and mind will tell you if it is benefiting you or not. If you find it challenging to avoid your phone for the first 30 minutes to an hour of your day, try doing it for three days without thinking about how you just want to be on your phone, it won’t benefit you. Instead, go for a walk for even five minutes, write in a journal about what you are excited about, make a yummy breakfast, read! One of the worst feelings is saying you will commit, then letting yourself down because you let the inside chatter talk yourself out of it. Don’t even leave time for the inside chatter!

This really goes for so many things. If you have been thinking about something that you know would benefit your life, just go for it! This might sound like a ridiculous example but it is a good one; I have wanted a juicer for almost three years now but for some reason I allow myself to spend money on things that will not benefit me even slightly, and continue to look at the juicer yet never buy it. Three days ago, I bought myself that freaking juicer and it was the greatest decision. I have done nothing but juice in my spare time, and I also feel pretty damn good (and I’m not looking too shabby either). 

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I have definitely fallen off the wagon with prioritizing my mental wellbeing, not in a major way but I lessened the importance of a lot of my good habits because frankly, I got lazy. Because I of course want everything I say to be authentic and advice that is true to me, I made myself just do it, this past week. I gave myself the baby step, and said just try doing the things, for a week. First thing in the morning I used to wake up and immediately put my coat on and go for a walk (I worked early and lived in Alberta.. And this was during the winter. If I can, you have no excuse), I wouldn’t have even looked at my phone before leaving let alone take it with me, I practiced being present, trying to always find something I had never seen before, I would come home and make myself a nice breakfast with a sufficient amount of protein and vitamins, and read my book for ten minutes. Then, I could look at my phone. When I moved back to Vancouver, I added stretching to my morning routine (on the side of the road during my walk, with cars driving by yes, who cares), this connected my body to my mind and brought me an incredible amount of peace. Mornings became my favourite part of the day, it was mine.

These were the small habits in my life that over the past year I happened to downplay, I convinced myself it wasn’t really that big of a deal if I looked at my phone right when I woke up, or skipped my walk, whatever I thought. Oh my god, no. If you have not looked into the research of what going on your phone does to you first thing in the morning, it would scare you (I hope). It is the entire world at your fingertips first thing in the morning, the moment you open up your phone, your morning is no longer yours. Now, I understand some people just don’t get affected by these things, my best friend will probably never stop looking at her phone first thing in the morning and her life isn’t exactly crumbling, in fact she is one of the most mentally stable and level headed people I know. Me on the other hand, I get anxiety by watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because I simply cannot believe the way they speak to each other, but don’t even get me started on that… therefore, I really care about how I start my mornings and am very conscious of my actions during the day.

Back to this week, I said to myself just do it. Since Monday, the second my alarm has gone off I get out of bed, walk out of my room, grab my coat, go on my full morning walk, do an entire stretching routine on the side of the road and maybe even wave at a few cars coming by during my arm stretch, then come home, make myself three eggs, a smoothie, and two pieces of toast, I read my ten minutes, and I actually added Hula Hooping before making my breakfast to shake out any nerves (and it’s just fun), THEN I look at my phone. I feel like I did a 180 since last week, I really kid you not. I am able to manage my emotions better, I am able to find a bigger picture, I am kinder, I feel lighter, more centred. All the good things. 

We can all do anything that has been done by someone else before, and we can also do a lot of things that have never done before. Don’t sell yourself short or convince yourself you are not worthy of feeling better, you can never stop improving your life and wellbeing. Don’t settle for a life you aren’t completely happy with and feel your best in. And, you don’t know until YOU TRYYYYY! So please, go do yourself a favour and just do(try) it!