A quick fix!

In the western world we generally live a fast-paced lifestyle. Most things are available to us with a click of a button, we can shop online and have the items delivered next morning and if we get bored we can change scenes within seconds. While there is much positive to be said about several of these things, it also causes us to demand more of ourselves and each other.

We can now fill our days with a million different people just by looking at a screen. We can also plan a day with back-to-back experiences, because many can take place online thereby creating time and space for those that can't and boom - there you have it; Online workout, on- and offline office day including 30 minute lunch with colleague, today's 20 minute online class on how to meditate in a busy life (while secretly scrolling social media) and answering texts, SoMe and dating app messages during toilet breaks, online hangout with friend group placed in 5 different countries following work, online grocery shopping delivered tomorrow, Deliveroo order on the way home, then a quick check-in with mum while walking from the tube and just as you arrive at your door your food order arrives. Perfection. You speak to mum while mindlessly eating your 'food' and checking Tinder/Bumble/Hinge, then a quick shower followed by a drink with a friend at the local pub or some Netflix bingeing while colapsing on the sofa.

If you put children into this equation there might be things such as managing play dates and/or birthday parties, school uniform and gift purchases, items from Amazon or Ocado to be donated to the school fairs, donating your own time to said school fair, school runs, making dinner (or ordering in) while supervising homework, getting them ready for bed while tidying the house, and then back to work (online, from the living room) once they (finally!!) shut their beautiful little eyes.

It's a lot. Without noticing, most people have filled their lives to such a degree that there is no room for down-time. There is no room for breathing and just being. We dissociate (a mental process, where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity) and let social media posts tell us what a healthy life looks like - usually followed by a little panic, because how on earth can a cold plunge, sauna, red light therapy, breath work and actual meditation be squeezed into all of the above?!

We are constantly switched on and so we look for quick fixes to manage life and thereby manage our health.

Here's the sad news that you probably already guessed; There is no quick fix to managing your health. And there is no recipe to follow. Yes, there are guidelines and obviously some things are better for your health than others, but in order to work out what works for you, you need to tune into that inner knowing - and this is very hard to do in a fast-paced environment.

So, first of all, I invite you to get quiet. And the way you get quiet is to first take a very hard look at that itinerary of yours. List every single event, item and to-do in order of importance (crucial point: importance to you - not to other people). Then scrap the bottom ones or move them to other days/pass them on to other people and make room for you.

The first times you do this you might not actually end up freeing any time at all. You might 'only' be making your days less stressed/cramped. With time, you will end up with possibly 20 minutes (or more!) completely to yourself. These minutes could be spent in your car, with closed eyes and all tech on flight mode. They could be spent sitting in a park simply looking at people passing by. It could be spent swimming in a pond or lying in the sun. It could be spent on a sofa with everything switched off. Whatever brings down your pace and allows you to simply be.

Notice what happened in your body when you read these last lines. Was there a sense of longing? A little pull? If so, this is your sign to take that first step. Take the step - you need it. Prioritise yourself. Prioritise your health. It's a cliche (there's a reason cliche's become such), but if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. Choose your health by choosing yourself. The rest will follow.