Another year has passed and a new one has begun. And yet again I feel drowned by the floods of great, well-meant tips everywhere I look on how to live a happy, healthy and fulfilled life in 2018.
Whilst this is surely something one should strive for I am taken aback by the catastrophic failure on my part to “do as I say”, the latest manifestation of which is currently playing out in the form of my inability to stand, sit or lie down without pain due to inflamed nerves in my back.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not fishing for compliments or sympathy. To the contrary. I am really, really angry with myself. (You might argue that this does not help my back….and you might be right….but I would like to see this as a step in the right direction.)
How can it be that I am full of good advice for others and yet unable to take my own medicine? Why can’t I follow the simplest routine of doing sports once(!) a week, when I know full well that this keeps my back working? What does this say about my competencies as a consultant or even a coach?
Nothing at all, other than the fact that I’m human. And while trying to live up to a certain unrealistic standard, I have to recognise that I will keep on trying – again and again. Because even if I manage to live by my own standards one day, it is a slippery slide back down.
The good news is that none of the “5 ways to….” or “Top tips to….” pieces of advice will help you to achieve your aim, no matter how much they may improve the google rating of their authors.
Instead choose one thing you want to work on and make a small change. Practice that change every day, over the next three months. Then choose the next small change and repeat….
So no more “I will go to the gym at least twice a week” or “I will sleep 8 hours every day”.
Focus on the “small fry”. How do they say so nicely in German: “Kleinvieh macht auch Mist.”