It is officially fall which makes me a little sad because as my husband likes to joke, I am a lizard who needs to bask on a hot rock to simply maintain my body temperature. And anyone who has ever ridden in a car with me knows how unenjoyable it can be because I like to keep it pretty toasty. While I am extremely comfortable and my happiest in 80 plus degrees my passengers are silently sweating through their clothes. Needless to say, I like to be nice and warm and alas, here in the Midwest we get all four seasons so I guess I will accept that it is pumpkin spice everything now and that stores already have out Christmas merchandise (WHY!?). Enough about fall and the impending doom of winter, today’s topic has absolutely nothing to do with the changing of seasons in a literal sense, but more figuratively. I’ll explain.

We just took our first trip as a family to Arizona (which was so fun and I will be doing a separate blog about that!). During one of our hikes, I was talking with my husband about something (my sister says I have the memory of a goldfish so of course I can’t remember what we were talking about) and I came to the realization that I am no longer a “Go With The Flow” gal.

And I also realized that I really like that about myself.

When I think of someone with a “go with the flow” attitude, I think of someone who is easy going, likeable and very enjoyable to be around. That person sounds like a very wonderful, pleasant human being. And I guess this is me admitting I would not be described with those adjectives because at the ripe old age of 32, much like a hardened old sea captain, have settled into my own ways of doing things that help me maintain my “temple” (if you read my first blog you know what I’m referring to). But I actually feel really good about this. I might be a little unwavering when it comes to my nutrition and physical activity habits but moving away from the “go with the flow” character trait has been a huge benefit to my mental and physical health.

I am very consistent with the way I eat (plant-based) and the way I move (I exercise EVERY SINGLE DAY). This means if I travel with others I still eat how I normally eat and I make time for planned physical activity. This means that if a family gathering is being held, that I make sure there are healthy choices (among the many dips, desserts and other classic calorie-rich familial dishes). And this also means that I communicate with those around me that I need to take time for my workouts or physical activity.

I make my health the number ONE priority in my life. You might be thinking: What the actual heck. This wackadoo puts her health above her FAMILY, above her PETS, above Netflixing and chilling (insert additional nouns).

And the answer is, why YES, I most certainly put my health first. When I am in my healthiest state, I am mentally and physically able to be fully present for my clients, family and friends. I can focus on my responsibilities and I am physically able to perform whatever life asks of me. I am more levelheaded, loving and I am able to handle stressors more easily.

In earlier seasons of my life, I would have agreed to go to whatever restaurant and eaten until I was stuffed to the gills. And I would have grabbed a fudge round or a sugar cookie with pink frosting in the lunchroom because it was popular thing to do, aaaaand because they were absolutely delicious. During that season of my life I was not in the healthiest mental or physical state and I made decisions that greatly affected my body and my mental health (I’ll go more in depth about this in a later post).  Luckily, I can look back at that time in my life and I can understand how significant it was for me to stop “going with the flow” and start becoming someone who feels very confidant and comfortable in my skin.  I encourage you to stop “going with the flow” as well. Take a good, hard look at the environments you currently spend time in, the people you share your life with, are they providing you with the support you need to be your most comfortable? Your healthiest both mentally and physically?

For instance, if your office leaves those gosh darn (excuse my French) tempting candy dishes out or continuously caters in food from restaurants that are laden with sugar, fats and salt, and you feel like its hindering the progress of your weight loss or creating an unhealthy work environment in general, then ask for better options. If your home environment has cabinets filled with processed foods and the freezer has seventeen different ice creams, then it is time to tell the family things will be changing and they can get on board or kick bricks (you can say it nicer if you want to). If your friends keep asking you to go with them to the new buffet that everyone is raging about, get new friends (I’m kidding, but definitely suggest a different restaurant).

YOU have the ability to alter your environments in ways that benefit YOUR state of health. I talk more about this in my online program, the Plant-Powered Approach…go check it out! Enter into a new season of your life and do not be afraid to go against the normal flow of things. You are not being rude, selfish or a pain in the … I’ll keep it PG…when you decide to put your health first.

So yeah, people definitely would not describe me as “go with the flow” and you know what, cheers to that baby!