Do You Lack TIME Or PRIORITY?

Posted on by Nicole Dailey Bergemann

As summer is closing, it seems life has turned manic as parents are adjusting their schedules and getting kids back in school. But wait, didn’t we just go through this already? As kids got out of school only a couple of months ago, life was manic as schedules adjusted for the summer. Then the summer brought vacations, summer camps, and many other distractions to the schedule. And rest assured that next month, everyone will be manic once again in preparation for Halloween, and the upcoming Holiday season, followed by the New Year! Whew! It’s an ongoing cycle! One of the most common responses I get when asking students why they aren’t getting to the gym, eating healthy, taking better care of themselves, or reaching their goals…across the board the answer is: “I don’t have time”. My reply to that: “Really? Or is it just not a priority?”

I’m a fitness coach, and I spend approximately 12 hours (or more) each day at the gym coaching students, running the gym, and working on the business. Because of that, one would think I must never miss a workout, which is why my personal experience with prioritizing might surprise you. After sustaining my first ever knee injury last year, a torn meniscus, my mindset shifted. As my movement & abilities were limited, so was my motivation. I was scared of making it worse, so I did less. Now, I know better than this. The coach in me kept saying “but there’s so much you still CAN do, so DO IT!”…but I didn’t hear myself. I found myself shifting my time to accommodate other things instead. It didn’t take long before I “never had time” to get my own training in became a regular part of my vocabulary.

It’s amazing what can happen when you stop and listen to what you tell yourself (and others!). During my “injury pity party” one of my students and I were talking. We were discussing our busy schedules and the insane hours we work because of our businesses. They asked me, “So when do you get your workouts Nicole? You’re so busy, when do you have the time?” And THAT was my A-Ha moment! How could I tell them I don’t have time when I spend so much time in the gym? At that moment I realized I had fallen into the “Time TRAP”! When they were gone, I asked myself “Do you not have time, or is it not a priority?” Game changer. Of course it was a priority for me, it’s my LIFE! I had just allowed my workouts to become negotiable.

You see, EVERYTHING you do today is a priority! You’re making it happen. If it wasn’t a priority, you wouldn’t be doing it. Regardless of what you’re doing, you have adjusted your life to accommodate it. Taking ownership of how we prioritize is a tough thing. It can be painful to recognize and accept that we actually have the TIME, but we just aren’t PRIORITIZING it in a way that produces the results we want. When you make it a priority, it becomes non-negotiable.

So what in your life have you shifted to the bottom of the priority list that needs to be moved back to the top? I’m happy to say that my reality check caused me to shift my life around to accommodate my fitness goals and put my workouts back at the top again! Interestingly enough, it really wasn’t that hard once I committed to the idea. Here are a few tips to help YOU get your priorities back in the right order:

  • Make the decision that something needs to change. This is an absolute necessity in order to take action.
  • Make that decision NON-NEGOTIABLE. It becomes a must! Just as your faith, your family, and your need to put food and water in your body to survive is NON-NEGOTIABLE, same goes for other priorities you set for yourself. Say “no” to something else, and do whatever it takes to make this task happen.
  • “I don’t have time” vs “It’s not a priority”. When you start to tell yourself its ok if you skip it today, tell yourself “It’s not a priority” and see how that makes you feel. If it makes you feel bad…rearrange your schedule and make it happen!
  • Accountability-get some! Enlisting a friend, keeping a log, posting it to social media, hiring a coach-are all great ways to create accountability so it’s not so easy to let yourself slip back into bad habits.

If you are struggling with priorities, and your health and fitness goals need a re-boot, schedule a FREE strategy session with me at TFW Greensboro! If you’re not already training with our program, join our community for ONE MONTH to see how we can help you get focused and coached towards your BEST life ever! CLICK HERE to claim your 30 Warrior Kickstart! No more “Time Traps”! You’ve got what it takes and you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to!

~Coach Nicole