The New Year is three months in, yet unlike past years when people jump on their New Year’s resolutions with gusto and commitment that soon fizzles, I am discovering that many people have stepped away from the immediate jump into action to a drawn out process of procrastination.
In my initial coaching sessions with clients who want to embrace healthier eating, I’ve heard many say, ‘I’ll start when…’, ‘I’ll start when the kids go back to school’, ‘I’ll start eating healthier when I’ve finished the kitchen renovations or purchased a juicer’, ‘I’ll prioritise eating healthy after this deadline at work.’
Yet distractions and challenges will always come up in life, and there is never going to be a ‘right’ time to start. You’ll always be able to find a reason to say, ‘I’ll start when…’.
So, if you find yourself saying ‘I’ll start when…’, I encourage you to investigate whether delaying making change is appropriate or whether it is an avoidance tactic as you feel change will be hard or time consuming. Identifying whether your barriers to change in this moment, right now, are real or perceived, can be incredibly eye opening, and help you see how you may have been sabotaging your health. This can take quite a lot of reflection and inward investigation, but helps you to move through procrastination and make changes that you desire.
