Did you know that Tradewinds Fitness hosts a free monthly book club? On the first Tuesday evening of every month, like-minded individuals get together and discuss the book of the month, as well as enjoy tasty treats, drinks, and each other‘s company. The selected books range from those of the inspirational self-help varieties to mystery novels, memoirs, and everything in between. The best part is that there’s really no pressure to finish any one of the books, as the end goal is truly to enjoy community with each other.
This past month, we have read the fantastic book by author Cait Flanders called “The Year of Less,” In which Flanders highlights how she, as a self-described binge consumer, embarked on a year-long, self imposed shopping ban, during which she discovered that life is worth much more than anything she could buy online or in a store. This book was an incredibly enjoyable, easy read that is digested more like a series of blog posts rather than long informative text, and what struck me while reading it was that her shopping addiction could really be applied to many different things.
Flanders realized that she had an obsession and a real problem with shopping; often consuming so much and so frequently that she put herself into some serious debt. The shopping gave her instant validation and a high that was allowing her to avoid working through certain emotional challenges in life. By consciously setting herself up for a year long ban (with specific boundaries catered to her needs), she was able to see personal growth and success in so many other areas of her life.
Shopping and consumerism in general may not be your personal challenge, but this idea can apply to so many areas. Is there an imbalance in your life where you are consumed with one thing or activity that you have to admit is taking away from your ability to truly succeed or grow in other areas? Perhaps it’s scrolling on your phone or binge watching Netflix. Maybe it’s a harmful cycle of overeating junk food or an inability to step away from work. Any one thing that we do too much of can become harmful to the quality of our lives and the ability to spend time on growing the skills and relationships that really matter.
Author Flanders offers some tips on how get started on your own ban:
– Remove the Temptation
For her, this meant unsubscribing from all online store, newsletters and emails that would tempt her from clicking and buying things “on sale” In an instant. For others this might mean deleting specific apps on your phone, breaking up with a streaming service, or tossing certain snack foods that you are trying to remove from your daily diet. Out of sight, out of mind.
-Tell People You Know
When people understand your intentions to avoid certain behaviors, they can be more supportive of you and help keep you accountable. They can also avoid inviting you to join them in the very behavior you are trying to do less of. Explain what your goals are, how do you think it will help you and your family, and make sure that you have people around you who are on board with you.
-Replace Your Habits with an Alternative
It’s one thing to attempt to remove your access to certain obsessions, like deleting apps or throwing away junk food, but we all know that within just a few minutes, we can replace those things when the urge hits. The key is to identify activities you can do during the time you would have been doing the other behavior you want to avoid. Personally, I’d like to stop picking up my phone so much to blindly scroll, and I’d like more time to focus on creativity and artwork. I can set myself up with a workspace with all of the tools I need to provide myself with the opportunity to be creative and work with my hands when I notice myself reaching for my phone. For Flanders, when she was invited to go out shopping with friends, she would suggest a walk or a hike instead.
-Identify Your Triggers and Change Your Reactions
When you give yourself a goal of removing an obsessive behavior and replacing it with healthier activities instead, it won’t always be a smooth and instant transition. You will likely still feel the urge to go back to your old ways. It’s important to understand what’s triggering those urges. Did you have a bad day? Where are you? Who are you with? Pay attention to your environment and try to figure out if there are patterns in those triggers. Figure out what else you can do when those urges hit, and do that repeatedly until it becomes second nature. Do you always scroll on your phone or binge watch TV from your bed? Consider moving your phone or TV to another physical location and put a book within arm’s reach instead, for example.
Look at your day-to-day life. All of us can identify habits or activities that we spend too much time on that probably aren’t adding anything of value to our lives. Perhaps we’ve been saying for a long time that we are going to do less of it but when it comes down to it, it’s really hard to break up with the habit. With some simple tools, we too can discover the opportunities for growth and success in other areas of our lives if we can just free up more space, time and balance by removing the unhealthy or obsessive activities.
Here at Tradewinds, we believe that health and fitness goes beyond building strength in the gym, but also includes mental wellness and a healthy balance throughout all aspects of life. What’s an activity in your life that you’d like to do less of in order to find more balance elsewhere?
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