Editors Note: In re-reading this blog entry, I noticed that the placement of the story of the CFer without time to maintain their CF and the statement of the excuse of “not having enough time” being bullshit makes it seem like the (most likely sicker than me) CFer who does not have enough time is making excuses. What this statement from this CFer made ME realize was that I was the one making excuses, because I did and do, in fact, have time in my life for taking care of myself (at the time I was using the excuse of saying I didn’t have time to exercise… etc.) I realize that my life is not like that of all CFers, some require more maintenance for their health and TRULY do not have time to balance all of these things. I however, do not fit that mold, so I cannot make that excuse. I have added a few words in red to clarify my statements.
Recently, I’ve been hearing (and using) the excuse “I don’t have enough time.” I noticed, just now, that this excuse is incredibly over used and doesn’t have to be. I recently read a comment from someone with CF who said it is impossible to maintain their CF, while also working, while also having a “life.” As someone who has seen incredible health turn-arounds after maintaining compliance… and as someone who does have a full time job, and CF, and a life and is still in good health… I think that my excuse of “not having enough time” is… in a word… bullshit (for me).
The way I see it, if it is important to you, you will make time for it. A lot of you may realize that things like Facebook, and texting, and watching TV are important to you. And that’s fine. But if you are not doing things because “you don’t have time,” yet you “have time” to watch, say, all of the seasons of Lost, and complain on facebook about not having time…then something’s wrong. Sometimes I’ll look back on my day and realize that the amount of time I spent doing (or wasting my life with) these things far outdid the amount of time I would need for things like: exercise, treatments, hanging out with friends, sleeping, etc. The fact of the matter is, we waste SO much time… so saying we don’t have enough of it is just a big fat excuse.
Going back to making time for what’s important… My health is of the utmost importance to me. If making sure I did my treatments that morning means I’m going to be late for “x,” then I’ll do my treatments that morning. If hanging out with my friends because I need a good laugh is important to me that day… then I’ll hang out with my friends and maybe skip my run or get take out instead of cooking or go to bed a little later than I planned. If it’s important to you, you’ll make time for it.
For me, getting exercise means I wake up before the alarm clock, it means I squeeze in a 7 minute HIIT workout on the days I “don’t have time” to get up before my alarm clock. Doing my treatments every single day means I lug my vest with me on weekend trips, it means I bring work home with me and get it done while I shake shake shake, it means that my day doesn’t begin until they’re done. Having a social life while balancing staying healthy means that some nights, I don’t go out so that my health stays good enough to be able to go out tomorrow. It means that I might take a cat nap during a house party (my friends will attest to this), it means that I consider how I’ll feel tomorrow when making decisions about what I’ll do today.
If it’s important to you, you’ll make time for it. And that’s not to say that in order to balance all of these things you don’t have to sacrifice anything. Some days, I sacrifice sleep. Some days, I sacrifice missing out on fun. Some days, I do sacrifice my health in favor of working too long, or staying out too late, or letting myself become too stressed. The days when you’re work/health/life balance go out of wack happen. What is important, is to realize when it’s time to make a change in your life in order to give yourself enough time for what is important.
What are you putting off or missing out on by using the “I don’t have enough time” excuse?
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