Ride The Rollercoaster
By: Peggy Willms
Posted in BizCatalyst 360 on 9/2/2022.
(5 mins)
Getting and staying healthy is not as easy as it used to be. Bear with me. Improving your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, sleep, stress, and mindset was tough enough forty years ago, but today, it is a straight-up gobbledygook mess. Fast food, hours of screen time, and decreased movement are a few culprits. But there is more.
I have created four syndromes to blame:
- TMMS: Tell Me More Syndrome
- NAYS: Not About You Syndrome
- GUS: Give Up Syndrome
- BS: Bounce Syndrome
Let’s break them down.
TMMS: Tell Me More Syndrome
How much more information can we handle? I no longer believe nor recite the mantra knowledge is everything. If it were true, there would be no prescriptions to fill, losing eyesight and digits due to obesity would be a thing of the past, bankruptcy and foreclosure would be unheard of, and the divorce rate would be zippo. So, if we are all so smart, why can’t we achieve our health and wellness goals?
In 2018, the Global Wellness Institute stated the health, wellness, and wellbeing industry was worth 4.5 trillion dollars. Four years ago.
- The physical fitness sector consumed about one-fourth of the 2018 total (one trillion).
- There was a “clean-eating” upswing. With increased medical conditions such as celiac disease and wheat allergies, they estimated the global gluten-free market would grow to $12.5 billion by 2024.
- The average person consumed $100 a month of nutritional supplements and skincare products such as lotions, anti-aging products and sunscreens.
- Wellness tourism and the travel market was worth about $640 billion.
- Spiritual care bumped up immensely to include products, retreats, and other services.
It is human nature to seek new and creative information. We implore the industry for the simplest and fastest solutions possible. And doling out the mullah is apparently not an issue.
Social media has catapulted TMMS (Tell Me More Syndrome) into the stratosphere. We hop on YouTube to create a new cauliflower pizza crust recipe or seek guidance from Marie Kondo to organize our closets. We can diagnose ourselves via Dr. Google and take a deep dive into the Cleveland Institute’s latest white-paper study on the results of a keto diet. We ingest gobs of information, purchase spanking new products by the hour, and drool over unrealistic weight-loss pics all in a 10-minute scrolling sesh.
“Want to trim your inner thighs, reduce your wrinkles, and banish saggy arms, swallow this pill!” Really?! We are on Tell Me More Syndrome overload. And what are we doing with it. Well, we are either in rigor mortis mode and doing nothing or due to frustration hastily making too many chess moves like a two-year-old.
Yes, gathering new information is in our DNA, however, there is a point when we have admit we are sitting on a Princess in the Pea pile of intelligence and that knowledge isn’t everything.
When I work with older clients, I often tell them – “You have so much knowledge, you have now run out of excuses. You know general nutrition concepts. You have learned what high-low intensity workouts are and how they affect your desired goal. You have ideas on how to meditate, invest your money, and cope with a narcissist. You are a walking encyclopedia. If you “know everything,” then why are we talking?” BECAUSE IT IS NOT ENOUGH.
Just sit in this a second. Accept that you have TMMS. Say it, I have a ton of knowledge. I have spent a fair amount of time and money looking for answers and looking for the quick fix.
What if I say, it is not your fault? Hang tight.
NAYS: Not About You Syndrome:
This one comes as the biggest shock to peeps. The health and wellness world isn’t about you! It is about the masses. It is cookie-cutter. I bet you have never heard an advertisement say, “Hi, Mr. Consumer, buy our diet pills or amazing nutrition plan, but recognize they will only work for about 60 days because we actually know nothing about you at all.”
Most products and programs are not based on your personal body, your bloodwork, your lifestyle, your personal or professional life, your goals, or your stress level. About 95% of any concept, plan, tool or strategy energy-depleting, confidence-annihilating, mind-sucking, money-making factories and, I will say it again, NOT customized for you! Therefore, you will not maintain the results long-term. If you think about it a company, trainer, nutritionist, gym owner, physician, pharmaceutical company, or health author do not have all the pieces – unless you work with them personally. Have you been asked how many kids you have, how many jobs you have, do you eat animal or plant protein, or do you like to sweat? All of that makes a difference in you achieving your goals.
Most of those players already know you are going to fall off-plan and not be successful. I am sorry; send the hate mail now. The health and wellness infrastructure is not desired for you. It is a money-making factory!
Some people and businesses in this industry do have your personal outcomes at heart. Not everyone is a bad egg. I am saying they are missing YOUR specific, all-inclusive data. They cannot design a strong, safe wellness plan that fits you if YOU are not built into the formula. And I am talking about more than your height and weight-loss goals.
This is why you continue to chase information and continue to miss your goals. And it is not your fault! Now can you see how the NAYS (Not About You Syndrome) complicates becoming healthy and happy?
Let’s move on to GUS. The Give Up Syndrome.
Consider where we are up until now. With the TMMS (Tell Me More Syndrome) and NAYS (Not About You Syndrome), why wouldn’t you have GUS (Give Up Syndrome)? After you realize you have more knowledge than you know what to do with and that most plans you have tried have not been personalized in order to set you up for success – why wouldn’t you GIVE UP?
There are several reasons why we surrender to the process of getting healthier. One of them is that most people do not know their “real” pain points. You may think your biggest health concern is your nutrition plan when the biggest bang for your buck might be designing stress-relief coping skills or tackling procrastination. WHAT? Most people focus on the area they think causes the most pain. Lose weight. Most start restricting calories and moving more. What if it is your job, lack of organization, or your massive inflammation is causing most of your weight gain? And what if I told you salads won’t solve all of your problems? My point is you are likely chasing a pack of stray cats and will eventually give up.
Many people also give up because getting healthy and staying healthy is hard work! Many counselors and coaches will tell you words matter. I teach that words matter. Using positive words are important. And I agree that the word “hard” is not perceived as positive, but there is no replacement for this is one word when it comes to wellness. It is hard to change unhealthy habits and stay on track. Damn straight hard.
You wouldn’t give up (GUS) if you could put your stacks of information to work (TMMS) using personally designed programs and not cookie-cutter (NAYS) options. Let’s talk about the last syndrome I feel makes getting and staying healthy difficult.
BS: Bounce Syndrome:
In this case, when I refer to bounce, I am not talking about giving up or quitting. I am talking about literally bouncing from quick fix to quick fix. We get discouraged if we do not achieve the results we want in a timely fashion. This is where BS comes into play. When we get too tired, too sore, and too frustrated, we bounce. We bounce from product to product and even expert to expert.
We all have a Pluto-sized library of health and wellness knowledge in our brains. We have all experienced less than desirable results. All of us have flailed a white flag. Arming yourself with knowledge, personal programs, and a team of experts who have your best interest at heart, will put you in the driver’s seat.
Make your goals about YOU. If you work 70 hours a week, you need information and experts to help you design your wellness goals around the 98 hours you have left in the week. We are all faced with these four syndromes:
- TMMS:Tell Me More Syndrome
- NAYS:Not About You Syndrome
- GUS:Give Up Syndrome
- BS:Bounce Syndrome
Dissect them, and you will find the hidden treasures that work for you – personally.
Here’s a motivation shot. Cheers. You got this!