Take 10,000 Steps, Drink 1 Gallon of Water, and Eat “Clean” Every Day: Really?

Everyone’s body, lifestyle, and priorities are different, and so it’s impossible to set universal standards for health and wellbeing. While these topics can be good to think about, the worst outcome for your health is persistent guilt and shame.

In our fast-paced world, most people don’t have the time to “get all their steps in”, drink a lake, and eat carefully cooked meals every day, even if they wanted to. And even if you could, what is considered “healthy” is different for everyone, and depends solely on your lived experience.

If you’re finding it difficult to adhere to all the exorbitantly high standards that the media sets, you’re not alone. Besides negatively impacting your mental health, unrealistic standards also make you less likely to engage in healthy activities at all. And if you’re wondering why they’re so unachievable in the first place, here’s one answer: consumers purchase more from companies when they believe a product will help them be happier. Unfortunately, companies frequently fabricate guilt and inferiority complexes (often through unrealistic standards) to propel consumers to spend more money.

But you don’t have to fall into this trap. To frame your priorities and decide on your wellness goals, always remember what’s important to you and what keeps you feeling bright and joyful. Stay grounded in that knowledge and use it as a guide to illuminate which wellness goals are good for your health, and which are pointless or a waste of time. Remember that you are enough, regardless of how much exercise you get or what kinds of food you eat. Never let guilt or shame frame your decisions, and instead seek comfort in your own intuitive knowledge. By doing so, your health-related decisions will be in your best interest, not someone else’s.