Overcoming 5 Common Objections to Healthy Habits (Which Ones Do You Believe?)
Don’t let these five common objections to healthy living hold you back from making positive changes in your life. Healthy living really is possible!
We all know how it goes.
We want to live healthier. Maybe make some healthy changes to eating habits, start exercising again regularly, get more rest, or learn to use natural remedies instead of turning to over the counter medications for simple illnesses.
But taking the first few steps can seem really overwhelming, and so we come up with objections to explain why we can’t do it. Familiar routines feel safe, right?
The longer I’ve tried to live with health in mind, the more and more convinced I’ve become that the most common objections to healthy living that I hear really don’t have to be true.
Overcoming these objections just takes a shift in thinking, and then the practical steps to healthy living can begin!
Common Objections to Healthy Living
There’s Too Much to Learn.
This one is really so understandable. For every area of healthy living you can think of, there are multiple experts and views out there, each claiming to have the absolute truth.
The best diet, the best exercise routine, the best supplements, the best essential oils… the list never ends!
Here’s what we each have to remember. Not one of us will ever be able to learn all there is to know about healthy living. We’re always learning new facts and figuring out what works best for our family. You don’t have to know everything to make healthy changes!
You start with what you know, doing the best you can, and then you grow from there, just like the rest of us are doing.
It’s Too Expensive.
I won’t lie. Some healthy habits do cost more initially. But this doesn’t always have to be the case.
Some simple, healthy, nutritious foods are also cheap. Think lentils and rice or carrots and potatoes. Green cleaning can be extremely inexpensive with baking soda and vinegar.
Switching our mindset from thinking that healthy living requires special products, brands, and foods to realizing that healthy can actually be more simple is a great way to get past the price-point mental block.
We Can’t Afford Organic.
So many families I know can’t afford to go all or mostly organic. In fact, we are one of those families!
I do support organic practices, but I also realize that it’s simply foolish to insist that everything we eat and use around us be USDA certified organic. The amount of organic we eat has dropped in recent years as our family as grown, but I refuse to worry.
Focusing on healthy, whole foods should be primary. Organic is great when possible, but when it’s not? Trust the Lord to bless your efforts and leave the guilt behind.
Organic doesn’t equate healthy, either. You can buy organic cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, but I think it’s safe to say that a conventional apple and slice of cheese is healthier.
I Don’t Have Enough Time.
Yes, healthy habits do take time. There’s learning involved, and any change requires time and adjustment!
Making our food from scratch takes time. Carving out time to exercise takes time. Learning how to make basic cleaning products takes time.
But what is the alternative? Disease.
I want to invest my time and efforts in healthy living now so that I can reduce the risk that we’ll invest time and money into treating illness later. I may not be able to eliminate our risk, but I can certainly lower it by doing my part to live in a healthy manner.
I don’t want to have to spend my time on disease if I don’t have to.
It’s Too Difficult and Restrictive.
I might say no to plenty of things while trying to live healthy. I turn down desserts, processed foods, sweet drinks, and all-nighters.
But guess what? I’ve found, after some time, that it’s not difficult at all.
I enjoy greater health so much more than a Saturday morning habit of donuts or daily indulgence of dessert. My tastes have changed, and the results are wonderful!
It helps to remember that what is really difficult and restrictive is chronic and recurrent disease.