the 20-something's guide to overconsumption in the health & wellness industry (aka:: how where you are right now in your current health & wellness routines IS ENOUGH!)
do you ever struggle sorting through all the health & wellness noise on social media? each scroll reveals a new red light mask, an ad on yet another brand of activewear that is changing the game, guided manifestations to live your best life, the best & most clean protein powder on the market,...the list goes on-and-on. last week i was listening to a podcaster on my weekly line-up who brought up an interesting topic of overconsumption. the way she presented it was surrounding overconsumption & fashion/material items, but it got me thinking:: the wellness industry also struggles with similar concepts to material overconsumption.
when we see a particular ad, device, athleticwear set, skincare product, or supplement, what is our internal thought process? do we think that it will actually solve a problem that we have? maybe. do we think it will help us towards our goal lives, have more control, or improve our bodies? almost definitely. i have only more recently become aware of my own thought patterns surrounding health & wellness items that i “want”. in the health & wellness industry, it is so easy for us to mask our true, deeper feelings & desires with the notion that buying any sort of health & wellness item is “an investment in our future”. i’m the queen of the longevity fund & investing in your own health & wellness, so i totally get it! anytime i see a cute, new athletic wear set on a girl who looks like she has the dream life, my internal dialogue goes something like this…
“that will look so cute on me! & it will help me feel that much more confident & motivated while working out, which will help me be a healthier person overall!”
this is not a bad self-dialogue at all! improving our confidence & overall health is an amazing goal, but will buying that cute athleticwear set really do that for me? maybe temporarily, but probably not long term. if i really thought deeper about why i want that athletic wear set, it is probably because i aspire to have the life that is being portrayed for the girl wearing that set. it is a way to get that much closer to whatever dream life i have in my head that matches what the ad is demonstrating.
if we take a chance to step back, what are the deeper insecurities we might have that allow a certain ad, person, product, or supplement to speak to us? how does who i “follow” on social media give insight into what my own hopes & dreams are, & am i aware enough when certain ads or influencers are feeding into those hopes & dreams with a product? it truly gets sooo deep! when i analyze my own social media & consumer habits, i find that i often follow people with lives, homes, & businesses that i aspire to create, & if i analyze certain products that i’ve purchased, some of them have been presented as a way to reach those goals that i have.
we can’t wellness girl chat about overconsumption without taking a look from the perspective of these health & wellness businesses or influencers that are promoting certain products or lifestyles. most of these businesses or individuals started sharing health & wellness content or creating wellness products because of a need or desire they had & a solution they found! it is a wonderful thing! that is why consumers respond well to influencer marketing… it’s like a friend is recommending a product to us that has changed their life! i like to think the best of these businesses & individuals, so in no way do i think they are purposefully trying to invoke feelings of inadequacy or failure. i simply think they are working to promote & create something that has helped their own health & wellness, & they want to share that with us!
so in order to fight back against this tendency towards overconsumption, it is up to our own reflection & awareness to know when a product will actually withstand the test of time in our own health & wellness routines, & which products might work to temporarily relieve a deeper insecurity, but then get thrown to the wayside once we realize it didn’t get us any closer to our goals. here are a few of the ways i have tried to combat this in my own life, to hopefully help your decision making process when thinking about buying a certain product!
i try not to impulse-buy a product. i take time (like a few days or weeks!) to think it over, picture it in my routine, & think if it might actually be a solution to a problem that i have.
i make sure to not buy something from an individual who mentions how “life-changing” it is once, but never mentions it again & never mentioned it prior. i see this a lot with common, instagram, supplement brands. some supplement has been “life-changing”, even though they have never talked about it before & never mention it again.
i take recommendations from my actual friends & professionals more seriously. if one of my physical therapist friends recommends a certain piece of fitness equipment or device, i’m much more likely to take their recommendation than from a random person or business online.
i look at the development of the product. if it is a fitness program or advice for body composition improvements, i want to know if the person has credentials, like a doctorate in physical therapy or a registered dietician. if it is a skincare brand, i want to make sure the ingredients are researched by a chemist, medical scientist, or dermatologist.
i look at my past spending history on health & wellness items. is there a pattern to my buying? to get a little vulnerable here, as soon as i found lululemon, my life & wardrobe changed drastically. i bought soooo many leggings of all different colors & patterns, then 3 years later, i would sell the pieces i wasn’t wearing to upgrade. when i looked at what i was selling, a lot of it involved trendy colors & patterns & prints. if you know me, you know i’m very much a neutrals girly… i’m a sucker for some good, black leggings & activewear pieces! once i became aware of that, i cut back my spending at lululemon significantly, knowing that although those bright pink leggings were so cute on the model, they probably wouldn’t withstand the test of time in my black-leggings-only wardrobe.
for 2-3 months out of every year, i pause all personal spending…especially on “wants.” this includes clothes, shoes, coffees, home decor…really anything that is a “want” & not a “need”. (disclaimer:: any time with friends or my hubby is considered a need, so coffee with friends doesn’t count! investing in relationships is definitely healthy, right?) i’ve been doing this for about 5 years, & it has always been a very eye-opening experience for me. do you know what i realize every. single. time.? i feel more free…like the reigns of materialism & overconsumption don’t have a hold on me anymore. i have the freedom to choose to NOT buy something, rather than feeling like i have to. restricting my spending produces a feeling of freedom. kind of opposite of what you would think, huh? now i am not saying all spending is bad…quite the opposite! it is simply a challenge for myself to regain control over my own spending, desires, & really think about future purchases that i will make!
so how does this tie into our overall health & wellness? i use the example of overconsumption & freedom when it comes to personal spending as an example for a challenge for our own health & wellness. i think it might be worth it for 1-2 months out of the year to stop striving, stop thinking what we are currently doing is not good enough or not enough, & really take inventory & be grateful for the time we are at in our health & wellness journeys. if you’re like me, you are always trying to optimize, improve, & incorporate the next best thing into your current routine. if you’re like me, you rarely take time to look back on your health & wellness journey & feel grateful for all the choices that got you to this point today. if you’re like me, you always think there is something more you could be doing; something more you could add to make your own routine more efficient. it can be exhausting, especially when we are shown so many ads about the next greatest technology, program, device, & routine that will be a “game-changer” for our health & wellness. i think it would be healthy to take a pause, regroup, remember what is working for your body, how you’re feeling in your body, & realign with your own goals & current routines before impulse-adding yet another wellness device, experience, or program.
as a disclaimer, it does feel slightly ironic writing this blog post knowing that i also promote a program & membership to help women. i have to use “click-baity” statements to help bring awareness of what the elää wellness sisterhood is all about to people who need it the most. & you know what? i don’t love it, but it is something that feels necessary in order for the sisterhood to positively impact people who struggle with having confidence & knowledge about their bodies & how to truly set up their bodies for life! it is why i also try to provide so much free guidance & education so if you aren’t ready to join the membership, at least the sisterhood can be a place for you to learn more about your body & take away valuable, lifelong knowledge. it is a fine balance & one that i am still trying to figure out so that the most people can be helped & guided by the content i produce!
if you made it this far, thank you always for your continued support. i enjoy x 100000 writing these & just covering so many topics surrounding the health & wellness industry. thank you endlessly.
in health & wellness (& always working on my own overconsumption!),
kelsy
