Why You Keep Failing to Prioritise Your Health

Have you ever wondered why you keep putting your health last, even though you swear that this is the week that you're going to finally make it a priority? You start with good intentions. You tell yourself that this time it's different. You're going to eat better, you're going to get more sleep, and you're going to hit the gym. But then life happens. Work ramps up, your family needs you, and your plans change. And once again, your health slides right to the bottom of the list. Only to make way for things that, if you're honest, are nowhere near as important. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. In fact, I think most people suffer with this. And look, here's the thing. If you look online, most of the advice that you're going to find is pretty surface level. You're going to find things like wake up earlier, plan your meals, or be more disciplined. But that's symptom-level stuff. And as with most things in life, if you don't get to the root cause, Nothing really changes. You just end up chasing your tail time and time again. Now, the danger is that most people don't wake up until they have to, until they get that health scare, until they reach complete burnout. Basically, only when something forces their hand. And this bit is really important. If I can only get one thing across in this video, it's this: don't wait for that moment. By the time your health becomes urgent, it's already costing you. And sometimes the damage is irreversible. Now, the tricky part is that putting your health first actually feels instinctively wrong. It feels selfish, like you're taking time away from work, family, or other important responsibilities. But it's the opposite. It's the foundation that makes you better for all of those things. And that's why it's so hard to do. It's counterintuitive, and you have to fight your natural wiring to make the right choice. Today I want to dig into the real reasons people keep putting their health last, the deeper psychological patterns that most people never even see or understand. And I've come to realize there are 3 really big ones. They overlap in powerful ways, and in many cases it feels like they conspire together to hold you back. But the good news is that once you understand them, you will see exactly why you've been stuck. And how to finally break the cycle and start putting your health first. So the first one is this: it's really, really, really hard to make the right trade-off in the moment. And that's because health rarely feels urgent in the short term, but everything else does feel urgent. Your work, your family, daily fires— they all demand your attention right now. And it's almost always more satisfying in the moment to prioritize those over your health, and that's because you get instant gratification. Fix the broken tap, reply to the emails, tick something off the list. Here's that counterintuitive part again. Putting your health first feels selfish, like you're taking time away from the things that matter more. But it's actually the opposite. When you invest in your health, you multiply your capacity. You show up sharper at work, calmer with your family, and you're stronger for everyone around you. And ironically, it's the most selfless thing you can do. Still, it never really feels like the right trade-off in the moment. Going for a run or cooking a healthy meal doesn't give the same hit. The benefits show up slowly and quietly, while the cost of neglect builds silently in the background. And that's why most people only wake up after a scare, a diagnosis, hitting burnout, or maybe sometimes it's just a surprise health issue that reminds you you're not infallible. Now health becomes urgent. You don't get to delay the cost anymore. You have to pay it now. And when that happens, everything else—your work, your family, your plans—they all have to go on hold. In that moment in time, nothing matters more than getting your health back. Now, on one hand, a wake-up call can be a gift, but I think you already know you don't want to wait until your back is against the wall and it's panic stations. So if you're going to make sure that you put your health first, you have to fight that instinct that says it's selfish or optional, or that there's always something else that can be done first. You have to rewire how you think to see that prioritizing health isn't stealing from your life, it's actually strengthening it. And quite frankly, it truly is critical that your health comes first. Now look, don't worry, I will share some practical ideas for how to make the right trade-off in a minute. Um, but first of all, I want to cover the second and the third reasons that people tend to put their health last. So the second reason people keep putting their health last is that they have a poor relationship with discomfort. Now, before we get into this, I want to sort out the difference between people who have a poor relationship with discomfort and, quite frankly, those that are plain lazy. Now, plain lazy people will avoid anything that even feels like effort. These people literally have two hands behind their back, and it's really hard to help people like this. But if you're listening to this video, I suspect you don't fall into this camp. And that's because here's the thing: even driven people avoid discomfort. It's human nature. And the problem is getting and staying healthy means consistently choosing some form of discomfort every single day. Often multiple times a day. Training when you don't feel like it. Saying no to the easier choice, or the easier food choice. And going to bed earlier instead of watching one more episode. Yeah, it's a pain, but there's no way around it. You're going to have to regularly feel discomfort if you want to put your health first. So you have to build that relationship with discomfort. You have to deliberately expose yourself to small, controlled doses of it again and again until it becomes normal. And it's really just another version of delayed gratification. You trade a little comfort now for a bigger payoff later. And the more you do it, the easier it gets. Not because the discomfort disappears, but because you stop fearing it. That's the muscle that you're building. The ability to lean in when every instinct tells you to pull away. When you nail your relationship with discomfort, you slowly become the sort of person who takes the stairs instead of the lift because it's good for you. You take that short walk instead of a drive because it's good for you, and you put your running shoes on and you step outside even when it's cold because it's good for you. You just become the type of person who picks the harder choice by default, safe in the knowledge that every small moment of discomfort compounds. It literally becomes a part of who you are. That's the kind of relationship with discomfort that you need to build. And again, don't worry if that's not you right now. I've got some tips for how to build it at the end of this video, so just keep watching. We're nearly there. Now look, here's the thing. Even if you get great at making the right trade-off and you build a good relationship with discomfort, it can still sometimes feel like you're fighting an uphill battle. And that's because for most people, there is a third obstacle that gets in their way, and that's that their environment is completely stacked against them. No, look, we live in a world optimized for convenience and consumption. Instead of walking, we could just tap a button and a car arrives in minutes. If you're even slightly hungry, just tap your screen and food will show up. And even when you do have good intentions, the odds will be stacked against you. I mean, look, have you ever tried to walk into a petrol station and make a healthy food choice? Is virtually impossible. Ultra-processed food is everywhere, and even the healthy options are often just clever marketing. A protein bar is not healthy, for example. It's just a chocolate bar with cheap protein sprinkled in. Have you tried ordering healthily at a restaurant? Not only are the genuinely healthy choices limited, but it's easy to get fooled by things that sound healthy and they really aren't. Or take another example: sit down and watch one episode before bed. And before you can even think, Netflix also plays you the next one. You've been pulled into another hour of stimulation you didn't plan for. And lastly, look around the average home. Cupboards and fridges are full of ultra-processed snacks. Screens are within reach at all times, and it's like the whole system is designed to make the unhealthy choice the easiest one. Now, if you want to put your health first, you're going to have to design your environment to support your goals. You have to make the good choices obvious and the bad ones harder, because it won't happen by accident. No matter how good your intentions are or how much discomfort you can handle, the wrong environment will eventually beat you. Your willpower is just a finite resource, and it runs out fast when you're constantly surrounded by temptation. But if you set up your environment for success, everything will get easier. You will stop relying on willpower and you will start relying on design, and it will become natural and even effortless to make the right choices. Now, I said earlier on that these things conspire together to hold you back, and they really do. It's no wonder people struggle to prioritize their health. Here's an example of that. You're constantly tempted to choose what feels good now. The quick win, the easy option, the short-term hit of gratification. So the wrong trade-off is just waiting to be made. Now layer on the fact that the things you should do, the things that actually make you healthier, are often hard and uncomfortable. And your relationship with discomfort— sorry, and when your relationship with discomfort isn't great, that alone can stop you in your tracks. And just when you think you might be making progress, your environment quietly pulls you back, full of temptations, shortcuts, and easy ways to slip off track. So as you can see, these three forces don't just exist separately. They overlap, they reinforce each other, and together they make it genuinely hard to put your health first. So if you've struggled with this, don't beat yourself up. It's not because you're weak or undisciplined. It's just because the odds are stacked against you psychologically and environmentally. But the good news is this: once you see these forces for what they are, you can start to design around them. All right, so now you know why it's so hard to put your health first. Now let's talk about what you can actually do about it. And here are a few simple ways to start tipping things back in your favor, in your favor. And trust me, you can absolutely win this battle. You just need some self-awareness of what's happening and you need to fight back. So let's jump into practical tips. And let's start with making the right trade-off. So I think probably one of the, one, uh, obvious practical tip for making the right trade-off is actually dialing into your why. And also the second is learning to catch hesitation first. So let's start, let's focus on dialing into your why first of all. So most people never stick with health habits because their why is not strong enough. They know they should do it, but they're just not emotionally connected to why it matters. So first of all, you've got to dial into your why, and you've got to turn the volume up to a 12 out of 10. Now, for me, the long-term stuff—living longer, being healthy in my 70s—it doesn't really light a fire under me. Yeah, it's important, and I do care about it, but it's just too far away to drive me on a daily basis. So instead, I tap into something much more immediate. I focus on how I want to look now, how I want to feel now, and how good it feels to push hard and stay consistent., and then I just feed into that fire. And I actually listen to content from people who spark energy and inspiration into me. So people like Goggins, Jocko, Josh Bridges, Chris Bumstead, he's a, he's a bodybuilder. People who embody discipline and live it every day and have physiques and fitness and personalities that I aspire to be, um, more like. And basically whatever gets me into that headspace. Is I use it. I don't overthink it. I just find what fires me up and I lean into it. I also mentioned about catching hesitation. Now there's always that tiny moment before you do the hard thing. It's like a pause. There's a little bit of negotiation happening. That's the moment that you either win or you lose. And you have to interrupt it and you have to do it really fast. Now, so for me, that means saying screw it and moving before my brain can talk me out of it. If I don't feel like hitting the gym, I just shut that thought off quickly and I go straight to putting my gym kit on. And then once I'm moving and I've got momentum, the resistance starts to fade. And at that point, it almost feels stupid to back out. So that's just a couple of tips. If we now move on to building your relationship with discomfort. So when it comes to getting comfortable with discomfort, most people just go too hard, too fast, and then they just burn out and have an allergic reaction. You don't need to throw yourself into brutal workouts or eat insanely clean meals overnight. Just start small. The goal is to build the muscle, not break yourself. So just do simple things like take the stairs instead of the lift just once and notice how it makes you feel. Maybe just wake up 15 minutes earlier. Don't overthink it, just hit the alarm and just get out of bed. Maybe you just highlight a particular snack that you usually love but you don't want to eat anymore, and just start skipping it when you normally reach for it. Just try and find these really small things, because each small moment matters. Every time you lean into a bit of discomfort, you train that part of the brain that says, I can handle this. And when you feel that hesitation, just use it as a cue. Remind yourself of the person you're becoming— someone who takes on difficult things. And remind yourself how good it will feel afterwards as well. That discomfort is only temporary. For me, even now, I'll look at a brutal workout and still feel that pull to back off. So I just move a step closer immediately. I put on my kit and I start the warm-up. I just tell myself that it's just a finite period that is going to end. Then I count down, or I start a countdown app, and it goes 10 to 0. And that's my pattern interrupt. And once I've set that, I've got to go and it gets me moving before my brain can negotiate. Now the more you do this, the better it is going to feel. And over time, over time, it becomes part of who you are. Someone who doesn't avoid discomfort, but actually someone that leans into it. And you never know, you might actually even start to enjoy the challenge, even when it's hard in the moment. And then if we go to designing your environment for success. Now everyone's environment is different. But the goal's the same. Make living health— sorry, make living healthy easy. You want as little friction as possible between you and the right choice, and as few temptations as possible pulling you toward the wrong one. So for me, one of the biggest game changers has been building a home gym. It's literally 20 seconds from my kitchen. Now, I used to hate the thought of driving to the gym, getting in a car, parking, waiting for the equipment,. Now I just walk into my garage and everything is ready. No excuses, no wasted time, no friction. And that one change made all the difference. It removes a whole load of friction and it's now much easier to get to the gym. The other one's a little bit more extreme, but it works for me. And I think I've told this story before, right? But I've got a black toolbox in my kitchen. It's locked, it's got two padlocks on it, and only my daughter knows the code. And that's where all of the junk food, all of the sweets, all of the chocolate lives. Now, when Fern is with her mum, I literally can't eat it. And I know that sounds silly, but it keeps me on track. I have no way of getting into that locked, locked chest because it has two padlocks on it. Fern only knows the code. It's completely out of reach. It's just not an option. So really, my cupboards and my fridge only have foods I'm happy to eat and I'm not tempted by. Now, the point is everyone's life and environment are different. And those might not be realistic for you. Maybe you can't build your home gym, or maybe that's not even the answer to make training easier. Maybe a locked box full of, uh, sweets and chocolates is not the right fix for you. And look, everyone's life and environment is different, so you don't need to copy anyone else. You don't need to necessarily copy me. You just need to design yours in a way that supports your goals. So start to look for anything that adds friction, to the good habits and try and get it out of the way. And also find what tempts you into bad ones and make that harder. And really the key here is self-awareness. Once you start to see how your environment is shaping your behavior, you can start shaping your environment back so that it supports you. All right, so look, that's it. 3 things that make it hard to put your health first and some ways to start tipping the balance back in your favor. Favor. And here's a little reminder for what those 3 things are: make better trade-offs by finding what truly motivates you, build your relationship with discomfort one small step at a time, and start to design your environment so that the healthy choice is the easy one. Because here's the truth: you will regret it eventually if you don't solve this. There's no escaping the bill that comes due when you put your health last. So you have to solve it. You have to learn how to put your health first, not just for you, but for everyone who depends on you. If this episode hit home, I'd love it if you shared it with someone who needs a reminder, or feel free to message me and tell me what you're working on. I always love hearing from people putting this stuff into practice. See you in the next episode.