The purpose of this quiz is to help you determine if focusing on this area of your health is right for this season of your life. One of the hardest questions clients have tried to answer is “how do I determine what to start with?” because when it comes to getting healthier, there is so much to consider which makes it so easy to become overwhelmed and even start to shut down (and risk never starting at all!) I have come up with a series of questions to answer that will help you decide if exercise, nutrition, maintenance or stress management is the right focus for your current season of life. We’ll use a “red light, green light!” method to determine if that specific focus is where your focus could or should be.  Lots of “green lights” means go for it! Lots of “red lights” means you might want to consider starting somewhere else. And if you get a mix of both, you can choose whether you want to start there or maybe focus on something else. I advise you to pay attention to any feelings of overwhelm and indecisiveness because this can be an indication that you may not feel confident enough yet to tackle that focus. If you are truly unsure of how you want to answer, ditch it and move onto a different focus questionnaire; you may not even be in the headspace to address this area of your health right now and that’s okay!

 

How to score each focus season quiz: 

1 or 2 “Green Lights” = not a recommended focus to start with.

3 “Green Lights” = this is a possible focus to start with. 

4 or 5 “Green Lights” = this is a great focus to start with.

 

You can always take another quiz to see if it scores more green lights. If another quiz scores more, start with that one and place this season as the “runner up” focus (the next one you’ll tackle!)

​

Question 1: What will this require of me?

​

Regular physical activity. You have permission to move in ways that feel good. This looks different for everyone; some people benefit from yoga, stretching and breathing. Some people benefit from lifting heavy, doing burpees and ball slams. Exercise is unfortunately one of the last prescriptions for stress management despite being one of the best ways to increase your feel good hormones. Can you embrace physical activity as a viable way for reducing stress, even if it requires you to take the time to do so? 

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Self reflection. So often the circumstances of life are the agitation to the opportunities for growth that lay beneath the surface of our everyday habits. It’s easy to function on auto-pilot until a life event happens or circumstances beyond our control force us to face our behaviors. This season will ask you to be willing to gain new perspectives through reading, therapy and/or prayer. 

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Researching stress reduction techniques. No different than nutrition and exercise, what you need in new seasons of stress management will change as your body changes. This will also look different as the circumstances that bring stress will require different management techniques. What has worked in the past may not work for you now so you have to be open to learning about how you can reduce your stress in this current season. In addition, acknowledging and accepting that there will be necessary actions relevant to the stressor and that it’s ultimately up to you to put into action what you learn (for example, if you are in financial stress, you will need to research the best options for your circumstances and follow through with what’s required to manage that source of stress.)

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Patience. Stress management can sometimes feel like constantly tripping over yourself. Your efforts to create new responses to stress cues are often thwarted by old behavior patterns. This is normal for everyone. We’ve likely all heard the phrase “this too shall pass” but it doesn’t always help us deal with stressors in real time, while it‘s stressing us out. Not only do we need to be patient with our circumstances, this season also requires us to be more patient with others, with the process required to overcome and with ourselves.  

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Asking for help. This doesn’t come easy for everyone. The right help can be hard to find if you struggle with allowing yourself to be vulnerable. But there are small ways to start!. If you’ve given yourself the green light for the other requirements, don’t allow a red light here to stop you. Challenge yourself to find at least one person or resource you can trust and start with that. 

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Question 2: How realistic is this time commitment in my life right now?

​

The time commitment for this season will depend on the methods you choose for your specific circumstances. Managing financial stress might look like spending time taking a course and budgeting. Managing physical stress will look like eating well and physical activity. Managing mental or emotional stress might look like taking time for meditation and/or prayer, journaling, meeting with a therapist and/or learning to take things off your schedule or to-do lists. 

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Question 3: On a scale of 1-4 (1 being most important, 4 being least important), how important is achieving success in this area of life to me?

• 1-2: Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• 3-4: Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Question 4: Am I ready to dedicate 12 weeks to this being my new focus?

​

Ironically, efforts to reduce stress may, for a time, create a little more stress. That’s why it’s important to commit to seeing this season all the way through. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better because we don’t realize how much turmoil is hiding beneath the surface. But committing to learning how to improve through the trials you face is one of the greatest gifts of struggle. We are always better to grow through what we go through; so if you dedicate yourself to the process, whatever it might be, is it worth it to focus on this now?

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

 

Question 5: Can I financially afford to invest in the help and support I’ll need to accomplish this well?

​

If this is not your first “go” with trying a new exercise routine, or exercise in general, what did you learn from the past? What worked and what needed improvement? The resources to help you can be as simple as a new book to teach you how to structure your workouts or as specific as hiring a personal trainer to meet with. This will all come down to the level of accountability you have to yourself. You’ll need to invest in an exercise provider like subscriptions for home workouts or spending time to research workout routines on YouTube as well as the required equipment for those workouts. This can be as simple as body-weight only workouts (no equipment required) or investing in cardio equipment like a treadmill, indoor cycling bike, rower, etc. 

• Red light (I can’t see myself currently committing to this)

• Green light (I can handle this) 

​

So, is this the right time in your life for you to focus on exercise? If yes, then click here to learn more about our personal training services. If “no”, then go to one of the other focus questionnaires to determine where to start. Each questionnaire contains the same questions with details as to how it pertains to either exercise, nutrition, and maintenance.