Detours, Disruptions, and Doing Your Best
- jenniferhoyer77
- Jan 17
- 6 min read
Life never asks for permission. It doesn't knock politely and ask if this is a good time to disrupt your health routine. It just arrives - sometimes with joy, sometimes with challenge, but every time with change.
Some of us glide into the new year on track with great health routines, feeling amazing. Some of us stumble in a bit messier, with life's disruptions still swirling around us. Either way, it's perfectly okay. Life is rarely tidy.
Here's the question worth asking: When life takes you off course - not catastrophically, just in that "life happens" kind of way - what do you do? When routines that once felt easy suddenly become harder to reach, how do you respond?
How a New Puppy Turned My Routine Upside Down
For Christmas this year, I got a puppy - an Italian Greyhound named Sprocket. She's the tiniest, cuddliest, most elegant little noodle of a dog you've ever seen.
Italian Greyhounds are called "Velcro dogs" for good reason. They bond deeply to their people and want connection constantly. They have gigantic bursts of energy like caffeinated squirrels in wind tunnels, followed by long naps where they look like royalty recovering from fainting spells. They're super affectionate but also very sensitive and dramatic. Let's just say potty training isn't their best Olympic event.
I've wanted one of these dogs for 14 years. When I was first introduced to them, I was a single mom with a demanding career and long commute - not puppy time. When I met my husband and blended our family, we chose Border Collies that everyone could agree on. But I always told him, "One day, one day it'll be time."
Bringing home Sprocket right around Christmas was pure joy and love. But she also turned my routine completely upside down.
Before Sprocket arrived, I was in a rhythm I was proud of. My daily walks - about 3 to 3.5 miles - were completely non-negotiable. Even when traveling, I'd walk around airports or stores. It didn't matter where I was; those walks were happening. They're healing for me, meditative, great for my body but mostly for my mental health and brain. They became part of who I am, something I looked forward to rather than had to do.
Why Consistent Exercisers Seek Peace, Not Just Weight Loss
Exercise is one of the first things that gets thrown off when life disrupts us. Many women tell me how hard it is to get back into exercise routines after vacations or breaks.
An interesting research study asked why some people stay consistent with exercise for years while others quit quickly. Researchers thought it might be motivation or willpower, but that wasn't it at all.
The women who stayed consistent longest were never focused on weight loss or how their bodies looked. They exercised for a completely different reason: peace.
For them, it wasn't about pressure or "have to." It was relief from everyday stressors. These women stuck with their routines because exercise provided clarity, calm, emotional regulation, and mental health benefits.
I resonate with this deeply. My walks are non-negotiable not because of weight loss or body appearance, but because of the mental health gains and emotional regulation they provide.
Pause and think: Why do you exercise? What's your real motivation? Many women talk about needing to "punish" themselves with exercise after eating too much or trying to "earn" calories. But when we shift how we think about movement, everything changes.
When Non-Negotiables Become Negotiable
Suddenly, my non-negotiable walks became negotiable. My days filled with watching my new puppy, cleaning up accidents, learning her cries and signals, making sure she felt bonded and safe. With disrupted sleep, I wandered my house with very little energy. At one point, cabin fever set in so hard I thought I might start talking to the dishwasher.
For a moment, I felt frustration - not anger or regret, just that little ache of "I miss my walks. I miss what I used to have."
Here's what I noticed most: I missed that healing space. The sunlight, the breathing room, the nature, the rhythm of my feet hitting the ground.
But I didn't let myself spiral. This is where so many of us get stuck. Life changes and we instantly go into negative space. We start thinking we're slipping, lacking willpower, feeling confused and overwhelmed. "I was doing so well and now I've totally ruined it and I can't get it back."
But what if there's actually nothing wrong with these changes? What if it's just life shifting and us shifting with it?
I'm not worried about losing the habit. I've stopped walking for periods before - knee surgery, sickness. But it feels too good to let go forever. I know I'm going back because I want to. That's a powerful place to live.
Four Ways to Stay on Track When Life Gets Lifey
1. Focus on What You Can Control
Yes, my walks slowed down, but I kept my strength training because Sprocket can hang out with me in the gym for 30 minutes. That's something I can control.
I've paid extra attention to nutrition because that's a lever I can usually adjust - it doesn't depend on anyone or anything. I've adjusted it because I have less exercise now and disrupted sleep. I'm supporting and nourishing my body more intentionally.
Hydration, the parts of my routine I can keep - not perfectly, not on the same timeline, but intentionally. Focus on what you can do and what you can control.
2. Remember It's Just a Season
Many women with injuries, illnesses, or caregiving responsibilities get completely discouraged. But life changes. Schedules shift, babies grow, puppies learn, workloads change, bodies change. It's not forever.
One of the worst things we can do is add stress on top of change. Stress is actually within our control, even when change isn't. Stress adds inflammation, clouds decision-making, makes us want to eat more, and steals our joy.
I've been reminding myself constantly: this is just a season, just a short interruption. And that's okay.
3. Find and Lean Into the Good Parts
Yes, I miss my walks. Yes, I've cleaned up more bodily fluids than I care to describe. The laundry is never-ending and I'm pretty sure I smell like a puppy blanket.
But my husband and I are choosing to laugh through it and soak up this time of her life. This puppiness phase goes fast, and we want to look for the joy so we don't miss it.
Joy is a huge part of your health journey. Joy has to be part of your health journey no matter what, even when things go upside down, even when life gets lifey.
4. Adjust and Don't Obsess Over How It Used to Be
When life throws curveballs, we fixate on how things used to be. When we do that, we're trying to live from the past, which never moves us forward.
Life changes, and sometimes our habits need to as well. Maybe it's shorter workouts, different times of day, getting help from others.
When we don't view adjustment as giving up or something negative, but rather as adapting, we build resilience. Adaptation and resilience are skills we can develop, and they're some of the most important ones you can learn.
How Will You Respond?
There will always be things that take us off course. Sometimes we choose them - I chose my puppy. Sometimes we choose vacations or travel that changes our routines. Sometimes we don't choose them - caregiving, illness, injury, sudden life changes.
The question is never "Will life interrupt me?" because the answer is always yes. The question becomes: How will I respond?
Will I shame myself or support myself? Will I panic or adapt? Will I cling to the past or live in the season I'm actually in?
Health is never about perfection - you know this in your heart. It's about a journey that never ends, so we can't be perfect at it. Health is actually about something so much more: the relationship you have with yourself.
It's the relationship where you can say: I trust myself to adjust. I trust myself to come back. I trust myself to grow. I trust that temporary changes are never failures. I trust that even when things are out of my control, there's still so much I can control.
Your Permission to Bend Without Breaking
If you're in a season that looks different than the one you planned, maybe rolling into 2026 without feeling all put together like a perfectly wrapped package with a bow, there's nothing wrong.
You're living. You're adapting. Welcome to being human.
When you accept it and move forward with it, that's proof you're not leaving the journey. You might leave the path from time to time, but you're not leaving the journey.
Life happens, and we get to meet it with grace and adaptability. Give yourself permission to bend and not break. It's a choice, and it's completely yours.
Ready to build the self-trust that carries you through life's disruptions? Listen to the full episode of Wellness Mastery with Jen Hoyer for more insights on adapting your wellness journey with grace.
Listen to Episode 42: Detours, Disruptions, and Doing Your Best
Comments