What my fantasy football draft can teach you about your health and wellness
to you
Today is opening day of the 2025-2026 NFL football season. Coach Kayla and I are very excited!
Last week, we had the draft for our family fantasy football league. ESPN gave me a grade of C on my draft. 🙄
But, to be honest, I expected it. In fact, I’m surprised I didn’t get a D.
I’m trying a new tactic this year.
I went out of my way, often at the cost of passing on the best players available, to primarily draft players who played for Ohio State (where I did my PhD) or who currently play for the Miami Dolphins (my favorite NFL team since I was old enough to understand football).
In other words, I’m looking at my $100 entry fee as an investment that will help me get more enjoyment out of the NFL season this year – more enjoyment than just hoping to win money.
But don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be plenty happy to collect the jackpot.
Money aside, this tactic of emphasizing enjoyment can make the difference between healthy habits lasting just a few weeks versus the rest of your life!
We see many people give up after what we’d describe as trying too hard.
Basically, they’re trying to be perfect.
It’s the classic all-or-nothing mentality.
If you have to do work and make sacrifices, you might as well go all in and be flawless, right?
Nope!
Unless, that is, you prefer the endless cycle of achieving great results, burning out, losing those great results (and maybe then some), berating yourself for being a quitter, and restarting the cycle all over again.
Anyone up for a rollercoaster ride?
Coach Kayla and I have been committed to healthy habits for a combined total of more than three decades.
We know what works and how to make it last. And we live the benefits every day – in the form of lasting energy, better moods, greater confidence in our health and longevity – and yes, a trimmer waistline too.
Whether some or all of that sounds good, we can help you get there – and stay there! Book a free call with Coach Kayla to learn more.
We’ve seen many people give up hope because of the relentless cycle above, which is why we go out of our way to keep our clients out of it.
Consistency beats perfection every time.
What will 3 weeks – or even 3 months – of perfectly clean living do for you 5 or 10 years from now if you can’t keep it up?
NOTHING!
Do you really think that month or two of perfect dieting and exhausting workouts you did 5 years ago make any difference in how you feel today?
Imagine the more meaningful differences that could result from an imperfect, but ruthlessly consistent commitment to better habits?
The older you get, the more meaningful these differences can be, as in avoiding a disease or limitation that you would otherwise have.
For example, given my family history and previous health challenges, there’s a good chance I’d be diabetic if I still ate the way I did 20 years ago – even despite how active I am.
You don’t maintain healthy habits for 20+ years by being perfect, depriving yourself, and repeatedly exhausting yourself in the gym.
You do it by keeping enjoyment in your lifestyle – by responsibly continuing to enjoy your favorite treats and by understanding the beneficial tradeoff of social activity sometimes getting in the way of ideal choices.
Of course, it’s easy to take this too far and let indulging and socializing completely derail you, which is why it’s all about balance.
In practice, this means balancing a healthy level of restraint with a healthy amount of letting go and giving in.
You may be thinking I’m full of it and that such a balance is unicorn-like, as in there’s no such thing.
But there really is.
It looks different for everyone. Some people need more restraint, while others need more letting loose, and everyone has their own reasons for why.
Even if you’re pretty far on the side of needing more letting loose, decades of habits that are just marginally better is still miles ahead of giving up and completely letting go because you can’t be perfect.
My fantasy football draft is far from perfect, but it’s far better than a perfect draft that ends up out of contention late in the season and leaves me feeling like it’s a job to check my lineup each week.
You don’t want your lifestyle habits to feel like a job – you want them to feel like a smart investment that provides benefits you wouldn’t want to live without.
To healthy habits that leave room for fun,
Dr. Vin