4 Mistakes I Made On My Wellness Journey (And What I Do Differently Now)

You know that version of wellness you see all over social media? The one with the green smoothies, 5am wake-ups, and color-coded planners?

I chased that version of wellness for years.

I woke up at 6am to complete my 10-step morning routine. I meal-prepped every week, and I logged 10,000 steps every day without fail. 

I was doing everything I thought would make me feel good. But as time went on, I realized that actually, I didn’t feel “well” at all. 

Underneath the routines, trackers, and daily checklists… I was exhausted. 

Trying to cram in so many wellness practices left me more burned out than rejuvenated. With each 6am meditation I dragged myself out of bed to do, my stress levels grew rather than decreased.

So, what was happening?

Well, it took burnout (and some serious unlearning) for me to realize what was going on. If you’re feeling the same, doing all the right things, but feeling like your energy, mood, and mental health are plummeting, this week’s article and YouTube video are for you.

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The Truth Behind Wellness Culture

What we’re often sold as “wellness” is actually a high-pressure performance.

We’re told to meditate, journal, work out, walk 10,000 steps, every single day, all while balancing work, relationships, and a never-ending to-do list.

We build our wellness routine up so much that we don’t have time for anything else in our lives. Self-care is supposed to bring us back into balance, but when we try to adopt EVERY wellness habit, we tip the scales the other way. 

Instead of feeling nourished, we feel like we’re constantly falling short. Like wellness is just another thing we’re bad at.

So, how can we change our relationship with wellness so that we can actually reap the benefits we are so desperately seeking?

Here are 4 mistakes I made on my wellness journey, and how I’ve since redefined what feeling well really means.

Mistake 1: Chasing Perfection, Not Progress

I used to believe that the more wellness practices I followed, the better I would feel. But I didn’t just try to do everything, I tried to do everything perfectly.

I became so focused on nailing the perfect diet, the perfect fitness plan, the perfect morning ritual, believing that an idyllic wellness routine would lead to perfect health.

In pursuit of this perfection, I tracked everything— My steps, my macros, my sleep cycles. I had apps for hydration, gratitude, breathwork—everything optimized to the inch.

Yet the more “on top of it” I was, the more anxious I became.

This is when I started to realize that rigid discipline and unwavering dedication may not actually be the right approach.

You see, I never missed a workout, not because I loved working out, but because I was scared of what would happen if I did miss one. 

Even my rest days weren’t truly restful as I would fill them with “recovery” strategies to serve performance.

Looking back, I wasn’t dedicated. I was perfectionistic. And perfectionism, according to the American Psychological Association, is strongly linked to anxiety, depression, and burnout. 

Once I realized this, I started seeking progress over perfection. So what if I didn’t feel like working out one day? Taking one day off to rest was not going to undo all the other workouts I had done that week.

Finally, I was able to see that dialing it back sometimes didn’t mean I was failing—it meant I was listening to my body.

Mistake 2: Turning Wellness Into a To-Do List

My mornings used to look like a highlight reel of every productivity podcast I’d ever listened to: lemon water, journaling, affirmations, meditation, workout, protein smoothie, skincare, cold shower—GO.

By 9am, I’d completed half a dozen wellness habits… yet I still didn’t feel grounded. In fact, I felt anxious, stressed, and exhausted.

That’s when it hit me: I had turned wellness into another checklist. I was so focused on doing it “right” that I wasn’t even paying attention to whether it was helping.

This is such a common trap, especially for high-achievers. We apply the same hustle mentality we use at work to our self-care, and suddenly, rest becomes another job.

Now my mornings look drastically different.

I still love rituals. And I still do many of those wellness habits. But not religiously. 

I listen to my body and let it guide me towards what I need that day. Sometimes it’s stretching, sometimes it’s dancing, sometimes it’s just sipping coffee in bed. 

And honestly? 

This approach leaves me feeling so much better than my 10-step morning routine ever did.

Mistake 3. Ignoring the Mind–Body Connection

For years, I focused on the physical side of wellness—nutrition, fitness, and sleep. But I rarely stopped to check in on how I was actually feeling.

If I had a headache, I reached for supplements. If I had gut issues, I blamed fiber. If I couldn’t sleep, I tried to biohack it.

It wasn’t until I started studying nervous system regulation, somatic practices, and emotional processing that it all clicked… Our body and mind are in constant conversation. 

Chronic stress lives in the nervous system, not the head. And it affects so many of our bodily processes, like digestion, hormones, sleep, and immunity.

Wellness is not just about what you eat or how often you work out. It’s also about how you breathe, how you speak to yourself, and how you process emotions.

Because the truth is: you can’t bio-hack your way to health. You have to feel safe within your body before you can heal.

Mistake 4: Comparing Myself to Wellness Influencers

I’ll be honest. I used to get sucked into the reels of wellness “influencers.” My Instagram feed became images of people drinking celery juice in their silk robes and doing ice baths before dawn.

So naturally, I thought, “That’s what wellness looks like.” And naturally, I copied it. 

I bought the supplements. I followed the routines. I even tried to replicate one particular influencer’s exact day.

But guess what? It didn’t work for me. In fact, it made me feel worse as I was constantly comparing my real, messy life to someone else’s curated content. 

My experience is not uncommon. In fact, various studies have linked social media use with body dissatisfaction and anxiety, especially in women.

This doesn’t mean you have to delete all your accounts. But you do need to be mindful of what you are consuming, and how it is consuming you.

When scrolling, take only what inspires you and leave what doesn’t. Unfollow anyone who makes you feel that your wellness routine is not enough. And focus on how practices feel in your body, rather than how they look to others.

Because an effective wellness routine is one that is authentic, not aesthetic.

Ready for Your Own Wellness Reset?

There’s one more mistake I didn’t share here, yet it’s the one that took me the longest to unlearn.

Discover what it is and how to overcome it in the full video episode on YouTube:

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And if you’re ready to ditch perfection, reconnect with your body, and feel like you again…

Join The Reset—a free 5-day challenge to help you clear the mental noise, reconnect with your body, and build rituals that actually feel good.

Because wellness isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.

Resources:

• The Reset Challenge – FREE 5-Day Challenge To Reclaim Your Energy, Focus & Mindset
• The WellPlanned Method – Master Your Goals With The WellPlanned Goal Planner
• My Free Class for Health Coaches: How To Build A 6-Figure Health Coaching Business Using One Signature Program
• Dr. Kim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkimfoster/

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