In spite of his list of successes for 2015 he’s determined he’ll never again sacrifice health and family to make it happen.
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The year 2015 was one of my most successful. However, the lifestyle I lived to produce the results was very unhealthy, and could lead to serious health problems.
Those that follow my articles know that in 2015, I finished my MBA. I did it while simultaneously being a dad, husband, a new entrepreneur, and highly active blogger. There were deadlines all the time. I was stretched thin. I was constantly running on overdrive. There was no peace. There was no rest. It was a chaotic state with moving parts that were in constant motion.
I was an absentee father as I had to spend lots of time away from my family on the weekends and at night doing school work and working on my business. I felt guilty about that.
In order to cope with this lifestyle, I turned to some pretty unhealthy habits.
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My new business and the inconsistency of my paychecks put financial strains on my family, causing me a lot of stress. On top of that, I was scammed by a business partner. While it rocked my world, I compartmentalized it and quickly moved on. I had to. There was no time to do anything else.
I grasped to maintain control, always on the edge of it being too much to handle. A few times I went over the edge. Panic attacks are no fun and anyone that has ever had one can totally relate. Then, I got diagnosed with high blood pressure. I even had an emergency room visit after an episode of chest pains.
In order to cope with this lifestyle, I turned to some pretty unhealthy habits. I’m sure that if I were to continue doing them in 2016 and beyond they would surely result in my early demise. When I ask myself what I will do differently in order to both build on my success and live a long and healthy life, here are the things I know I need to change.
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I’ll Pace Myself
Living this lifestyle caused me to gain thirty-five pounds.
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I worked way too much, often 12 hours a day. I worked weekends. My work-life balance was a major issue. In order to get everything done that I needed to, I often worked well past midnight. Working that many hours can cause tremendous amounts of stress. Studies show that people that work too much are at least twice as likely to develop depression. True success has to be managed like a marathon, not a series of sprints.
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I’ll Sleep More
To be healthy, they say you should get seven to nine hours of sleep at night. I was getting about four to five hours a night. Lack of sleep can lead to all kinds of serious health problems, heart disease, stroke, irregular heartbeat, and in my case, high blood pressure. Working when I should have been sleeping was literally causing me to work myself into an early grave.
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I’ll Sit Less and Move More
With all the hours I was logging working, I spent way too much time sitting in front of a computer. I’ve always been an active person. Living this lifestyle caused me to gain thirty-five pounds. That kind of weight gain can cause all sorts of health problems. And it did! This year I will play more tennis, take more trips to the gym, and go on more hikes with my family! Studies show that people that exercise regularly live longer and are generally happier people.
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I’ll Cut off My Dependence on Caffeine
Here’s to leaving behind the habits that threaten our future!
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To stay and work as late as I did, I drank insane amounts of coffee. While there are certain health benefits to drinking regular amounts of coffee, drink too much can have repercussions on your health. So I won’t say I’d quit drinking coffee, but I wouldn’t let myself use it as a drug just to keep going.
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I’ll Make Better Fuel Choices
I ate late at night and often whatever was around. When I was tired I often made very poor choices in my diet. Poor dietary choices contributed to my weight gain. I don’t need to expand on the type of health problems people are overweight can have.
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I’ll Stay in Touch
I mostly ignored my friends in 2015. Friends are amongst the most important relationships we have. Not having friends can have severe mental health issues. Note that most of the people that commit mass shootings are often referred to as loners. Here is my phone number: 970-692-3270. Call or text me if you need to talk.
While 2015 was a huge year for my career, the lifestyle was unhealthy and unsustainable. Making changes for me in 2016 isn’t an option, it’s a must. My MBA is done and the first year in my business is in the books. I’ve moved on and my life is headed in a healthy direction. My family is simply too important to me to continue living the way I did in 2015. Here’s to leaving behind the habits that threaten our future!
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Photo: Getty Images