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Far too often, we place too much emphasis on the superficialities of fitness and neglect the other benefits.
Fitness possesses the ability to make us aesthetically more pleasing to the eye but more importantly, fitness helps us level up our life.
Specifically, focusing on your health can make you a better entrepreneur and high-achieving profession. Your health is directly correlated to the vitality of your business.
You may be thinking, “I’m already successful in my profession” or “I already have a successful business”—“why should I place more attention on my health if my professional life is good already?”
When you mention that your business is succeeding, is it operating at its highest potential? More importantly, are you operating at your best?
Most likely not.
Just as little cracks in the dam become a bigger issue over the long run, a lack of focus on your health will cause the same scenario. The issue might not show up in two weeks or one year, but eventually, the issue if left unattended will make its presence felt.
Here are a few areas of life where your health and business are directly correlated with each other.
1. Your energy levels
Running a business, being part of a startup team, or being a busy professional can take its toll on you. Some of us have employees, stores to oversee, customers, and a plethora of many more potential activities. Close your eyes and it seems your list of activities grows.
Besides your professional life, you still have a personal life which requires your attention. Every hour needs to be executed to its most efficient measure and that requires you to have an ample amount of energy.
More energy correlates to improved focus and an internal drive to execute on your much-needed tasks. If you’re overweight, inactive, and eat poorly—you won’t have the energy to carry forth.
You’re going to mentally wear down sooner and lose focus because all you can think about is your bed. Adopting a healthier diet and lifestyle leads to greater and more consistent levels of energy.
A study found that sedentary individuals who complain of symptoms of fatigue experienced an energy increase of up to 20 percent and decreased symptoms of fatigue by up to as much as 65 percent just by participating in regular, low-intensity physical activity.
You don’t need to be a bodybuilder, marathon runner, nor relegate yourself to a life of steamed chicken and broccoli—you just need to get your body in motion a little each day to help your professional life.
2. Your brand’s image
Your health, physical appearance, and presence provide the initial first impression for the world to judge you by.
You’re the public image of your brand. Even if you don’t have a business per se, you have a personal brand that needs to be taken care of. If you look healthy and have some form of general fitness, people will equate that to someone who is disciplined and consistent and thus able to accomplish goals.
How we look affects how our customers, interviewers, and day-to-day people we pass perceive us. You don’t have to be a fitness model, but you do need to take some kind of pride in the way you present yourself to the world.
3. Your decision-making
When you exercise, you’re not only training and toning your muscles, you’re training your brain for optimal power and performance.
When you’re working your cardiovascular system, you’re improving your memory and cognition which leads to improved performance across the board.
Exercising provides a positive outlet for releasing emotions that may be bottling up due to frustrations at work or stress in general. Releasing these emotions allows you to think clearer and make sound and logical decisions instead of decisions coming from irrational emotions.
4. Your self-esteem
Whether you’re in the early stages of building a business or going through a rough patch with your career, these types of times can lead to dark places. When you’re going through a tough time or presented with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle—the best thing for your psyche is to get a win.
Fitness provides the perfect platform to rebound with a small win.
Even the smallest of fitness victories can help restore your confidence and thus bolster your professional work esteem. Following through and completing one great workout can work wonders with your life.
Feeling as if you have control over something in your life (i.e. fitness) helps you to regain balance and clarity for taking back control of your professional life.
5. Your ability to handle adversity and obstacles
Succeeding in business is far from a guarantee. Due to past setbacks, emotional hangups, and various invisible scripts about why they can’t do something—fitness equals mission impossible for many people.
However, going after a fitness goal provides a challenge that pushes you to the limit physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
Often times, when someone accomplishes a fitness goal, their belief is restored. Therefore, fitness serves as a launching pad for them to catapult into greater success in all other facets of their life.
The word “can’t” is often used in fitness and if someone can break through that barrier, they feel as if many other doors can be open. Succeeding in fitness and being in control of your health propels you to greater success in all other avenues of your life.
Through fitness, you learn the importance of goal setting, consistency, and patience which are also essential ingredients to succeeding in business.
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Photo: GettyImages