Millions of people around the world are feeling overwhelmed and drained by the pressures and the endless demands of work, family and life. They are stressed and lack the energy to fully enjoy their lives. Everything happens quickly in our modern world and the busyness fueled by advancements in technology and mechanization means we are always on the move and under pressure.
Like many people you might begin your day with good intentions to eat right and get to the gym for some exercise. But then minutes later you are rushing out the door on coffee alone, having decided you don’t have time for a decent breakfast. You instead tell yourself you will make up for it later.
When lunch time arrives your hunger has become urgent. Faced with a giant menu of nutritional time bombs there is no holding you back. You promptly slam down 1200 calories of something that resembles food but has little to no nutritional value in an effort to appease your body’s hunger demand and your dwindling energy.
Back at the office and work piled high, and stress higher, you begin the after lunch battle to stay awake and alert, focused and productive. You fight to keep your head up and your eyes open as your body diverts every ounce of energy to the task of converting your lunch for three into enough body fat to keep you alive in the wilderness for a week.
You arrive home exhausted, grab something to eat and promptly crash and spend the next few hours practically comatose in front of the television. This scenario is repeated day after day after day. Living like this is a slippery slope, a fast track that will spiral your health downward setting you up for premature aging and at risk of disease, maybe even one of the ‘big three’ heart disease, cancer or diabetes.
Look 20 or more years ahead in your life, and take a moment to think about what you are doing right today that is more important than your health, your future, your life.
What could be more important than you? If you are chasing success how can you enjoy that success without your health? You don’t want to win the race only to die on the finish line do you? That is not a definition of success; that is sacrifice.
How do you reverse this trend and get back on a better path so you can look after your health? Well, first you need a change of attitude. Taking some time out each day to strengthen your body with strength training exercise supported by healthy eating (not processed food, real whole foods) is an investment in your most precious resource: YOU.
When you are strong, healthy and alive with energy and vitality, you are more effective, more creative, more productive, more confident and more successful in all areas of your life. You are a better spouse, better parent, better son or daughter, better worker or better friend. You could think of it as a gift to those that love you.
Worth the Risk?
Many people mistakenly believe that they do not need to bother with proper exercise and think they can get away without it. But the bad news is you never get away without it as the human body requires it to remain healthy and well. Vigorous physical movement is the only way the ‘growth and repair’ hormones are stimulated to keep you healthy and disease free right down at cellular level.
You may think you are getting away with it as there are no visible signs of anything wrong with your health…for now. Life threatening diseases can take decades before they actually show themselves and once they do there is no cure.
You risk not only the length of your life but the quality of your life if you do not give your body the tools it needs to protect itself. These chronic ‘lifestyle disease’ that are epidemic in our modern world are conditions we give ourselves. A no exercise lifestyle is a major contributor to this situation. It is a real shock to think we give ourselves heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dozens of other villains.
Resolve to take some time each week to get a proper exercise program established in your life. Don’t waste time on activities that are not going to get you results such as low intensity, long duration activities like walking, jogging or cycling. You will get the most ‘bang for your buck’ with a strength training exercise program and one or two interval training sessions each week.
This is such an easy way to get that activity into our lives that our body so needs. Just 2-3 strength training exercise sessions of 30-40 minutes each week is all that is needed. You need to work the muscles directly – through their ranges of movement under an adequate load to keep them strong and toned. Strength training exercise does this and is so effective it does not take much time each week. Even two sessions done properly with the right amount of effort put into it does the job.
You can make time if you really want to, like all of us it is just a matter of priority. You may not have time you think for exercise but do you have time to be sick or disabled with injury? Probably not, but people who think they can get away without proper exercise all of a sudden find the time to rehab from their first heart attack or immobilized with an injury.
So, if you think time is your enemy it is time to re-evaluate your busy schedule and get rid of some of the less important things. You cannot pack your day full of ‘stuff’ that prevents you from taking proper care of yourself – your physical health which then also influences your mental and emotional health.
You are not going to be doing yourself any favors in the long run so make the changes today – it is time for you to change. The idea that you can swap your health and energy for success and achievement is a mistaken belief.
Health and fitness success and career success are not competing goals. They are not two goals they are one. Do not even think you can sacrifice your health and fitness for your success, as without your health what do you have?
You will benefit from this immediately with a reduction in stress levels and a new calm focus will take its place. Physical activity will rejuvenate and empower you and your career or business will benefit as you develop a stronger more energized body and mind. When your monetary, business and life goals are more in sync with your physical strength you will find you will be even more successful.
For more tools and resources from Carolyn Hansen to assist you in attaining your goals and achieving the success you desire in life, please visit:
You can train yourself for success or you can train yourself for failure, so, be your own coach and get yourself going.
