LET’S TALK PHYSICAL
We all have that family member who eats a enormous plate of pasta, ribs, or fried foods, and promptly fall asleep in a chair watching the television. Heck, maybe your are “that” person in your family. You go into a “food coma.” Your body shuts down, because of the quantity and quality (or lack there of) of the food you just ate.
Last week I wrote about the importance of balancing the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health aspects of our lives, so we can navigate to our goals with ease and focus. This week, let’s zero in on how having better physical health can have a positive impact in fueling our journey to achieving our goals. I am not a doctor or any kind of medical professional. These are just concepts I have learned over time that seem to work. So please read with that in mind.
If you missed last week’s post, click here now and read it first.
Let’s face it, we all know that physical health is important. But most of us consider only the superficial influences of proper physical health. Many times we take it for granted. We put it off, claiming we don’t have the time to care for ourselves. It’s left for another time. We have other goals we choose to attain first.
This approach impedes our progress. Good physical health isn’t to be put in a box left for another time. It is an integral and interactive part of our daily lives and our ability to achieve. Sure, you can point to highly successful people who are in poor health. But you only see what they allow you to see. The reality is that our physical life tips over into all other aspects of our lives. Good or bad, it has a daily impact on us. It can lead to a longer happier life, or for some a shorter life riddled with poor health that permeates our daily living in a dramatic and profoundly negative way.
Diet: Eating the proper foods in the proper portions effects our mood, how we feel, how we move, our endurance, energy, outlook, and our body’s ability to fight off disease. I have yet to see the owner of a high end automobile fuel it with a low grade of gasoline. Yet that same person will ignore their own nutrition eating a steady diet of fried foods, pastas, and junk food. What you put in your body effects your body and your mind.
Exercise: It is common knowledge that just taking a walk once a day can help create a move positive attitude. It has been shown that exercise boosts our endorphin levels and thus improves our attitude. If you add some cardio to the equation, you also add more oxygen to your bloodstream and begin to burn calories. Exercising also helps give you a better night’s sleep. Who couldn’t use that? You don’t have time to exercise? Consider the fact that being in better physical health will make you more productive in all other areas of your life. What you lose in time spent exercising, you gain back in production and better sleep….AND YOUR”E HEALTHIER!!!
Sunlight: Getting the proper amount of sunlight each day can improve your mood dramatically. The happier you are, the more productive you are and the more likely you will achieve a higher level of success. Don’t believe me? Read “The Happiness Advantage,” by Shawn Achor. Happiness comes before success!
Dress: “It is better to look good, than to feel good.” ~ Fernando Lamas. Most people today are more familiar with Billy Crystal’s character from Saturday Night Live than they are with the actor, but the point remains valid. While I don’t believe “looking good” is a replacement for “feeling good,” how we dress does effect how we feel. Have you ever put on formal wear and felt a little bit taller and more sure of yourself? Maybe you even smiled wider. If you put on a gorilla suit, wouldn’t you be compelled to act at least a little like a gorilla? When you see a police officer dressed in his blue uniform, don’t you give him a little more respect than if you bumped into him at the mall in plainclothes? Dress for success and you will feel more confident, self assured, speak with more posture, and feel more worthy of your impending achievements.
When we feel better physically, we have a better emotional outlook, we are more comfortable in our environment, and believe we are moving in the right direction.
Believe you can achieve better physical health. Decide to make it a priority in your life. Take daily actions to improve how your fuel your body and mind.
Bearj Jehanian is a Maximum Potential Speaker and Trainer. Through a combination of inspiration and online tools, Bearj inspires his audiences to build a foundation of belief, to support a decision to act on any idea and bring it to completion. Believe, Decide, Act. You can find out more about Bearj here.