Work-Life Harmony
Remember we looked at how Work-Life Harmony was made up of 5 segments of a pie that ideally all get some focus. As Business Owners, the Financial and Career parts of the pie can consume most of our time.
The Physical part of Work-Life Harmony is often the most neglected as long hours and advancing age mean we don’t move as much as we used to, at a stage of our life we need to most.
Benefits of Moving Regularly
Being physically active can improve your brain and heart health, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.
Crucially, it also has physiological benefits. As Tony Robbins says, “Motion creates emotion.” Changing your physiology, or movement, means changing your mental state and breaking your negative patterns. Great physiology, therefore, leads to great emotions, and that is one of the keys to getting unstuck. Foster a positive mental state and get unstuck by changing your physiology!
Here are some suggestions if you want to build a habit of movement in your day…
Walk!
Start with walking: Repetitive movement that is simple and easy. Walking as a form of movement is immensely beneficial. We know that walking has immense benefits for your mental health. Walking can improve cardiovascular fitness. Increasing the amount of time you spend moving on a daily basis is correlated with living longer.
More so, walking is associated with better brain health and function. In a study, participants that walked more than 4,000 steps a day had healthier brain tissue than participants who had walked less than 4,000 steps a day. Walking is an easy box to tick off. Take your calls while walking, walk around your office. Take time outside of your desk and chair to get up and WALK! Getting a dog that needs walking daily could be the incentive you need to move!
Join a Class
If you have no injuries and are comfortable in a group setting, classes hold a different kind of value. As a business owner, life can get lonely. Outside of knowing other business owners through an organisation like BNI, it is great to grow your social network by joining a group class. There are group activities like yoga, pilates, dance, aqua aerobics, indoor cycling and group strength classes that we as business owners can take advantage of. Classes are designed for you to just show up.
As business owners we already have enough going on in our heads, outsourcing the planning of movement is an easy win. Make sure you speak to a professional, so you know which class is right for you.
Sport!
Social sport is amazing! Camaraderie, friendship, competitiveness. Everything a business owner may crave, without the risks of a business itself. Sport plays an essential role in our lives. Take the current FIFA world cup for example. Sport tends to bring people together. Engaging in your favourite sport is one way to bring focus back on yourself and get a little healthier at the same time.
Don’t forget, the older we get, the better we once were! Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the World! Again, you may need to get professional advice before taking up Senior Cage Fighting.
Summary
There are innumerable ways to get healthy. Finding the right one for you is important. Making sure you are focusing on your physical health will ensure that you can show up for your business in the best way possible.
Make sure you get some movement in during the week. You can start simple and see how it affects your life. Good luck!
