What good is success if you don’t have this?

August 13, 2010  |   Posted in Blog, health   |   View Comments  

I posed the question recently to my community on what sage advice would you give a new entrepreneur and I got countless replies focusing on business skills, delegation and education… However, this reply from Lisa Claudia Brigggs (or @IntuitiveBody on Twitter)  particularly stood out because of the fact that no one had mentioned it and it’s often something we overlook…

And it dawned on me that many new entrepreneurs rarely put health or self-care on their to-do lists and we overcommit ourselves to being… connected, either at a computer or a smartphone… but at WHAT COST?

So for those who find themselves either struggling with:

• going to the gym
• daily discipline
• those who THINK about taking care of themselves but really don’t
• and those who sometimes forget to make their health a priority (I’ll admit that I’m sometimes all of the above!!)…

…. here are a few tips to make it easier to take care of YOU…

Because, what good is success if you are don’t have your health?

10 min of physical activity 3 times a day is much easier than 30-45 minutes on a treadmill if you are having a hard time getting to the gym. Use an egg timer. Also, when in small chunks like this, it’s easier to get a sense of accomplishment. I like to either jog in place or do yoga. Now this is NOT this is a valid substitute for the health benefits of pursuing and maintaining an active lifestyle or being fit and healthy.. This is just for people who are struggling getting ANY physical activity into their business lives.

We’ve heard it before – our bodies have got to get water. I know, I know… BUT, let’s be honest – if you are not a big fan of drinking large quantities of water (like me!), try sipping 4 ounces of water every 30 minutes instead of 8oz of water 8 times a day. Try using a reminder on your computer or phone.

If you are constantly in front of a computer or desk, you are probably straining your neck forward and not moving for minutes or hours. Let’s be realistic now – many of us are seated online for large chunks of our day. Right now, stretch your neck to the right…….and try looking up at the ceiling, feel the stretch? Nice, eh? Next to the left. Try standing and stretching out your fingers and arms. How about your legs? Sometimes its amazing how achey my joints are when I realize I’ve been sitting for hours. What about you?

Again, something it seems people are not  eating frequent meals. This is important to our metabolism as well as our overall well-being. I like to snack on trail mix. While it’s not the BEST choice of a well balanced meal, at least I’m fueling my fire with something…

What suggestions do YOU have to make it easier to take better care of our bodies in this new… somewhat more sedentary and hyper-connected world?

Here are 4 helpful resources for you that I really enjoyed:

• 22 reasons to be healthy
• How to exercise while sitting at your computer
• The effects of sitting in front of your computer for too long… (great diagram)
• Stand up for your health – Physiologists and Microbiologists find link between sitting and poor health