Take care of yourself!

The Struggle with Everyday Tasks

Have you ever noticed that you struggle to tie your shoes? As if it’s hard to breathe when you bend over. I’ve been there several times in my life. You know what I did? Absolutely nothing. I didn’t realize that my health was affecting my entire life. Others might have caught it, but I didn’t. I didn’t notice anything other than I didn’t feel as good as I used to.

Making Healthier Choices

Health is something that we have full control over. We can choose water over soda. We can choose salad over a candy bar. We can choose to eat better; the fact is that we often don’t want to. Many times, we use sugary foods as a crutch. It’s our way of making it through the day—our elixir of life, if you will.

Hey, I get it. I’ve been there before, and guess what? I’m there now.

One of the things that I have discovered is that the way I eat and the way I feel are directly associated with my performance. Before I ventured out on my own, just God and me in the business, performance wasn’t as important. Now that I depend on my health and drive to stay alive and pay the bills, I have noticed that a small workout really helps my energy level for the day.

So do yourself and your career a favor: make sure you get some sleep and take care of yourself. Don’t pour yourself into anything ever!

The Importance of Exercise

Exercise is another key ingredient to a successful day. If you just walk from your house to your car, then to the office, and sit most of the day, then walk back to your car and back to your house, where you sit and watch TV for the evening, you won’t feel very good about yourself. There are different types of people: those who work out and are super buff, those who are overweight and know they can’t feel good, and those who are mostly healthy and happy with their bodies.

I usually fall somewhere between the unhealthy and the almost happy with my body categories. I know that I could be better and that I could work out more, but I choose to be happy with the way God made me. When I feel like I can’t breathe when I tie my shoes, I know that I need to step it up a notch.

Suggestions for Exercise

Find something that you like to do. For me, it’s running (I hated running as a kid but now I thoroughly enjoy it). Start with once a week and find about 20 minutes to exercise. If you feel better, move it up to twice a week. Soon you will be doing some sort of exercise every day of the week.

Eating Right

For eating right, you can do a few things as well. One is to keep a case of water in your vehicle. I prefer to use reusable water bottles and make sure I have one in my truck every day. If I have water, then I don’t want or need anything else. Make it a challenge with yourself—no one else needs to know—but see how long you can go without soda or an energy drink. The longest I have gone was five years, and that was the best I have ever felt about my body. Also, order a salad at the restaurant instead of a burger. That has been a huge success for me.

Tips for Better Sleep

Be like the birds: when the sun goes down, think about finding a great place to roost for the evening. Then, when the sun comes up, you’ll be ready to go. Don’t pride yourself on how late you can stay up; pride yourself on how great you sleep. Set your alarm and don’t hit snooze. The second the alarm goes off, slide your feet out of bed and hit the floor running.

Taking Time for Yourself

The last thing that I have to say is to make sure that you set some time aside for yourself every day. It can be tough, especially with a family and work, and everything else that life throws at you. However, if you don’t make it a priority to have a few moments of peace where you can unwind, then you will end up in the doctor’s office in no time. Stress and worry are the number one killers of people today. Take a few moments and turn off your phone so that you can really take a break. The world can wait 10 minutes for you, trust me.

The Bottom Line

You only get one body, so take care of it. Don’t fill it with junk. I once had a teacher tell me, “You are what you eat.” I didn’t used to put much faith in that, but now I see that they were right. If you eat a bunch of junk, then you feel like junk. But if you keep a healthy diet full of fruits and veggies, then you feel so much brighter and ready for the day.

God gives you one life and one body; you had better take care of it. Not to mention it will help your performance at work and throughout life. If we don’t take care of ourselves, who will?