For anyone watching my Instagram story posts, you’d notice that I have been on a radical lifestyle change in terms of health & fitness for the past 6 months. Yes, this started way before we broke into 2019, so this isn’t just a New Years resolution fad, and it’s safe to say it’s been going pretty well so far for the past 6 months.
Previous to this, I was eating sweets, smoking cigarettes and drinking black coffee for breakfast. I was still hitting my morning pavement runs but with little enthusiasm alongside the occasional home workout if I had time, but with little satisfaction. I wasn’t miserable, I just wanted ‘better.’ As you know, entrepreneurs need to be operating at 110%, with several studies proving that ‘Physical fitness is linked to Brain Fitness,’ and it simply shouldn’t be ignored. I personally want to feel as if I am mentally and physically strong enough to be able to head full steam into my day, and I figured out that the only way I was ever going to achieve this was if I were to change my lifestyle habits.
‘Physical fitness is linked to Brain Fitness’
Just like many of us, I wanted to see instant results and feel immediate gains straight away which just isn’t realistic but I also knew that if I were to be really serious about this, then in order for this to be sustainable, I had to slowly incorporate changes into my current lifestyle. For the first 3 months, I began fixing my sweet tooth, curbing my smoking habits and caffeine overload-difficult at which, however, I persevered. But, the most gigantic change I made was a further 3 months down came when I hired a personal training coach 6 days a week and actually started going to a gym. Now I really want to shine a light and highlight to you all how important physical fitness is when it comes to supporting our mental stability, and overall brain function whilst business building as an entrepreneur.
Here are 3 reasons why I believe physical fitness is key for leadership and focus throughout business building:
- Improves productivity levels. The harder you train, the higher the endorphin levels are that run through your body which boosts your feel-good factor. When you feel great about yourself, you feel as if you can take on the world and execute all those tasks at hand in pure brilliance.
- Builds resilience towards stress. Even the modest of exercising routines endured just three times a week will effectively elevate your mood and reduce your stress levels. Of course, no two people have the same temperament, so it is impossible to say that exercising alone is the key solution to living stress-free. However, exercise is a huge contributing factor to managing stress and plays a part in distracting you from minor day to day worries.
- Encourages self-control and discipline. Working-out will transform your bad habits, encourage you to develop a stronger relationship with decision-making skills, and give you the ability to curb your desires and impulses.
Give yourself a head start in getting set up for success by adding a little fitness to your current lifestyle. Don’t forget to avoid putting pressure on yourself and keep it realistic by adding mini-milestones and goals to keep you motivated. Fitness is there for you to enjoy, not to use as punishment, so keep it fun and mix it up a bit by grabbing a friend to join you from time to time.
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