"Tip of the Week" - You Have To Get Healthy or It's All for Nothing

This really is about being a solo, I promise. (and some of my favorite bloggers out there...please take note..you know who you are.)

The joys of going solo are all about freedoms (wiith hard work, of course.)  And it is very easy to lose sight of our health, trapped in unhealthy patterns we can't seem to shake.  No time for exercise, food on the fly, the pounds keep creeping up, we are perpetually exhausted and the day never seems to have enough hours.  Everything else seems more important.  And we put ourselves last.  This is the truth.  I've been an entrepreneur for most of my professional life and I understand the issues faced.  But this past year I had a few scares which ultimately proved to be nothing, thankfully, but I heeded the wake up call.

So, recently, in keeping with my 'practice what you preach' philosophy I decided to grab hold of (those extra rolls!) all my excuses and put them in a nice little package and throw them in the trash can.  If I don't take time for my health why am I bothering to work so hard if I won't be here for my son or my husband?  Well, at least here in a meaningful and participatory way.  And, yes, I want to live and work and play and travel this world until I'm one hundred...or more! But entrepreneurs say they don't have time to take care of themselves.

So one month ago I enrolled in a very cool program (no, this is not a 'sell' on the program.) and have ' very healthfully' lost 15 pounds and I'm not done yet.  But more importantly all those nasty dangerous numbers associated with glucose and insulin and cholesterol are in the healthy 25 year old range.  Yeah!

My preaching is done.  I want to introduce you to a great site I found called Mark's Daily Apple. Well, we are lawyers and have analytical minds.  Chances are when we understand the 'why' of doing something we will make changes to accomplish the desired end result.  This site really talks about what's going on, the pharmaceutical industry and why we don't want to become slaves to medicine, and how you can make reasonable and responsible lifestyle changes to the way you live which will put more of the living back in you life with a healthier mind and body.

I love this great information about why we don't exercise:

The reason is because the baby boomer generation is the first generation to learn about the need for exercise. Our parents didn’t exercise. Sure, there were the Saturday rounds on the links for Dad and Mom played tennis with the ladies at the country club from time to time. Or there was the occasional evening constitutional or family camping trip. But exercise as a way of life? A daily habit? A necessity? It just wasn’t in people’s consciousness. Take a look at old male and female movie stars whose bodies were adored in their time - John Wayne didn’t have a six-pack. Miss Monroe had plenty of curvaceous heft. The silhouette was enough - nobody was sculpting, toning and defining back then. Sports were for fun, walks were for digestion, and activity was for stress relief, but the thought of daily exercise? Unheard of.

It makes sense to me. Our parents’ generation was really the first to be fully “modern” - ladies keeping house in middle-class suburbia and office-going gentlemen in the ubiquitous gray flannel suits. These are huge generalities, of course, but I think they’re largely true. It wasn’t uncommon at all for our parents to have been raised on a farm - until the 1930s, most families were still connected to agriculture or heavy labor in some way. But our parents weren’t farmers, and even a blue collar union job at GM was fairly mechanized. We simply weren’t raised to be active.

So, the Boomers are the product of at least one generation that didn’t work out. It’s taken us a few generations to realize that the hard labor Gramps put in on the family farm was probably really good for him. We don’t live that way anymore, so yes, we do need the gyms and fitness videos and exercise gear. And change is hard. Really hard.

In addition, the Brazen Careerist brings us more reasons why we need to do things for our health,

It used to be that working out was optional. Now we know that regular exercise makes you calmer, smarter, happier, and richer. So how can you possibly say that it's not one of your highest priorities?

It makes sense that if you feel better about yourself and the world you'll do better in business. Because business is about thinking clearly, acting with confidence, and making good connections.

But don't work out just because people who work out make more money. Do it because it'll change your outlook on life. Really. You'll be less likely to be depressed and more likely to be optimistic.

Yes, this post may seem like a divergence from Building A Solo Practice.  But is it really?  Not at all.  You are the product and if the product is not healthy or fully functioning, how healthy will your practice be and how long will you be running it?  Besides, take care of yourself and you may just grow new brain cells!

Comments

[Grant D. Griffiths]

You are exactly right Susan. And there are those of us that are actually listening!!! And yes, we know who we are.