To Your Health, Part I
Last fall, I received a submission from someone in the mortgage industry who wishes to remain anonymous about an article he wrote about the effects of one's personal health can have on their business. The article contained many interesting and important points, but was so long I had to break it up over several issues of Origination News, with the intent to run an installment at least every other month.
However, with print space being at a premium, I have not been able to keep to that schedule. So I am posting the article online, but for those who missed the four installments which already ran in print, I am going to run those first. Contact information for the writer is at the bottom of the article.
Here is part one:
If you’re not healthy and don’t feel good, how can you possibly run an effective business? Here are few ideas for you to help improve your physical well-being.
• Stress/Exercise—We all know if we don’t get your stress out, it will show up in your work and life in the form of frustration, a short fuse, headaches, poor sleep, difficulty concentrating, etc. And how can anyone run a business with all of that baggage?
We all know we’re supposed to get cardio exercise three times per week, even a short 30-minute walk, preferably while the sun is up so you’ll also get your Vitamin D from the UV rays. (Yes, the sun helps us make Vitamin D. If you don’t get enough sun, you’ll be lacking Vitamin D). We all know our bodies were made to move, but many of us sit all day. When we don’t move regularly, we will be guaranteed to have problems.
Problems lead to illness and disease, which leads to time with the doctor, which leads to high medical costs. The best thing to do is take some sort of exercise class at set times, for example every Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m., and pay in advance so you’re less likely to skip class since you’ve already paid. (Hate going to the gym or jogging? Me too.)
So do something you enjoy that’s physical like join a soccer league, play pick-up basketball, take a ballet class, etc. Find a sport or physical activity you enjoy.
Bottom line: If you’re not sweating at minimum three times per week for about 30 minutes each time, that’s a problem.
• Stretch and Breathe—Stop for a second and think about the fundamentals of how you body works. Blood carries the oxygen you breathe to all of your muscles, organs, brain, etc. If your blood isn’t circulating to all parts of your body, guess what? You’re suffocating those areas from lack of oxygen. Not good.
Initially, you won’t notice it the effects of not stretching and breathing right. But over the years, you’ll start to notice it in the form of stiff muscles, poor posture, inflexibility, back pain, etc. So to address this, on your non-cardio days do something like yoga, palates, or tai chi to stretch, breathe and/or relax. Yoga is great because it gets that oxygen everywhere in your body, in all the little nooks and crannies that typically don’t get good circulation. Moreover, it strengthens muscles to prevent atrophy. (But yoga is just one way. Anything that strengthens and stretches muscles and gets circulation to all parts of body will work.) Another benefit of having excellent circulation is that your immune cells, your white blood cells, are more mobile and get around your body quicker. So if you are exposed to virus, bacteria, etc, your immune cells can rush to that site and kill whatever it is and you’ll rarely get sick. And if you do get sick, you’re quicker to get better. (Guys, get over that yoga is just for girls. You’re missing the boat.)
• Water—We all know that inherently we need water to survive and stay hydrated. (And we’ve heard we should drink eight glasses per day.) But beyond that, why is water so important?
One reason is to help keep your body’s systems and organs working properly and to flush out your system and filter toxins in your blood. Example: If you’re not well hydrated, your liver and kidneys, which help to filter and purify your blood (amongst other things), won’t be able to. If your blood isn’t well filtered, you may have unexplained health issues and prevent your systems from working at full efficiency and capacity.
Drink purified spring water if possible, instead of purified municipal city water that has been over-processed and sanitized. Who knows if there’s a difference, but just my two cents.
I’m convinced that if you follow the ideas on this list, you’ll feel better, inside and out, and be more successful in your business.
If you need help staying on track with diet, exercise, health, etc., we’re happy to help. Email us at healthybroker@yahoo.com and we’ll help keep you on track.
