I believe adding fitness to your daily routine will give you the tools necessary to succeed in any avenue in your life such as business, career, and relationships. In my personal experience, the habit of exercise has made it easier for me to succeed in different areas of my life. It’s universally known that exercise is good for you. You look better, feel better, and have more energy when you exercise. The benefits of exercise go beyond physical. When Financial Planner Tom Corley surveyed 233 wealthy individuals, he found that 76% of them exercise at least 30 minutes a day. It’s mentioned in his book Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: Strategies that Transformed 177 Average People into Self-Made Millionaires.
Perseverance: Exercising teaches you perseverance. When you have a certain fitness goal, you may run into setbacks like injuries, fatigue, and bad workouts. By continuing your journey to achieve the goal, you’ll get into the habit of moving past obstacles. This habit transfers into other aspects of your life. Things won’t always go smoothly when you’re running a business or in a marriage. Consistent exercise teaches you to take the good and the bad so you can keep moving towards what you want.
Patience: Exercising teaches patience. The more you do it, the more you enjoy the process. Building a business or relationship takes time. The reason a lot of people don’t achieve their goals is a lack of patience. Nothing happens overnight. By being patient and enjoying the process, you’ll be surprised about how fast you achieve the goal. One day you’ll wake up with your goal achieved and you won’t know how it happened so fast. Most people don’t go into the gym for the very first time with the ability to squat 300 pounds with good form. Oprah didn’t become a billionaire the day after her first audition.
Discipline: It takes discipline to achieve greatness for any passion you have. Discipline is a trait you’ll develop when you make fitness a part of your daily life. It takes discipline to say no to that piece of cake. It takes discipline to go to the gym when you had a long day at work or barely slept the night before. The discipline it takes to avoid distractions to build a great body is something you can take with you to achieve any great feat. When asked by The Dallas Morning News how his workout routine reflects him, Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban said “That it doesn’t matter when I do it. That I will find a way to get it done, I think, reflects how relentless I can be in the business world as well”.
Recharge: Exercise is a great way to recharge your batteries. This is the energy boost I mentioned before. Moving your body puts you in the state of mind that you need to get things done. During an interview with The FourHourBodyPress fortune 500 CEO Richard Branson said “ I definitely can achieve twice as much by keeping fit, it keeps the brain functioning well”. Exercising also allows you to handle stress. Exercise allows you to get away from the daily stresses related to work, finances, and relationships. Another way exercise gives you more energy is by reducing stress. How much energy will you have to work on your goals if you’re constantly upset or worried about something? According to the Anxiety And Depression Association Of America “ Exercise and other physical activities produce endorphins which act as natural painkillers and improve your ability to sleep “. Endorphins are feel good chemicals that get sent to your brain. You can’t feel good and be stressed at the same time. One thing to remember is too much exercising will increase stress and reduce your energy. The key is too stimulate your body and not annihilate it.
Confidence: Nothing great can be achieved without confidence. Working out has given me new levels of confidence in the things I can achieve in life. This goes beyond the confidence you get from looking good. The true confidence is from taking on a challenge such as gaining 10 pounds of muscle and achieving that goal, sometimes even exceeding your expectations. Seeing the amazing things you can do with your body opens up the possibilities for the things you can do in your overall life.
Sources:
Barker Garcia, Leslie. “Profile in Fitness: Mark Cuban Keeps up with Athletes around Him.” Dallas News, 12 Oct. 2010, www.dallasnews.com/life/healthy-living/2010/10/12/profile-in-fitness-mark-cuban-keeps-up-with-athletes-around-him1.
Richard Branson Interview with FourHourBodyPress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFjgMKwpz_k
“Managing Anxiety.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety.
Corley, Tom. Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: Strategies That Transformed 177 Average People into Self-Made Millionaires. Itasca Books, 2016.
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