Orrie Markfeld is a fitness entrepreneur and founder of DadBod Fitness. He has been in the active lifestyle space for more than 15 years and has dealt with a vast amount of situations that can lead to stress and burnout.
In this article, he gives his take on dealing with stress and overcoming burnout as an entrepreneur
Avoiding burnout
Burnout is one of the most common results of stress. There are so many uncomfortable situations that individuals will encounter daily. When the brain is confronted with one of these, it will send out stress signals and put the body in a heightened state of sensitivity. This reaction is a pure biological evolution. However, in the modern-day economy, feeling constantly stressed can lead to other disorders like a disruption in sleep patterns, anxiety, and total burn out.
Orrie recognizes that burn-out can occur as a result of many different factors. For him, one of the simplest and most effective ways to avoid burn-out is to prioritize self-care.
“Whether it’s work, family, school, or something else that beats you down, self-care allows both your body and mind to recover,” he comments.
Overcoming Stress
As a fitness expert, Orrie understands the importance of conserving the body’s states and staying healthy. Prolonged stress can definitely compromise the health of any individual and give way to sickness and a general lack of energy. Orrie has three simple steps that he follows regularly to overcome stress and deal with uncomfortable situations.
Step 1 – Eat quality foods. Food does a lot more than just fill your belly. Food is fuel. On a deeper level, quality food can allow your body to recover from the daily grind of life.
Step 2 – Sleep! Sleep does a lot more than just make us feel refreshed in the morning. There is an obvious connection between sleep and physical recovery. This mainly has to do with hormonal changes that occur in our bodies during the night. Without adequate sleep, we don’t recover well, we have increased midnight cravings which ends up in weight gain.
Step 3 – Exercise. Workouts don’t need to be long and drawn out, having you spend hours in the gym. 15-20 minutes of quality movement can go a long way in helping you burn some of that pent-up energy leaving your body feeling refreshed and reinvigorated.
Know What is Important
Success can be as much a function of hard work as it is of having direction. Setting definitive goals and then pursuing them fully is a great way to avoid getting distracted and derailed.
“My goals as a father have certainly changed from what they were in my 20s. Now, I do what my body needs rather than what I want. I stay active and healthy for my kids. I want to enjoy every possible moment with them and show them the beauty of being able to move your body and express yourself physically in different ways.”
Orrie has these final words for anybody trying to succeed in life, despite dealing with burnout and anxiety.
“Socrates said it best. You are what you repeatedly do, so excellence isn’t an act, but a habit. Start with one small habit at a time. Regardless of the goals you are trying to achieve, creating bulletproof habits will hold you accountable to yourself.” – Orrie