Carolyn Hansen: Fitness equates to success in all areas of life

Personal fitness is, without a doubt the greatest discipline, preparing you mentally, physically and emotionally, Carolyn Hansen writes. Photo / 123rf

Opinion

If you think you can’t afford the time to hit the gym because of demanding work and personal activities, and appointments filling your busy schedule, it’s time to rethink. Whether you live for your work or work for a living, managing your health and fitness is critical and can make or break your success.

The truth is, if maintaining a successful life and career are important to you, you can’t afford not to work-out because research proves that there is a direct correlation between fitness and success. In other words, being physically fit improves your life on all levels.

Personal fitness is, without a doubt, the greatest discipline on earth. It prepares you mentally, physically and emotionally. You will be ready to handle and tackle the demands of a professional life and you’ll be prepared to be successful in all other areas of your life.

Let’s face it, it takes lots of energy and stamina to get through the demands of our busy modern days. Successful people know this. They love starting their day with an abundance of energy and are aware of the direct relationship between healthy fitness levels and their productivity. They know that jump-starting their day with a challenging workout is key to increasing productivity and the source of their high energy, self-confidence and self-esteem. Both stress and fatigue levels are reduced, stamina and energy increases and the ability to solve problems is enhanced.

Since stress is one of the leading energy drains that people experience daily, the better you are able to manage your stress levels, the more energy you’ll tend to feel and that results in better productivity. These are not frivolous claims. They are scientific fact.

Taking responsibility for your personal fitness levels results in healthier eating, too. Being in tune to your body, you’ll care about and be much more aware of the foods you are putting into your body.

Proper exercise is a “hormonal heaven”, releasing endorphins that lift and improve mood while strengthening the immune system. You’ll benefit from the release of serotonin – the “happiness” hormone/chemical. If all this isn’t enough to entice you into regular workouts, then possibly adding seven years to your lifespan will.

Those who are physically active and fit live approximately seven years longer than those who don’t. So, if longevity is important to you, healthy fitness levels are mandatory. An improvement in your fitness levels is an investment in yourself, you can never lose. You’ll look better (even your posture improves), feel more energised and radiate vitality, passion and purpose.

Developing and improving your health and fitness is a great stepping stone towards making more serious changes in other areas of your life. If you can develop the discipline to stick to your workout routine, keep challenging yourself to do better and not allow excuses to derail you, you’ll feel empowered to do anything!

Creating self-discipline, achieving goals, sharpening the mind and treating the body with respect are all excellent attributes to cultivate - and fitness is key to them all. Over time, fitness discipline can even change the trajectory of your life.

Without a doubt, ongoing studies reveal that financial and career success are all linked to health and fitness levels. Those who succeed in building their fitness levels up and taking care of their bodies are most likely to succeed in other things they put their minds to. Taking the time to tend to your personal fitness level and nutrition has many payoffs when it comes to business success. In the end, better fitness means better health and better health means better business.

Ask any successful business person what their secret success strategy is and nine times out of 10 you will get this answer – “fitness”. They understand that “fitness comes before success!” Fitness is what stimulates and feeds their energy, stamina and drive. It keeps their minds sharp, allowing them to make important business decisions with clarity.

No matter how you phrase it - “successful people are more fit” or “fit people are more successful” - the writing’s on the wall. Fitness equates to success in all areas of life.

Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness.