Is Exercise Your Most Powerful Personal Tool?
Having been through a difficult couple of years with having my mother suddenly passing away, changing career tracks not once but three times to finding the courage to leave an abusive relationship I can tell you there is no magic moment or hidden solution that will make all of your problems disappear. Lately though when I speak to someone that has just experienced a loss in their life, be it a person, relationship or even a career, I usually give several key pieces of advice.
1: Be kind and forgive yourself
2: Who is your support network and reach out to them
3: Get physical
All three of these areas are important but getting physical, as in getting physically active, is the one area I am the most passionate about and see the most results from. Physical activity is the most important tool you have to help you heal and overcome most obstacles and let’s face it the costs are minimal if you simply just want to go for a walk.
Regardless of what situation we find ourselves in, we need to remember that it is only temporary. What is happening to us may hurt but the discomfort is usually something that happens inside of our heads. Our bodies are there with us as well but we often don’t use it as a way to heal what is going on inside of our mind and soul. When we are in discomfort and pain we often neglect or forget to use our bodies and the result is we are left dragging our unmotivated asses around and it impacts everything else around us. Our personal lives further suffer and so do our careers feel the negative consequences as well. Our ability to handle stresses or to stay focused begins to diminish and our quality of life will start to take a drastic turn for the worst.
Go slow but steady.
If you are not normally a very motivated or active person don’t run out and sign up for every exercise class you can think of nor buy a lifetime membership to the nearest gym. Start by incorporating the exercise sessions per week and see the impact it will have. What your exercise routine is may not be as important as you getting out there and working on those sessions. Plan a lunch hour walk instead of eating at your desk. Attend a yoga session at your local park make time for a weekend ride on a bicycle. This is not about the physical changes although they will happen over time as well. Simply getting out there and being more active shows up in how we move, how we stay focused on things or people around us and even in the patience we show our children. Our work-life changes for the positive as we become more productive and contribute more and people will notice those things. If things are stagnant at work and you are thinking of changing careers or are looking for a career getting physically active will give you that confidence to apply for that job you didn’t think you were qualified for.
Relationship suffering or are you having trouble finding one? Again start working on yourself physically and see what happens. I am not talking about trying to obtain the body of a fitness model but just getting active and trying to look your best for your age and who you are. This will give you a natural confidence boost to put yourself out there more and remember it is your body that shows up for that blind date too.
Feeling stuck or pissed off? Take a hike.
We all get pissed off from time to time. Our ex’s have a great way of knowing when to poke the bear if you will and the kids can push our buttons some days as well. That annoying coworker that has that nasally voice or seems to cough and clear their throat one too many times are prime examples of things that can annoy and frustrate us. When I get like that I like to get up and go for a walk or find a quiet space and do some yoga. It doesn’t need to be very long as I have found being physically active for even 30 minutes can bring clarity and peace to big questions. For the next serval hours after I have exercised, I am more present and I contribute more. While my ex-wife was busy letting her firefighter control her life I would simply get up and go for a walk and return half an hour later in a much better mood and more confident in my decision to walk away from our marriage.
Stop looking in the mirror!
Remember that this is not about losing a whole bunch of weight or having a perfect body but rather it is about working out your whole self. Remember we all have bodies and they are made to be moved and are built for motion. When we incorporate movement or exercise into our daily lives we begin to change how we look at things. Our perspective on our lives and our problems changes and you will find the most dramatic life changes happen when accompanied by exercise. When I stick to an exercise routine I feel my body responding and it’s like it’s telling me we got this now bring on the rest. This is where I find myself growing and changing and becoming a better person all around. Our lives do not grow when we spend hours with our shoulders hunched over looking at job app on our phones nor can we find the love of our lives by simply swiping on Tinder. Our careers and our personal lives grow when we bring our whole self to the table and this includes our bodies as well. Exercising has helped me to stretch and see myself as a stronger, smarter person and I carry this into everything I do. Remember the body, and you were made to be active
