You take time away from your business to go to the gym. Except while you’re there, your mind keeps nagging you with guilt: “The hours you spend lifting weights are hours you could spend working and growing your company.”
This is a common problem for high-achievers and entrepreneurs. We’re so full of ambition and enthusiasm to keep growing and scaling that, at times, doing anything that doesn’t directly tie to that mission can feel like a waste of time.
But the guilt often comes from a mistaken assumption that spending time to stay healthy is somehow the opposite of working. It’s not. It’s a vital part of it.
Think about all the work you have to do every week to keep your firm afloat, let alone grow it: high-level decisions, important meetings, overseeing leadership, final approvals… Now imagine doing all that while tired, nutrient-deprived, or in bad health. Not only would it take significantly longer to perform these basic requirements, but you’d be more likely to make mistakes while doing it. The work that usually takes an hour now takes five, and the final product isn’t even as good. The decision you used to make within a minute suddenly takes a full day of pondering. You’re making errors where you never used to.
Working out, watching what you eat, and getting regular sleep have long been presented as the things you do to look good. Hence, you associate them with vanity and feel guilty when you prioritize them. But looks are far from the main reason you should always find time to care for your body and mind.
You walk 10,000 steps a day because it’s proven to increase your life expectancy, not because it makes you look better. You strength train to reduce inflammation and minimize risk of injury as you age, not so you can look “toned.” You watch what you eat to avoid vitamin and nutrient deficiencies and decrease the risk of countless diseases, not to lose weight.
Looking good is a side effect of all of these activities. But the main benefits show up in your energy levels, overall health, cognition, and longevity: all things necessary for great leadership and A+ work performance.
If you lose your business, the worst thing is you have to start or work at a different one. If you lose your health, the worst thing is you die. I don’t know anyone who’s ever regretted working out, but I know plenty of people have suffered big consequences from the lack of it.
Business is a marathon, not a sprint. And you don’t run and finish the marathon sleep-deprived with poor fitness. Strong, smart, and competent leadership doesn’t begin and end at the office. It’s shaped by everything you do outside of it.
So if you truly want to take great care of your firm, you have to start by taking great care of the person running it. Fitness and business are not competing priorities. They’re all part of the same one.
