In 1956, famed radio personality and motivational speaker Earl Nightingale wrote, "The Strangest Secret is that we become what we think about." The genius behind that statement is that back in 1956, he did not have the knowledge we have now about the inner workings of the brain and yet his observation is in fact pretty accurate.
Mention investing and most people think you were going to talk to them about money. When it comes to investing in our health however, very few get excited about the prospect and the return on investment (ROI) seldom makes the headlines in The Wall Street Journal. As is apparent by the state of our national health, very few are making the investment. So why should your company, or any company for that matter, invest in a health and wellness program for its employees? Following are three big reasons why your company simply can’t afford not to.
We've all heard the expression, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Due to the competitiveness of businesses, we as consumers have choices and because of those choices, it is reasonable to assume that the choices we make are based on what we feel is best for us. Companies invest thousands of dollars into their marketing and advertising campaigns with the sole purpose that we the consumers finds their particular products or services to not only be the best, but perhaps even too good to be true. It's competition at its best and we wouldn't want it any other way? Or would we?
One of my favorite sayings is a Chinese proverb that says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” As a fitness professional, I am always working with those who are highly motivated or who are seeking to be motivated. But what exactly does it mean to be motivated and is there a difference between those that are and those that are not? The answer is really quite simple: those that are successful have taken that critical first step.
It should come as no surprise by now that sitting for prolonged periods of time is poor for our health. One of the many negative effects of sitting is a compromised posture. Poor posture can cause several obvious pains but has also been linked to feelings of depression, energy loss, and poor circulation. For many in today’s workforce, sitting for hours of the day is not only necessary, but a requirement of their profession, so getting up to move away and straighten up is not always easy. However, there are a few tricks you can use while sitting at your desk to help improve your posture.
A common misconception of the self-employed is that they have the flexibility in their schedules to do what they want when they want. While that is only partially true, it’s an unfortunate assumption the self-employed make for themselves as well. Sure, there are potentially greater freedoms and more flexibility in the schedule, but those who work for themselves are dependent on one and usually only one person to get the job done. Personal time is often sacrificed for last minute projects, client meetings and tight deadlines and all at the expense of their physical and mental well-being.
Times have recently been tough and there has been little to be confident about, but things do have a way of turning around for the better. While there are many things that are simply out of our control, there are few things in life that we have complete control over and those are usually the most important. Take your health for example. Even in a time of economic despair, one guarantee is that there is the opportunity to live a healthy life so long as you take control over the things that you can control.
It has been said that variety is the spice of life. Life is short; therefore, enjoy everything that you can, in moderation of course. Enter the world of mass confusion. “If I am to enjoy life, then what I am supposed to eat if I want to remain healthy?” How much exercise do I really need? How can I afford to take another day off from work? When and how am I supposed to get more sleep?” These questions and many others would be a welcomed addition to any trivia game show for their answers would be so outlandish that even the most seasoned trivia buff would not be able to answer them clearly.
At the time I began to write this article, it was hard to believe that all of the snow would ever go away; that spring would never come, and according to the groundhog, we were in store for another few more weeks of winter. But it then became more noticeable that the daylight hours had been getting longer and the birds had resumed their chirping in the morning. Even with all of the snow on the ground, a lot of melting occurred during the daylight hours. Spring is indeed coming and before long, outdoor activity will resume.
Why would anyone go into business if they thought they were going to fail? Despite the statistics of new start-ups that plunder in the first three to five years (two-thirds in two years, 44 percent in four years) not one of them would say they took the leap of faith because they knew they would fail. Failure is not a goal, at least not for anyone who sets out to do something they dream about. So why then do people try every new diet fad year after year when they know, or may be it is because they don’t, that they are doomed to failure?
Eating well is a daunting task enough. Eating well on the road is an even greater challenge. Even if you are one of the fortunate who has no to minimal travel required for work, the abundance of fast food and busy schedules that interfere with planning meals makes good nutrition seem almost impossible. Wrong! As in most things in life, it comes down to choice and personal responsibility. It has been my experience that has taught me that most are just the victims of poor information.
Injuries at work are common (3.7 million cases in 2008), particularly in occupations that require physical labor. But what about the white-collar folks? The desk jockeys sitting in front of their computer; the salesman driving in the car from client to client; the endless work traveler. Do these workers miss days due to occupational hazards? After all, does anyone really get hurt while sitting at a desk? Shouldn’t you have to lift something or be performing back-breaking exercises all day long to even have a chance at getting injured while on the job?
Affordability. In today’s economic state, it is a term that has become more commonplace in business than growth and prosperity. Businesses today are asking themselves: “Can we afford advertising? Can we afford to hire more staff? Can we afford to keep operating at the same costs and still turn a profit?” In a time when things may be grim for a lot of businesses, the only ones that are going to survive are the ones who make an effort now to turn things around. And to turn things around they need to focus on what’s most important instead of focusing on the negative.
No pain, no gain. For decades, this was the accepted mantra of those who competed in bodybuilding or power lifting events, which was then passed on to and assumed by the general population as the only way to exercise to improve health, lose weight, or change the shape of their body. As years of research and a better understanding of the effects of exercise on the body have shown, the “no pain, no gain” theme is not really fair or accurate. Or is it?
