As American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The first wealth is health.” Although these words were penned more than 100 years ago, they still ring true today, as we balance building successful careers without sacrificing our physical and mental well-being—all while being challenged by a global health crisis. So, what can we do in our daily lives to crack the code on becoming healthy, wealthy and wise? The answer is simpler than you think.
The first thing I do when I start a coaching session is to ask this question: If you could take a plane anywhere in the world, and on it were all the people you love, wouldn’t you want to make sure the engine on that plane was running properly? Wouldn’t you run a systems check before leaving the ground? Of course you would. For most of us, we go through life without ever running a check on our own bodies. And yet we expect our bodies to endure the ups and downs of life without doing a diagnostic. You don’t want to find out mid-flight that your engine doesn’t have enough fuel, just as you don’t want to learn all too late that your body and mind need attention, too.
As we go through life with the goal of building success for ourselves and future generations, we need to remember that we can’t have wealth without health. There are three things we can all do right here, right now to begin to take control of our health and find true success:
- Total immersion: Immerse yourself in a community of like-minded people who will hold you accountable for the changes you want to make. If you are trying to lose weight and get physically fit, surround yourself with people who are trying to do the same thing. Ask yourself: Are the people I am surrounding myself with boosting me up or taking me down? These are the people who will know how to help you remain accountable and celebrate the wins together.
- Get a Rosetta stone! No, not an actual Rosetta stone, but something that will give you the data and daily insight you need to make the changes you are looking to make. We can’t change what we don’t measure. And lucky for us we live in a time where technology is able to give us insights in real time. The market is full of wearables that give regular feedback on our health metrics. The number one biomarker of our health is heart rate variability (HRV). That tells us if we are aging slower or faster. Wearing a device that tracks even that one metric will determine if what we are doing and how we are living is making us age rapidly or making us younger.
- Get a coach: If you were trying to master a new language, the first thing you would do is get a tutor. So why wouldn’t you approach your health in the same way? A coach is an expert whose job is to watch and observe you, identifying ways that you can improve. A coach is a leader who walks with you on your health journey. They can see that turn in the road a mile ahead and divert you, if necessary. Quite simply, they help you get better.
If you can do these three things, you will be well on your way to building a body and mind that is ready to support true and lasting success. The road to success can be bumpy, as we all know. It is full of curves, unexpected bumps, highs and lows. But if we are fit in mind and body, then we are ready to take on the challenge and open the door to even great achievements.
Want to learn more? Visit SUCCESS Coaching and SUCCESS Health.
