Everyone knows there is a direct correlation between focus and exercise. We all know the benefits of exercise, but that just never seems to be enough to rally us on a daily basis to strap it on and get some exercise. We start, we stop. We join a gym and go for a bit and then we drop off. We buy books, tapes and equipment and they sit, sit and sit. So how do you break through? Here is how.
Never consider exercise a chore, or something that you have to do. Do children playing in a yard running around and having fun think their exercise is work? Consider exercise a haven away from all the thoughts and pressures of your day. This is your time. This is the time when you don’t have to answer the phone, call a prospect, or show a home. It is a time when you can listen to your breathing, stretch your muscles as your mind relaxes. You don’t have to go out there with the goal of running a marathon, or loosing weight at all. All you really have to do is to allow yourself some time to play at moving your body. Swim, dance, a long walk qualify as does a short walk of 20 minutes. You don’t need to compete, you need to enjoy.
The benefits to allowing yourself the joy of exercise are immeasurable to your work. With your blood flowing and your mind not racing because you have focused you can move through your tasks and challenges in the day with less frustration. It is a process, just like the calls you need to make, the postcards you need to mail. By allowing yourself to feel good each day, you remove the emotional hurdles than can easily block you as you start your day.
In full disclosure I have to say I am a huge believer in exercise. I went to a Division 1 school on a full athletic scholarship, but the ensuing years have taken a toll. I have gone long stretches with no exercise at all and watched my weight balloon 35 pounds. I have realized the first and most difficult exercise was to push myself away for the table and away from the sugar and the needless fat calories I so enjoy. I struggle just like everyone else, that is why I am sharing my thoughts today.
I made a decision this week and that is that I will find 30 minutes a day, every day for the remainder of the year to play at exercise. My only agenda is to show up every day. I have no other goal at all. I am going to buy no membership or equipment, just strap on my sneakers and stretch out my muscles. I will not measure anything other than the joy of doing something that allows me to fully focus on the difficult mental aspects of being an agent in today’s market. Come along with me and see how well you will feel by the holidays. Imagine what it might be to not have to go on a diet Jan 1, but to just consider that another day to focus through your ability to play in your own skin. Let me know how it is going.
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