How Investing In My Personal Well-being Helped Me Reach Corporate Success

Wellness is such a buzz word these days. Taking care of yourself needs to be a top priority. I know that you may feel stressed and overwhelmed with work, family, friends, or other commitments, but at the end of the day, your health should be your most prized commodity.

My theory is that an individual's personal wellness must be a top priority in order to achieve one's major corporate goals. Not only do I teach this method, but I live it too. Every. Single. Day.

I make a conscious effort to prioritize my health and well-being in my daily life. As a competitive athlete and avid runner dedicated to a strict fitness and nutrition regimen, I participate in ongoing marathons and IRONMAN 70.3 competitions across the globe. And of course, when I am not competing, I spend my time training and fueling myself for the next race. Following this routine has strengthened and nourished my body and mind in numerous ways and I reap the benefits of it every day. Over the next few months, I will embark on several major races. In September, I will be running a Marathon in Capetown, South Africa. Then in October, I am going back for my second year running 55 Miles through the Serengeti in Africa. This time I will bring along a mentee, friend, and Olympian, Veronica Day. Last year when I did this run, it was one of the most incredible and life changing experiences that I have ever had. Speaking with the young girls there was eye opening and I learned just as much from them as I hope they did from me. Embracing the open terrain and being with my thoughts as I ran was incredible. The self reflection and how I was able to push my body to the edge with such a strenuous run is something that I had trained for so year after year.

To keep the momentum going, in November I will be running in the TCS New York City Marathon. And then in December, I will be completing an IRONMAN 70.3 in Cartagena, Colombia. I did not always compete in these types of races, however, I worked up to it through rigorous training sessions. I was sure to put my health and wellness as a major priority. I needed to. With all of the travel and stress of managing a global team, wellness needed to take precedence. The emails can wait, your health cannot. Something very serious to consider.

Being conscious of my health not only benefits my body and mind, but my corporate life as well. I have completed many races this year – all of which helped me stay focused in my personal life and in the office. Following a schedule and setting goals when training and competing fosters an organized and centered mind when I am at work. I can focus on what I want to execute and achieve. The cadence of training is very similar to the way that I operate in the corporate landscape.

Similarly, I attribute many of my most prized leadership qualities, including motivation, perseverance and a stellar ability to navigate the daily struggle of balance, to an active and healthy lifestyle that is the impetus for day-to-day accomplishments. I first learned how to motivate myself to prioritize my well-being and how to persevere when training becomes a challenge. I worked to find a balance that fit my lifestyle. Then I was able to transfer those skills that I learned to helping others. After all, if you cannot take care of yourself, you cannot take care of your team.

These are just a few of the reasons why I choose to make my health and well-being a top priority. Now the question is how do I balance this choice alongside corporate ambition? How do I find the time and motivation? One way that I am able to do both is that I actually do much of my business strategizing while working out. I am able to let my mind think about business while my body focuses on my wellness. It also helps that training gives me a sense of fulfillment. I want to exercise because I like the way I feel afterwards and I am happy with what I accomplished. This translates to the business side of things as well, the sense of completion.

Schedule your fitness into your calendar. If it's on the calendar it is real.

Set goals. Reward yourself when you make progress, whether it's with a new outfit, new running shoes, or a pedicure that you have been dying to have. Treat yourself.

Make time to move. Choose a fitness goal and obtain it. Whether it be running a 5K or a marathon. Every time you train you will become stronger.