Healthy Lifestyle: Relevant to a successful career

The holy month of Ramadan is almost there, let’s take the advantage and talk about our some key aspects of human life. We all aspire to lead a successful life and we plan accordingly by way of studying hard and preparing ourselves for the best professional careers ahead. In pursuit of all this, we generally tend to neglect one of the fundamental aspects of our own lives i.e. our very own health. Many of us take health for granted as if it’s given for good and it doesn’t require any attention. Thus, we ignore it while we run after success and money. During the course of earning big money and getting more and more success, we have seen many professionals do not really look after themselves i.e. they get into habit of eating anything and everything or overeating (look at Point 2 below) and sometimes bad social habits that start with smoking and gradually they get into drugs and alcohol assuming that these things will help increase their efficiency and creativity and keep them energized but on the contrary, they destroy their own health and subsequently their family life. 

Keeping good health isn’t a one-time gig. We need to constantly pay attention to it, nurture our health to lead a healthy lifestyle. In the current pandemic, where most of us work from home (WFH), the demanding schedule of a corporate professional hardly has a break, which can have a negative impact on one’s health. Below are five tips for a healthier lifestyle. After all, how good is success if your health doesn’t allow you to enjoy it?

1. Exercise & Meditation: A Daily Routine

Let’s bear in mind that as human beings, we are a combination of two prime things: Body and Soul. An important thing to note is that health doesn’t only mean to take care of our physical bodies.

Daily workouts keep our minds fresh and try and make yourself happier. Maintaining a positive mindset and outlook is a major key to success. With all the obstacles and challenges we face daily; any edge should be welcomed with open arms.

The spiritual, mental and psychological aspects of our health are also equally important. Neglecting our spiritual and mental well-being while only taking care of our physical health will not give us the desired results that we are hoping for. One needs to connect with the divine. It’s the hunger of the soul. Similarly, if you are not mentally feeling alright, success in your life will fail to give you proper fulfillment and happiness. Many of us are very successful in life while being the most depressed and tormented individuals. 

2. Healthy eating habits

The month of Ramadan should be the most gratifying period in our lives to realise how blessed are we having good and quality food to eat and share the same who can’t afford the basic food items. 

Eating healthy is one of the easiest ways to lead a healthier life, and even the smallest changes can make a huge difference. E.g. giving up soft drinks and replacing it with plain drinking water is one of the fastest ways to reduce your sugar intake and lose weight and keeping your skin fresh.

Rather than eat out or order in for iftar, eat a home cooked nutritious meal. 

3. Unplug and relax

Regardless of what you do for living, work is stressful everywhere - there is no denying that. If you don’t spare time to relax and unplug once in a while, you will suffer an extreme case of burnout. Many employees think they have to work nonstop and put in grueling hours. That's true, but you have to know when it's time to relax and recharge. Your body and mind tell you. All you have to do is to listen to yourself. 

Carve out time in your weekly schedule to devote to a hobby. Family time is also a great way to escape and unplug, read a nice book or articles that can help you grow in your career, watch a movie or do anything else that relaxes you. Also, don’t be afraid to take a vacation when its due. Leave your fears behind as what would happen when I am not a work. Trust me, sky won’t fall. The time away can be very beneficial - some of our best ideas come to us during vacations :)

4. Stick to the routine

Keeping a regular schedule is great for staying on track and holding yourself accountable, as I learned from getting up at 5 am every morning. When your day is mapped out and you know exactly what needs to get done, you will see yourself completing tasks quicker and crossing tasks off your to-do list at a rapid pace.

The hardest part is just doing it – after a while, your body becomes accustomed to your routine, making it easier as time passes. If you practice, your day would start at whatever time you choose without an alarm clock as our body gets used to the routine.

5. Manage your stress

Stress is almost impossible to avoid in corporate sector, but it can be managed. It’s important that you learn how to control and don’t let it impact your mind and decision-making process. Not only is stress bad for your personal health, but it can also negatively impact your work and family. 

“Stress can ruin relationships clients, both current and potential, if you let it. Stress is the last thing your business needs, so learn to manage it and keep it at bay during important times,” suggests Brian Greenberg, founder of True Blue Life Insurance. 

Stress doesn’t diminish with more success, as many would like to think. The bigger the position one holds in the corporate life, the greater the stress he/she goes through and it’s never going to disappear entirely, so learn how to manage it as best as possible.

Last Word  

To summarise, let’s understand that faith is and should be equally important in our lives and it is neither restricted in time or space, nor necessarily bound in a place of worship. Faith resides within ourselves. Be it a short prayer or a mental exercise or whatever form of spiritual and mental relaxation, let’s make it part of our daily lives.

Having a positive outlook on life will also help us to keep a good mental state. It is often challenging to be optimistic in the face of adversity, but with a positive outlook on life, it becomes easier to mitigate the challenges in our personal and professional lives. Having emotional stability will also help you to manage your health and success. Being smart with your relationships and your social presence will also boost your mental state.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and on our official website. Also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan. At Evolve HR, him and his team thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.