Financial advisors have been telling us for years to pay ourselves first. That just means that before we pay the bills and make purchases, we put some money away for our future.
Well, guess what — that advice works for fitness, too.
The biggest excuse I hear from people — and my biggest excuse for many years — is “I don’t have time to work out.” As Tony Horton would say, “Bull-loney.” (Yeah, his humor is corny, but I enjoy it.)
It’s trite but true that we all have the same amount of time and it’s just a matter of getting our priorities in line with our goals. Well, if you think about it, unless one of your goals is to set the Guinness record for sickest human, fitness can help you achieve every goal you have.
How’s that work? Take a look at some examples.
GOAL: Be a better parent or spouse. You can’t excel in those roles if you are always sick or unable to move properly.
GOAL: Get promoted. Plenty of studies show that attractive people get preferential treatment in every area of life. You know this intuitively. Isn’t your day just a little nicer if the cashier at the grocery is attractive? (I know it’s not just me.) If someone makes a dumb mistake, aren’t we more likely to overlook it, if we think the person is attractive? (Politicians bank on this.) Get fit to be more attractive and you are probably more likely to get that promotion.
GOAL: Be more mentally alert and nimble. Working out definitely helps keep your mind in shape. “Memory retention and learning functions are all about brain cells actually changing, growing, and working better together,” says John J. Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Exercise creates the best environment for that process to occur.”
GOAL: Reduce stress. Exercise helps tremendously with this not only by releasing endorphins, but also by giving you a break from the daily grind.
GOAL: Be healthy. Physical fitness — the ability to perform physical activity — is one thing, and it allows us to move around freely without assistance, but health — a state of being well and without disease — is another, and there is no question that being fit leads to being healthy by improving the heart and blood vessels, lowering cancer risk, building stronger bones, accelerating weight loss, keeping diabetes at bay, and more.
With all the ways that fitness impacts your life, with all the ways that fitness helps you achieve just about every other goal you may have, shouldn’t you find the time to prioritize your fitness? Pay yourself first.