From Burnout to Balance: The Minimalist Workout Routine for High-Achievers and Thriving Entrepreneurs 💪🏾
From Burnout to Balance: The Minimalist Workout Routine for High-Achievers and Thriving Entrepreneurs 💪🏾
Issue #45: Mastering Health and Balance with My Simple Exercise Plan, Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset, Forget the failures; remember the lessons.
💡 Here are 3-tips to help you learn, grow, and be inspired this week!
Learn: Mastering Health and Balance with a Simple Exercise Plan.
Growth Tip: Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset.
Inspiration: Forget the failures; remember the lessons.
⏱️ Reading time: ~3 mins
🎓 Learn
We don't realize it, but as entrepreneurs and high-achievers, we are like athletes. We need to stay fit: physically and mentally.
If you ask anyone, they will likely say health is their #1 priority.
On achieving health goals, some do extreme and eventually will burn out, and some are waiting for the right time to start.
I can tell this from my own experience.
It was 2009; I worked tirelessly for 14-16 hours each day to grow my business. By 2014, I hit a breaking point - overwhelmed, stressed, and burnt out.
30% of entrepreneurs struggle with depression.
One day, I collapsed on the roadside while riding my motorcycle and woke up at the hospital.
I was only 28 and terrified.
It was a wake-up call.
I went to the Himalayas for 10-day mediation retreats. During those 10 days, I built a great healthy routine: push-ups, walking in nature, meditation, and yoga.
After the return from the retreat, I was excited about taking charge of my health. And set a few extreme health goals, signed up for gym memberships, hired a personal trainer, etc. It worked and felt good for a few months, but then situations in life and work started to take over the priority, and going to the gym for 2-3 hours a day didn't pass the sustainability test.
Health is the #1 priority for me, but as an entrepreneur running a multi-million dollar business, leading a team of 120 people, and following my other interests like reading, writing, and traveling are also important for me.
I wanted to maintain the balance between my health and other interests.
Therefore, I have designed this very simple, easy, and quick workout routine that keeps me fit and in shape without compromising my other goals and fits well in my busy, unpredictable, and on-the-move lifestyle.
My simple workout plan will disappoint you:
If you are looking for an exercise plan that transforms your health in 7 days.
You strongly believe that the only way to take care of your health and fitness is by going to the gym for 2-3 hours every day.
You are looking for some magic formula, plan, or pill that will make you healthy overnight.
But If you are an entrepreneur or a busy professional who wants to stay healthy and would like to try an exercise plan that fits well into your busy routine, and can do it anytime and anywhere. Also, if you trust in the power of consistency, then this exercise plan will be great for you.
1/ Push-ups
Push-ups are a convenient exercise that you can do anywhere. They don't need equipment or a gym membership. You can also adjust them to meet your physical ability or target specific muscles. Push-ups may seem like a basic exercise that works only on your upper arms and chest, but when you do them correctly, they use muscles all over your body, including your Stomach muscles (abdominals), Hips, and Legs.
Push-ups offer many health benefits, including:
Burning calories
Protecting your shoulders and lower back from injuries
Improving your balance and posture
Improving your flexibility
Improving your performance in sports and athletic activities
I do 20 pushups every day. And I’ve been doing it for 3 years.
2/ Yoga
Yoga is known for its ability to soothe tension and anxiety in the mind and body.
Researchers studied a small group of sedentary individuals who had not practiced yoga before. After eight weeks of practicing yoga at least twice a week for 180 minutes, participants had greater muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardio-respiratory fitness.
And the best part, you don't need any fancy equipment besides a yoga mat (or even just a towel), and you can do it anywhere, anytime.
I explained why yoga is essential to my minimal health routine in this issue.
I do 15-30 mins yoga 3x week!
3/ Walk
Walking is good for your physical health but is also good for mental health and brain performance.
Stanford researchers found that walkers performed significantly better on tests measuring creative divergent thinking during and after walks. In fact, walking boosted creative thinking by an average of 60%, and the benefits lasted well beyond the walk itself.
There are two types of walk I do:
Learning Walk: I'll listen to an audiobook or podcast during this walk. These are the walks with my Dog or commuting to a place which is < 25 mins walk.
Thinking Walk: During this walk, I'll allow my mind to enter Scatterfocus mode for creative thinking and problem-solving.
Key Takeaway:
John C. Bogel, Founder of Vanguard, said:
Please underrate neither the majesty of simplicity nor its proven effectiveness as a long-term strategy for productive investing.
“Simplicity is the master key to financial success”.
Both health and wealth goals need to think from a long-term perspective. And Simplicity and consistency are secrets for any long-term success.
🚀 Growth Tip
Carol Dweck, a prominent psychologist and researcher, is known for her work on mindset theory. According to Dweck, individuals with a growth mindset believe that their abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, perseverance, and learning. In contrast, those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities and intelligence are fixed traits that cannot be significantly improved.
Read this article on Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset. It will help you learn the importance of the growth mindset and the pitfalls of the fixed mindset.
🤩 Inspiration
When something doesn't go as expected, don't worry about the failure, but never forget the lessons you learned from the setback.
👋 Anil
May the growth be with you! 🪴
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