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Not having enough energy and vitality is a pricey expense you can't ignore.
6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The majority of entrepreneurs think time is their most valuable currency when in fact, it's energy they should treasure the most. Time is most definitely a finite resource, but the true value of how you use this time is held in how it’s invested.
Time wasted is cheap, especially when it comes to your business. To wisely invest and allocate your time efficiently and effectively, energy must be abundant.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs' energy levels are running on empty, and it’s costing them everything, ranging from personal health to stagnating in business to not being present for their most important relationships in life.
Entrepreneurs who want to ignite their business, move at a faster pace, make a bigger impact, and get the highest results out of life can bring these things to fruition starting with these five habits.
Related: 5 Ways to Increase Your Energy, Health and Happiness
1.Create a personal philosophy to navigate life and business.
When it comes to creating more energy and exploding your business, the most important task is to create your personal philosophy which enables you to quit wasting precious mental energy on the things that don’t serve you or your business.
A simple way to construct a personal philosophy is to start with the end game. How do you ultimately see your health, life, relationships and business? Create a philosophy and vision for each area, and be honest.
I personally took a day to write out a personal manifesto about who I was becoming and what my standards were when it came to the various facets of life.
When you create your philosophies, you’re able to move at a much faster pace in life because making decisions comes down to whether it aligns and brings you closer to the ultimate end game or not.
2. Build a fortress around your mental and emotional real estate.
When people ask me what are some of the biggest reasons for entrepreneurs struggling with their health, the initial expectations are to mention nutrition or lack of exercise. But in actuality, one of the biggest energy drainers and obstacles to better health is a lack of personal boundaries.
To truly become the best entrepreneur and human being possible, it’s essential for you to become more selfish so you can fill your own bucket up. I equate this to putting your own oxygen mask on first in case of a plane crash. You can’t deliver your most impactful work when your bucket is only half full.
Guarding your mental and emotional states begins through developing a mental and emotional playbook to help you navigate the various terrains of life. What’s your system and rules for vetting people and opportunities? How do you determine what’s a yes? How will you handle family, coworkers and friends?
Take a few minutes to think and brainstorm the most common things that could drain you mentally and emotionally. Afterward, write down the root cause of the situations and then a solution for handling them.
Related: How Do You Match Up? Entrepreneurs Reveal How They Sleep, Eat and Start a Business
3. Move often to keep a healthy and sharp brain.
When you train your body, you train your brain. Cognitive fitness is especially important for entrepreneurs due to the unique nature of the job. Important cognitive traits such as memory, attention, sensory perception, language, learning, motivation and other executive functions are all improved through exercising due to increasing your brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is "Miracle-Gro" for the brain as Dr. John Ratey describes in his book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
As an entrepreneur who wants to grow your business to new levels, stress will be a likely companion. Without a way to manage this stress, your health will start to decline. Unmanaged stress levels can lead to mood issues, anxiety problems and blood pressure issues among numerous other things which all equate to a decrease in your cognitive output.
However, through exercising, you’re building up a defense system that makes you more resilient to potential illnesses, along with growing more BDNF, which in turn sharpens your intellect. Improving your cognition doesn’t require crazy workouts. Simply moving your body for 20 minutes will lead to you reap some of the benefits.
4. Prioritize sleep for maximum creative output.
Though we live in a “hustle-centric” society, sufficient sleep is the necessary connective tissue that must be present in order to reach you peak performing state. A lack of sleep, or even consistent low quality sleep, makes you less creative, less productive and less resilient to daily stressors.
Just as you stuff a blender with an assortment of vegetables and fruits, think of your brain in the same manner while you’re dreaming (REM sleep) and blending your memories from the day. In the presence of sufficient sleep, your brain is inundated with numerous figures from the day -- random facts, financial numbers and personal matters then mesh with your existing knowledge, leading to a better and smarter version of you the next day.
It may be tempting to try to skimp on sleep, but play it safe and stick to the 7-9 hour range.
Related: Neurons in Your Brain Wake You Up and 16 Other Unexpected Things That Are Stealing Your Sleep
5. Fuel your body and brain with the necessary minerals and vitamins.
If you go to the movies, you’ll see a perfectly polished film with the main actors garnering the spotlight. While the main actors get the spotlight, it’s the supporting actors and background people who truly make or break the movie.
This same process is how nutrition operates. You hear about protein, carbohydrates and fat. But while they’re important, it’s your micronutrients (i.e. the supporting actors and background people) that truly make or break your health and energy levels.
Micronutrients consist of minerals and vitamins which positively contribute to areas like problem-solving and numerous executive functioning behaviors. To effectively eat in a way that is both healthy and provides ample amounts of energy for your professional life, aim for a diverse nutritional strategy where you’re eating across the color spectrums for both fruits and vegetables.
It's tempting to keep learning about sales, marketing and other business tactics. But, you can only go as far as your health and energy reserves will take you.
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