Let’s Chat About Leadership…
This blog series appears on Tuesdays, and focuses on resources that I use as I pace my ability to continually strive for my greatest effectiveness. Leaders get things done. In order to accomplish this objective, it’s important to have the necessary skills and systems in place. I have tried many things over many years and have settled on what’s simple, reliable, and consistent.
- Foundations: Clarity of purpose and outcomes, and equipping oneself for excellence;
- Relationships: Building and maintaining healthy and effective relationships;
- Systems: Tools and processes for leading and empowering transformation; and
- Balance: Managing multiple priorities and managing self.
Each resource I blog about is one I have tested and used personally. I do not make money on these referrals unless specifically stated in the post.
Today’s resource:
Exercise
© Martinmark | Dreamstime.com – Running Photo
According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise is good for us in the following ways: Exercise controls weight, combats health conditions and diseases, improves health, puts the spark back into your sex life, can be fun.
I know these benefits are true. I also know that exercise allows me to be a better leader in the following ways:
- Exercise helps dissipate the effects of stress: Leadership is stressful. That’s an unavoidable fact, so we must deal with it. Running is my exercise of choice. My body temperature rises, I eliminate toxins from my system chemically and emotionally, and I can relax after a 2-3 mile run. This allows me to refocus and approach whatever is causing my stress from a fresh perspective.
- Exercise is time for prayer and meditation: I do not carry a device that puts sound into my ears. I appreciate the sounds around me and the smells and temperature nuances. I clear my mind of any programming or pre-set thoughts. I allow God’s healing presence to fill my mind and spirit. It’s a personal alone time with my creator. I am in a state of gratitude and open for receiving inspired thoughts.
- Exercise is brain stimulation: I allow time for prayer and meditation, and then allow time for thinking. Thinking is relevant to my day ahead. I’m able to think clearer because more blood is circulating through my brain. I can simply think about a problem and my brain begins to create solutions. It’s really quite amazing. I must sometimes stop running and dictate into my iPhone what thoughts come into my mind. There are so many of them and they come so fast, I can’t retain them all unless I find a way to record them.
A few years ago, I created a series of posts on running and leadership. Here are the links:
- Running and Leadership – Accountability
- Running and Leadership – Focus
- Running and Leadership – Getting Fit
- Running and Leadership – Goals
- Running and Leadership – Commitment
What benefits do you receive from exercise?
Hugh Ballou
The Transformational Leadership Strategist TM
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