Yesterday I wrote about how The Power of Full Engagement was one of the best things I read in business school.
The biggest reason was because reading this book reminded me that pretty much everything begins and ends with our health.
At the time, I was nowhere near the unhealthy monster that I found myself about 18 months ago now, but it was still a down period all things considered.
It was a wake-up call of sorts.
A reminder that physical engagement drives everything else in our lives.
It’s hard to be cheerful when we feel bad.
It’s hard to be a good husband or father when we feel like trash all the time.
And it’s impossible to summon our best mental energies when simply moving through the day is exhausting.
The evening I started reading the chapter on physical engagement, I went running at midnight. I figured no more time to waste.
The book goes on to explain how we build mental, spiritual and emotional capacity in the same way we push our physical boundaries. We must regularly expose ourselves to stress beyond our normal limitations. We must endure short-term pain for long-term growth.
These lessons were never clearer than when I found myself at that crossroads last year. In reclaiming control of my health, I lost 55 pounds and completely changed how I spend my free time.
As my physical energies returned, my mental and emotional capacities regrew as well.
And in the process, I might have stumbled upon my true purpose as well.
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