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You Are What You Eat In Your Career

Written by coachingforcareers  |  26. June 2006

How do you feel today? Do you feel good with lots of energy? Or, do you feel drained and unable to get into the day? How you feel at work is directly related to what you put into your body. Had a cup of coffee with 2 spoonfuls of sugar and a donut this morning? In a few hours you will be exhausted. Had fast food for lunch? In a few hours you will be exhausted. Had a pint of ice cream after dinner last night? This means you woke up exhausted. Many people treat their cars better than their bodies. Would we put bad fuel into our cars? The answer hopefully is no. So why do we put less than optimum food into our bodies? What you eat affects your power, passion, the title you have, the money you make, and the energy level in your career. If you do not feel good inside, how can you expect to perform well on the outside? Being healthy at work is difficult. We reach for sugar and caffeine to start our day because we are tired. Maybe, we pulled an all-nighter. Maybe, we have been pushing hard to make sure a project succeeds. Maybe, our boss or co-workers are driving us crazy and a piece of chocolate makes us forget about it for a while. And, what about the cake that goes along with birthdays and other celebrations? The candy on the desks of co-workers we pass by numerous times every day? The fast food that gets ordered in during lunch or dinner meetings? The non-stop chocolate fest that runs from Thanksgiving to New Years Day? Unhealthy choices overwhelm us constantly. Plus, "junk food" tastes good, so this makes choosing healthier alternatives a challenge. So, How Can You Improve Your Career By Eating Better? Follow These Four Steps: 1. Decide To Eat Better This is an important first step. Many of us do not want to give up our great tasting treats. Some of us can't even imagine ourselves without these foods because they get us through the day. And, half of the time we may not even realize what we are doing. But, what about the other side? What happens once that momentary pleasure passes and you are left with the side effects? Feeling tired, jittery, or wanting more. Food gives us a feeling of elation. In the moment, we feel great. Afterwards, we don't. We know the cycle needs to stop, but we do not know how to stop it. The cycle of unhealthy eating can stop once you recognize what you are doing and decide to stop it. 2. Plan To Eat Better Because unhealthy food choices surround us, the way to better eating is good planning. If you know you will be working through lunch and your boss is ordering pizza, request that a salad be part of the delivery. If Bob is taking orders for breakfast, choose egg whites or whole wheat toast. If you will be in your car all day for business purposes, pack healthy foods for the ride. If you know you get hungry every day at 3 pm, keep a few healthy snacks in your desk in anticipation of this time. If you have to look for healthy choices when you are hungry, you will have a hard time finding them. Healthy choices will not be found at the gas station when you stop for gas, at the vending machine, or in the cafeteria. Eating healthy is important for your mental and physical well-being, so plan ahead. 3. Eat Better You are sitting at your desk. You are staring at an apple. You don't really want this apple but you feel like you "should" eat it. What will you do? Throw the apple in the garbage and hit the vending machine for chocolate covered peanuts? Or, eat the apple because you know you will feel better AND you made a promise to yourself that you would eat better? In our careers, we come to certain points when we know that if we do not do something different, then the outcome will always stay the same. This is one of those moments. Are you tired of feeling tired? When the answer is yes, your food choices will change. The way to eat better is to eat better. The place to start is your next meal. The beginning (which requires change) is tough. But once you form new habits, you will not want to go back to your unhealthy ways. 4. Make A Change In Your Career Now that you feel better, use your newfound energy to create a career you really want. So, what do you say? You only have one life to live, so it might as well be a life you love!

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