Sadly too many business owners today fail to see the connection and more importantly the benefit between physical and mental fitness. However, accepting that a healthy body will lead to a healthy mind is as important to business success as is paying attention to the numbers and hiring the right employees.

Staying fit is not an easy task for todays business owner given their busy schedule, poor eating habits, high stress, sedentary life style and lack of exercise.

Understanding these things is not the issue but doing something about them is. Smart business owners understand that business success is greatly enhanced by being physically fit and mentally alert. Many also understand that the two work very well together. However, the smart ones follow a regimen for their physical/mental health just as they follow a plan for their business.

What follows are four habits that business owners can use to stay physically fit thus enhancing their mental alertness:

Develop and follow an exercise program

All business owners understand the time crunch that comes with leading and growing a business. Setting aside time for regularly scheduled workouts can be difficult, and blocking out two hours at a fitness center is next to impossible. So the answer can be interval training workouts where you have a short but high intensity exercise regimen like running, walking, biking, weights, swimming or any combination of these for 40 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week.

Remember that the best exercise you can do is what you will do.

Get the proper amount of sleep

In order to make the best business decisions, it is important for business owners to be well rested. Getting a good nights sleep is vital to your emotional state and to your thinking process thus enhancing your creativity, confidence, leadership and decision making.

Have a healthy diet

Here, it is important to remember that you cannot exercise off a bad diet. Eating right is not about dieting, but instead, it about staying away from the wrong foods. The right foods include proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, eggs, natural fats and healthy oils. There are a lot of recommended diets from which to choose for a healthy lifestyle.

It is equally important to stay hydrated with water. Getting your nutrition intake right is very important to your overall health and physical appearance. The old saying is true "we are what we eat."

Recharge your brain through meditation

The rest your brain will experience during meditation, or creative daydreaming, can give you a spike in your energy level. This actually can lead to a decrease in your anxiety, fear and stress levels. This can be particularly helpful during those times when you have to make a critically important business decision.

Everyone will agree that the healthier we are the better we feel about ourselves, our job and our company and the better we feel the more effective we can be.

It isnt enough for business owners to want to be healthy just to achieve business success. Business owners should want to be physically and mentally healthy so they can better enjoy the fruits of their labor and life in general.

Dan Short is a Certified SCORE Business Mentor. SCORE is the nations largest provider of free business mentoring services to small businesses and start-ups. Savannah SCORE was named the 2019 "Mid-Market Chapter of the Year". To schedule a free business mentoring/coaching session with an expert Savannah SCORE business mentor, go to savannah.score.org and click on "Find A Mentor" or call 912-652-4335.

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Ask SCORE column: The link between fitness and success - Savannah Morning News