Career is linked to Overall Health

Health and career is related. Your level of job enjoyment impacts your overall well-being. Ever noticed how your body is linked to your profession? Have you ever paused to check in to see how you “feel” about your job? And when I say feel… I don’t mean what you think of your job. I mean how you feel.

So let’s leave the ‘thoughts’ behind for a moment. When you call to mind your ‘work’ what happens in your body? What do you notice, sense, or feel?

Do things tense up? Notice any aches or pains? Are you loose and relaxed?

As I write this article… I JUST checked in with my own body and guess what? My shoulders were raised so high they almost touched my ears! My back was tight and didn’t even realize it! So really… take a moment. Close your eyes and think of your job. What happens in your body?

Reflect back over the past year or so. How many times have you been sick? Or not even sick- but just felt lethargic or run down, maybe had a scratchy throat, maybe just a tension headache- how many times were you not in your ideal state of health? Now, I know… there can be many things that contribute to this. But for today’s purposes… just reflect. Is any of this work related?

Are you tense, tired, or stressed because of your job? Do you have pains or aches because of work? Is something on your mind that is making your health unsettled? Sometimes we are so rushed and hurried we don’t even put two and two together. We just move on past, brush it off, and take a pill hoping everything will look ‘better’ in the morning.

So for today’s article you have two homework assignments:

1. Check in with your body as you sit quietly and reflect upon your job. What happens inside of your body? How do you feel?

2. Look back over the course of your past year or two. How often were you sick? How often did you not feel your best? Are any of your issues related to your work environment?

How can we make healthy changes? Here’s one resource to get you started.

I want you to look into your past. And I am talking way, way back. Look back to when you were a child, a school-aged child, maybe even younger. What did you enjoy so much? So, so much that you had to be dragged away from? What did you just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to do? What did your parents have to pull you away from at the end of the day?

If you have trouble coming up with things, ask around. Ask your siblings. Ask your parents or grandparents, aunts or uncles. Ask those who were around you at various ages. Reflect upon the times you can remember. Think back to grammar school, middle school, and high school.

Where did you spend your time? If I traveled back in time, what would I observe you doing? What are the things you had in your room, your locker, or your car?

Remembering what we enjoy is so useful for our current work as adults. Because what we want to do is bring more of the things we enjoyed, the things we loved to do, into our current work status.

Clearly health and career is related. Being happy with and enjoying your job is crucial to your overall well-being. Instead of staying exactly as you are and dealing with the illnesses as they arise- make a commitment to yourself today to DO something about it. These cues, the subtle warning signs of aches, general lethargy, bowel issues, and headaches- are just warning signs that your body is sending you saying: Make a change!