What is the ROI on your health?

It’s a phenomenal time to be a woman.  

We are starting more businesses and crashing through glass ceilings all the time

We are breaking down barriers that 10 years ago didn't seem possible.

We are out here killing it, but killing ourselves in the process

I consider myself fortunate to have been in the company of many high-performing women.  Coming up in corporate over the last 20 years I have met incredible women.  A few of whom were mentors to me and taught me how to navigate the corporate world.  They shared everything they knew about networking, getting involved in projects or teams, about the power of lateral movement, not just upward movement, getting promoted, asking for more money, etc. I learned about best practices for office parties and after work happy hours…literally everything a young woman needs to know to be successful.  HOWEVER, none of them were happy or healthy.  Joy, vibrantness and health are not words that come to mind when I think of them.  While they were excellent at what they did, it is words more like exhausted, hurried and stiff that come to mind.  I wanted to be like them, but not be like them at the same time. I wanted what they achieved, but I wanted it on my terms.  At the time I wasn’t necessarily thinking healthy, but I damn sure knew I wanted to be happier than they appeared.

This was definitely something I paid attention to as I grew in my career and started to amass a team of my own. 

And as I look around the corporate landscape, it does not appear to be much better now than it was back then.  If anything it has gotten worse as the demands in our lives are ever increasing.  

And I’ll repeat that we are breaking down barriers left and right and should be proud of our achievements.  But these achievements are costing us.

In our pursuit to be successful we are sacrificing ourselves.

Part of the problem is that it doesn't feel like a sacrifice.  It feels like the norm.  It feels required because it’s what everyone is doing to get ahead.  Admitting that you are busy and exhausted is claiming your status.  It’s hard to feel like we are sacrificing when we live in a culture of sacrifice.

And what do we get for this sacrifice?

Oh, you mean in addition to the title, paycheck?

We get to sleep less, leading to a cascade of health issues including memory loss, problem concentrating, moodiness, lowered immunity and weight gain.

Too busy or tired to cook, so we eat out or not at all.  What we do eat is usually highly processed and lacking nutrients, so in either case we are under nourished.

The lack of sleep and nutrition leaves our body further vulnerable to various forms of physical and mental health issues.  It is not a coincidence that along with the uptick in physical illness that we are experiencing an uptick in mental illness.

Employers are dealing with the challenges of both medical premiums increasing and decreasing productivity due to employees being out on short and long term sick leaves, putting more pressure on those who remain. 

And if you are caught up in the momentum of this cycle, it is so swift and all consuming it is hard to pause long enough to figure out what to do.  So we just keep going.

In this condition, it’s hard to be at the top of your game.  While we may receive accolades and other forms of acknowledgment that trick us into believing we are performing well, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  The price you pay for your performance is too great to consider it a win.  For the ROI to make sense, we need to get our investment back AND then some. 

In this case we are investing our mental and physical health (maybe more if you have a family you aren’t spending time with).  The return on that investment includes a bunch of stuff, but it does not include getting our mental and physical health back.  So….are we really winning?  

And as great as we believe we are performing, we can no longer deny that our health isn’t affecting our abilities. The manner in which we live our lives (lack of sleep, lack of nutrition, dehydrated, consuming negative information, staring at screens all day….just to name a few) produces a lack of mental clarity, poor decision making, poor emotional regulation.  And we might want to talk about how, in one way or another, it is affecting our personal brand. 

I understand how hard this can be to believe when we see all of these amazing boss women on social media leading fabulous lives.  They look like they have it all.  But the best way for you to believe it, is to think about yourself and how you feel right now.   Do you feel good in your skin?  Are you feeling challenged with either your mental or physical health?  Or both?  You probably answered yes and guess what….so do other women.  You are NOT the only one. High performing women entrepreneurs and corporate executives have equivalent high performance responsibilities.  These stresses are at least the same if not greater than the average woman.  And so, while we may see the designer brands, opulent vacations, nice homes and fancy cars.  What is not posted on social media is their discomfort, pain and mental health.  We don't see the cost of their success.  This is not to shame or put anyone down.  It’s to bring awareness to the fact that life doesn’t have to be this way.  We don't have to accept the price of success that our society has established.  WE need to decide what we are willing to pay…actually not pay, we decide what we are willing to invest and then we go from there.  And while society is adjusting, we can enjoy true wealth because we have prioritized our health.

We truly are amazing for accomplishing as much as we do in this society. The beautiful lives we are creating for ourselves is a testament to the power of the human spirit.  Be inspired by your accomplishments. Being in a state of appreciation of your accolades is being aware that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.  So, get excited about the fact that you are already great and getting into good health will only make you greater!