By Hannah Martin, guest blogger
THERE are plenty of excellent reasons for taking good care of your body and ensuring you enjoy healthy eating of a balanced diet – better health and confidence, and look and feel great. But have you ever considered the effect on your career? If nothing else convinces you to start making positive changes to your diet, wanting to enjoy better success at work or in business should. Because there’s plenty of evidence to show that healthy eating has a direct impact on your performance.
Healthy eating to protect yourself from stress
In most situations at work or in business, a poor response to stress will affect your performance. Staying calm, rational and reasonable will enable you to deal effectively with the most difficult problems (and people!)
But if you become too aggressive, or withdraw and avoid situations because you can’t deal with them, you’ll not only cope with the issues at hand poorly but you risk damaging your working relationships and reputation.
Signs that you may be stressed include:
- Feeling like you’re constantly on alert
- Overreacting to stressful events
- Feeling under pressure to take control
- Worrying that you can’t cope
- Suffering from mood swings and irritability
If you recognise any of these signs in yourself, it may be an indication that you need to choose a healthier diet and get some gentle exercise. Good foods to eat include eggs, meat, fish, healthy fats and plenty of fruit and vegetables.
Healthy eating to protect yourself from low self-esteem
Low confidence and self-esteem can make you feel awkward in social situations, lead to a lack of direction and goals, make you feel constantly tired, be over-sensitive to criticism and be unwilling to try new things for fear of failure – none of which is good news for your career.
Lacking confidence in your physical appearance can also have a direct effect on your performance at work or in business.
A study from professors at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University found that when people wore a scientist’s or medical doctor’s white coat, they performed better on a test – showing that our outer appearance doesn’t just impact on other people’s impressions of us, it also changes how we ourselves act.
Hannah Martin
By healthy eating of a balanced diet of the right foods and getting regular exercise, not only do you reduce your risk of a number of health conditions and enjoy greater energy and stamina, but you can actually help to boost your confidence and self-esteem, and help you feel good about yourself.
If you’d like to give your confidence a boost, cut back on sugar, eat plenty of protein, think about taking an Omega-3 supplement and make sure you get some outdoors exercise – cycling and long country walks are great ways to get fit.
Start making positive changes to your career today
If you want to enjoy greater success in work or business, it’s clear that ensuring you enjoy a healthy, balanced diet is a great place to start.
Too much processed sugar, unhealthy fats and cheap carbohydrates won’t just put inches on your tummy and thighs – they could be taking pounds out of your pay packet in missed career or business opportunities.
So instead of relying on old, poor dietary habits, why not learn how healthy eating can lead to better health, looks, energy, confidence and success? As you’ll soon discover, healthy eating is much more satisfying.
Hannah Martin is co-founder and Editorial Director of Talented Ladies Club, a magazine-style website with inspiration and advice for working, freelance and business mums.
