Taking Care of Yourself, Then Business
When I was a 13-year-old in the 8th grade, I went out for the track team. I was young and small for my grade, barely above five feet tall and maybe 100 pounds, dripping wet. I should have had low expectations, but I remember like yesterday the embarrassment of losing to a girl in the 180-yard low hurdles. Especially in that era, it was a tough lesson for a fragile male ego.
Today, more than 40 years later, I no longer think the same way about running. While competitive by nature, my running has nothing to do with being faster than someone else – man or woman. It is simply about being active, about taking care of myself, about being strong enough to meet the demands of a demanding job and, occasionally, about trying to beat goals I set for myself.
The power of exercise is most easily understood in the context of international travel. I get overseas at least once a month, often covering many countries on a single trip. There are few things more exhausting than crossing many time zones and spending too many hours in the manufactured atmosphere of an airplane. To compensate for that exhaustion, I lace up my sneakers and get out for a run or a bike ride as soon after landing as possible. Exercise is the best way to start to acclimate to a new time zone and to get the blood moving again after all those hours in a plane. It is also a great way to see the local environment and engage with the local population.
Even when I am not traveling, exercise is an important part of my routine. Done regularly, it builds energy and makes me more engaged in the other events of the day. For our team at Marriott, we want very much to send that message and to give an example about the importance of taking care of themselves. In September, I ran with a few hundred Marriott associates in our Take Care 5-K race from our headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. We encourage our hotels and regional offices to do similar events. By the way, there were many women who finished ahead of me, but there is no longer any embarrassment in that, just pure joy in seeing so many taking care of themselves.
One final thought: make time for exercise just as you would for the most critical part of your work. You won’t be as effective, at least not for long, unless you take care of yourself first.
Is exercise an important part of your routine? Let me know how you fit it in.
Photo: Marriott International
So true.....Your health is your wealth! Without it, you can never live a truly blessed life and enjoy what comes your way....
Assistant Project Manager at Kalterra Construction, LLC
9yAs I am an onsite Superintendent, I am lucky that I have 23 acres to cover every day. I wear the wristband - Up by Jawbone. I track 23,000 + steps a day on a good day! The hardest thing I find with working as much as I do.. 60+ hours a week and 10+ hours driving a week.. is finding time to Sleep!! Sleep is just as important as working out. Without enough sleep we run out of fuel so to speak.
Senior Executive Assistant at Marriott International
10yYes! Simply mandatory. Once you find a few minutes, either at the start or end of your day, protect that time as something you do for you. Not optional.
Establisher of Njoyoga ByNuran
10yThe message is crystal clear ..thanks for the insight ....here is my routine ...Qi kong , tai chi and yoga mix daily with the sunrise approx 30 minutes , breathing exercises for 10 minutes during lunch , using the exit stairs min 5 floors up and down, 30 minutes meditation after work hours combined with kundalini yoga , 3 times a week jogging around the residence outside stills keeps me young and fit , gives me courage to adapt myself to the new era with dynamic hospitality operations . The care I extend to myself reflects in extra miles to my guests , team members and the community ..
Hello, I have been a loyal Marriott customer for over 6 years now, in fact I have been a Silver Elite member for all of these years. Being in a software engineering business and traveling for a living requires one to have a dependable hotel chain that offers predictable quality of service. Currently I am on vacation/business staying at Residence Inn Marriott Ft.Lauderdale/Miramar and what have experienced here is nothing short of unpredictable, even more, horrendous. I am staying in a non-smoking room with my wife and 2 small children and for the past 2 nights I have been woken at night by heavy cigarette smoke entering my suite through the vents. I have reported this twice to front desk, but only got a run around statement like, "we will look into this". Why should I suffer sleepless nights because Marriott is not enforcing non-smoking policies? In the day and age when cancer is on the rise why should I and my family be subjected to second hand smoke that is so heavy, it wakes you up at night. Final question, why should I pay for this? Please take care of this. Thank you!