Investing in Yourself

I don’t need to tell you how important it is to value, truly value yourself. Okay, let me take that back, I do feel like I have to tell you, over and over again. It’s easy to forget about the little things in life we do for ourselves to have confidence and feel good! Using both your time and money on things that keep you happy and healthy are always a great investment. Unfortunately, there are things working against our health on a daily basis in our offices and in our home. Hopefully, the more aware we are of forces working against health and happiness, the more prepared with Reshape the Nation we’ll be to combat them!

I suppose we all know a little about the dangers surrounding our lives at the office, mainly time spent staring at a computer screen. On that note, while I was doing some research for a weight loss article, I came across a story in the NYTimes about the former information I already knew but chose to file away. Yes, sitting at a computer screen for prolonged periods of time, akin to the amount you usually spend at the office, causes considerable irreparable damage. Great— not only does it take away from your quality of life, albeit sitting under fluorescent bulbs, the reason for it is a little different than we’ve thought.

I’ve always been told that if you work in front of a computer and spend most of the day sitting down, then exercise can compensate the sedentary lifestyle. Apparently not the case anymore… A recent study, published this week in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, indicated that the amount of leisure time spent sitting in front of a screen (computer or TV) has such an overwhelming negative impact on your health that physical activity produces little affect. The study found that those who spent two or more hours a day in front of a screen were at double the risk of a heart attack or cardiac event than those who watched less. Those who spent four or more hours in front of the screen were 50 percent more likely to die of any cause. Ahem… what?!? Crap, I’d better get up and go move around!

How to combat the ominous outlook? Cut down on the screen time! Another study found that when overweight adults cut their TV time in half, they burned more calories than those who watched five hours or more a day. Light activities adults filled their time with, like reading or playing board games, burned more calories than watching TV. (You still want that 52” plasma? No thanks, I think I’ll go for a walk instead…)

After that soap-box tangent, I want to bring the focus back to value and investment. I kind of like the idea of cutting down on the recreational screen time to spend time and energy on where it matters most, me. Investing in the things that bring me happiness (not unrelated to health, good health=feel good=happy), is a good way to bring the focus back. And what’s any weight loss or diet plan without focus? Exactly. Stay focused on the goals ahead, stop to smell the roses, and reward yourself with the things that make you happy.

Comments for "Investing in Yourself"

Leave a Comment