Fitness and Business: Building Mental Strength, Confidence and Resilience

[00:00:00] Jen Ingram: When you think about running a business, you're gonna be faced with different challenges and obstacles all along the way. Every single day, you're gonna be dealing with failures, you're gonna be dealing with internal struggles, imposter syndrome. You're gonna be dealing with circumstances that are completely outside of your control, right?

[00:00:20] Jen Ingram: It's at the end of the day, like 90% a mental game. All the other stuff, the strategies, the marketing, all of that, that honestly only accounts for maybe 10%.

[00:00:36] Jen Ingram: Welcome to a whole lot of Shift podcast. The podcast for multi-passionate women with an entrepreneurial spirit where we provide inspiration, motivation, and education to help you shift away from all the shoulds and supposed tos to what's truly possible for you in your business and your life, all on your own terms.[00:01:00]

[00:01:00] Jen Ingram: You ready girl? Let's make shift happen.

[00:01:04] Jen Ingram: Hello, and welcome to another episode of a Whole Lot Shift. I'm your host Jen Ingram, and I'm so excited that you're here today. I am gonna be giving you a hardy dose of motivation, knowledge, and insights to help all of you my multi-passionate entrepreneurs side hustlers shine a little bit brighter today.

[00:01:27] Jen Ingram: Today I'm gonna be talking about often what is known as the under-emphasized aspect of entrepreneurship. And some of you, when I say this, are gonna be like, oh God, she's not talking about that, is she? But yes, yes, I am. Today we're talking about the importance of physical fitness in your entrepreneurial journey.

[00:01:50] Jen Ingram: I know, I know there's lots of mixed thought about this, but. I want us to kind of get into this and I'm gonna share some things, some tips [00:02:00] with you. And, and I, I hope it, I hope it helps some of you. Here's the thing and, and I, I may have mentioned this a time or a hundred in previous episodes, right?

[00:02:11] Jen Ingram: Look, your, your journey into having a business of your own, whether that is a business that you're running full-time, whether you still just got a side hustle, whatever that may look like for you. Business coaching. It's not all just about business models, marketing strategies. Oh, product development, all of those things.

[00:02:31] Jen Ingram: The truth is, especially if you are in a service-based industry, your most valuable asset is you and your health plays a vital role in that journey, and it plays a vital role. Therefore, in your business, if you're your best, your best, and your biggest asset, then obviously your health is gonna have a pretty critical role in your business.

[00:02:55] Jen Ingram: All right, so let's, let's get into it, right? Why, [00:03:00] why is physical fitness so vital as an entrepreneur? Well, the immediate connection isn't always so obvious, right? But there's a few aspects that I want you to consider when I get to talking about physical fitness. I'm talking about your mental strength.

[00:03:18] Jen Ingram: I'm talking about self-discipline and productivity. Self-confidence and so much more. Even if we just start at the thought of the mental strength . Research has shown us that physical exercise really has a significant impact. On our mental health, we know this, we know that even if it's something as small as going out for a walk for 15 to 20 minutes a day, that that has a significant impact on reducing your risk for depression or any other mental health [00:04:00] issues.

[00:04:00] Jen Ingram: We know that exercise releases endorphins and serotonin and that helps improve your mood and helps you feel more relaxed. It helps you sleep better. It's gonna help with your productivity. So when I'm talking about your mental strength and the mindset that kind of goes into your physical fitness, that's what I'm talking about is that the fact that just getting, doing something that gets your blood flowing, gets your blood pumping it's releasing all of those chemicals that helps your mood and your strengthen your mental ability, your productivity so much more so, This is , one of the many reasons why I think it is so important, right?

[00:04:44] Jen Ingram: When you think about running a business, you're gonna be faced with different challenges and obstacles all along the way. Every single day you're gonna be dealing with failures, you're gonna be dealing with internal struggles imposter syndrome you're gonna be dealing with [00:05:00] circumstances that are completely outside of your control, right?

[00:05:04] Jen Ingram: It's. At the end of the day, like 90% a mental game, all the other stuff, the strategies, the marketing, all of that, that honestly only accounts for maybe 10%, no joke. This is why your mental health and your mental strength is so important when it comes to your business because so much of your business really is about the mental game. It's not just about the strategies. So, Having a regular exercise routine that you incorporate into part of your non-negotiable daily habits is what's really going to help you improve your skills and just your overall resilience as a business owner, [00:06:00] right?

[00:06:01] Jen Ingram: And not just the mental strength that comes along with that, but also. Self-discipline, right? We're talking about consistency and when we get to thinking about what we need to do in our business, it's not so much about, well, I showed up one day and I did all of these things to attract customers, and now I've gotten some, some clients, or I've got some contracts, or I've sold some products.

[00:06:30] Jen Ingram: Whatever this may look like for you, I, I created a revenue this month. Cool. Awesome. Now, You gotta go do that again. Like those things never really end. You never stop marketing yourself. You never stop trying attract clients. You never stop trying to get more business, right? That is just something that needs to occur on a continual, consistent basis.[00:07:00]

[00:07:00] Jen Ingram: So when we think about. Physical exercise. One of the things that it demands of us is that consistent self-discipline, right? These two go hand in hand. The self-discipline that you're gonna need for a regular exercise routine is the same kind of self-discipline and consistency that you're gonna need and is frankly a requirement for running a business when you regularly commit.

[00:07:26] Jen Ingram: To a fitness routine, you're training your brain to say, I need to stick to this schedule. I need to keep this promise to myself. I need to do things even when I don't feel like doing them. I need to do the things that I don't necessarily want to do, and I need to prioritize the long-term results that I'm going to get out of that over my short-term.

[00:07:55] Jen Ingram: Comfort, right? Because Sure. Sitting on [00:08:00] the couch in the evening with a glass of wine instead of going to the gym. Sounds really awesome. It sounds like a really great evening of some short-term comfort, but the long-term gain that you are going to realize by creating a consistent routine for your yourself, that is something more than hanging out on the couch, drinking some wine.

[00:08:23] Jen Ingram: Although, don't get me wrong, it's a nice time. Being able to prioritize those long-term gains is really just teaching your brain what to do in your business. This literally translate directly over to your overall work ethic, makes you, it makes you a more disciplined business owner. Okay. What was one of the other things I mentioned?

[00:08:53] Jen Ingram: Mental strength. Self-discipline and competence productivity, you know. [00:09:00] Earlier I was speaking to the fact that certain chemicals are released into the brain when you are going through physical exer exercise. But it also increases blood flow to the brain and that helps you think more clearly, make better decisions, solve problems a little more creatively.

[00:09:18] Jen Ingram: A whole host of things.

[00:09:21] Jen Ingram: Here's a fun fact for you. One study that was done by the Small Business Association found that over 75% of successful entrepreneurs incorporated some form of physical fitness into their daily routine. That's not pure coincidence when you think about some of the most successful entrepreneurs that you know, when you think about.

[00:09:49] Jen Ingram: And maybe not even entrepreneurs think about. So the more successful CEOs, COOs, CFOs, right, like those top execs [00:10:00] in any corporation, I can guarantee you the vast majority of them have incorporated some form of physical activity into their everyday routine. And part of that is not just for, again, the mental strength and gain that you're gonna get from that and the productivity that then goes with.

[00:10:25] Jen Ingram: Those chemical releases and getting the blood flow to the brain and all of that. But there's also a whole lot to say about, again, that consistent daily routine that goes into your self-confidence, the way that you present yourself. Can really make a big difference in those business relationships that you're trying to create.

[00:10:47] Jen Ingram: It makes a big difference in the marketing that you're trying to do. It makes a difference in how you are showing up for yourself in your business. In all of your relationships, whether that be a personal relationship or a business [00:11:00] relationship, that self confidence can make a huge difference.

[00:11:05] Jen Ingram: It affects your self perception. It that self-confidence is gonna affect your performance and creating that self-confidence. Comes from having those consistent daily habits that get you to keep the promises to yourself that you made, right? So it's not just about, Hey, I need to go exercise because I wanna be healthier and I wanna achieve all of these things and I wanna have this super fit body.

[00:11:36] Jen Ingram: Not to say that those things don't help because they do having a healthier version of yourself completely transforms the way that you project yourself to others, the way that you stand, the way that you carry yourself. So many different things. So it's not just about being healthy or being fit, or being strong or, and I.

[00:11:59] Jen Ingram: You'll [00:12:00] notice I am never using the word skinny. I'm not a big fan of that, and I don't believe that physical fitness should only be about. Skinny. I really believe it's so much more than that. I always say like, I'm not trying to get skinny. I wanna, I wanna climb mountains. I wanna have the strength to do all these things that I wanna do.

[00:12:23] Jen Ingram: I wanna have the courage to do them, which means that I'm gonna need to train myself and train my brain to do things that I didn't think it could do. And all of that is going to translate. Back over to my business and everything that I'm doing in my business. I'll tell you what, I'll take you guys back.

[00:12:42] Jen Ingram: Take you guys back to 2020. I know a lot of us don't like to think about 2020. I'm right there with you. So in 2020, pretty early on when the the mandates had really started to be enforced, at least in my area, and we had like the stay at home order or [00:13:00] whatever it was. I was like losing my mind.

[00:13:04] Jen Ingram: Obviously I was working from home. That didn't bother me. Because obviously I had done freelancing several times in the past, worked from home, numerous occasions in the past. But what I kind of took for granted was that when I had worked from home previously, there was all sorts of other activities that I was heavily engaged in outside of the house.

[00:13:24] Jen Ingram: Some of those included you know, taking my kid to swim lessons or You know, needing to run other business related errands. I would go into people's offices to gather the paperwork that I needed from them. I was constantly kinda out and about, right. I was engaging with the community and with others and, and so, I really kind of took for granted what it was gonna be like when we were in lockdown.

[00:13:47] Jen Ingram: And while yes, I was working Oh my gosh. I just need it out of my house. And so one of the things that I started doing is I would take fairly frequent breaks at work. You know, just a 15, [00:14:00] 20 minute break. And I would go out for a walk and I would walk, I would go out for a walk break probably three or four times a day.

[00:14:08] Jen Ingram: I even, because I live close enough to the grocery store in my area, I. I even had gotten to where I would walk to the grocery store to get my groceries and walk them back home instead of driving. Partially because I had nothing else I could do. But also there was man, they were rationing so many things.

[00:14:26] Jen Ingram: I know at my local Aldis, they they had a limit of only purchasing two items. Two, like two of each item. And so. And, and I'm saying too, for some reason, it's sticking out in my brain that some items you could only get one at a time. So it literally meant that every couple days I felt like I had to go to the grocery store, which just seemed asinine to me because I really thought the whole point was to limit exposure.

[00:14:53] Jen Ingram: But if you're making me go to the grocery store every two days, then I'm not really limiting my exposure. But anyways, [00:15:00] I digress. I started walking several times a day and one of the things that occurred is I was like, you know what? I hear so many amazing things about running and about runners, and I was listening to all these podcasts and I was listening to like some YouTube channels and a lot of these people, they were runners.

[00:15:19] Jen Ingram: That was one of the Fitness routines that they had that they really enjoyed. And I was like, you know, that would be really nice, you know, if man, if I were a runner, I wouldn't necessarily need to worry about a gym. I think I'm gonna try this. And so, you know, I started out really slow. So on these walks that I would take a few times a day, I just started to where I would see if I could get faster each time.

[00:15:41] Jen Ingram: I would try and walk a little bit faster. Maybe I'd try and Walk longer. You know, maybe instead of only a mile and a half, I would try and do like a mile and three quarters or, you know, in the same amount of time. And so then I slowly started working my way up to where I would do the whole like, you know, run [00:16:00] for a minute, walk for a minute, run for two minutes, walk for a minute, like that kind of thing.

[00:16:04] Jen Ingram: There's apps that can help you with that. So, long story short, I started down this path and I'm like, okay, I think, I think I can do this, you know, and so some of my gym buddies were like, Hey, there's this Online 5k. It's like a wine run, which I'm, I'm like, Hey, I'm all about this. Right? But it was basically like you signed up online and then you would report back your time of running a 5k.

[00:16:34] Jen Ingram: And then you could kind of see your results, you know? I don't know. However the virtual run worked, but a bunch of us were signing up and we were all gonna do it. We were all gonna go out to the park and meet up and we were gonna do that virtual 5k and submit our results. Now, I've never done a five 5K before, so I had no idea what to expect.

[00:16:57] Jen Ingram: I knew I was very familiar with the park that we were going [00:17:00] to go to. However, I. Let me rephrase that. I say I was familiar with it. I was very familiar with parts of it. I realized in this process there were parts of that park I had never, ever seen. I knew that they regularly had five Ks and I think even like half marathons that went through most of this park because there's several trails throughout the park.

[00:17:22] Jen Ingram: And, and as such, then if you haven't been a part of those or you don't regularly walk that park, I mean, you're not even gonna realize there's trails you're missing. So anyways, we decided we were gonna go to this park and when we we needed to, we needed to submit the results by a certain day. I don't recall.

[00:17:42] Jen Ingram: Long story short, that day was my birthday. And so here I am 2020 and I'm like, it's my birthday. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna run a 5K for my birthday. How freaking cool is this? So I'm super stoked. I'm all excited and I'm like, you know what? I am ready for this. I've been walking several times a day [00:18:00] and I've been trying to jog a good portion of the way, and even when I'm not jogging, like I'm walking really, really fast, my time has been getting better.

[00:18:08] Jen Ingram: I feel, I felt just. Incredibly confident about this, right? I thought I am, I'm doing way better than I think I've ever done my whole life in this whole walk run process. So it gets to be the day of the, the virtual wine run and several of us meet up at the park and first of all, it felt amazing to see other human beings, and these were people that I really missed.

[00:18:30] Jen Ingram: These were, you know, people that went to my gym. These were the people who watched my, my Journey when I first started. Trying to take care of myself and and started down a complete health journey, if you will. And I lost a bunch of weight. And anyways, so many of them had watched this transformation and had truly been a part of it.

[00:18:52] Jen Ingram: And and so here they were and, and they were excited that I was actually gonna do a 5k. And so , we get [00:19:00] to go and they're all stoked now. They, , I need to tell you. A bunch of them regularly run. A couple of them have even done like half marathons or marathons, I can't remember. Prairie Fire, whichever one that is.

[00:19:12] Jen Ingram: And so this 5K was not a big deal for them. Okay. And, but again, I'm feeling super confident. I'm like, man, you know, I've been walking by myself several times a day. I feel like I know my time really well and I think I can do this. And so here it is, it's the day of the race. So we get to take an off down this trail.

[00:19:34] Jen Ingram: And again, I'm suddenly on a trail that I'm very unfamiliar with, but I'm like, well, this is cool. I'm getting to see all sorts of things. And and we're, we're going along and we're running. And then after like, I don't know what seemed like an eternity, I'm pretty sure it was not. I'm pretty sure it was like two minutes.

[00:19:52] Jen Ingram: I was like, oh my gosh. These girls are really running and I'm already [00:20:00] out of breath and this is gonna be a lot tougher than I thought. Oh my God. So I'm thinking to myself, okay, you know what? Don't worry about running as fast as they are. Just keep a steady pace and just keep jogging. Just keep going.

[00:20:15] Jen Ingram: So this starts to be my, my focus and. And sometimes, you know, they'll, they, they were, they were really going fast, and then sometimes they'd kind of slow down a little bit, and then if I'd noticed that they were slowing down, then I was like, okay, this is my opportunity. I can catch up. Right? So I try to run a little faster, so then I'm more caught up with them.

[00:20:33] Jen Ingram: But then about the time I'd catch up with them, now they're ready to kind of take back off again. And so it was like this whole like, Chasing sort of thing with me. I was like, oh my gosh. So I kind of got to the point where I was like, okay, I need to walk for a little bit and then I'll pick back up jogging.

[00:20:50] Jen Ingram: And so I start going through that process where I'm doing a little bit of jogging, a little bit of walking, and I'm going again that I can see them in front of me. Yes, they're ahead of me, but [00:21:00] no big deal. Still having a pretty good time. And, and we get going and pretty soon it gets to where I. I can't see them in front of me anymore, and I'm like, man, surely I can't be that far behind.

[00:21:19] Jen Ingram: And so I really try to pick up my pace and I do get to where, okay, now I can spot them. Now I can see them ahead of me. So, Okay, well I'll just keep going. I try to pick up the pace, but of course it was, it was kind of the same story, right? The more I would pick up the pace and get closer, then that's about the time they would take off again.

[00:21:38] Jen Ingram: Right? So we're kind of in this back and forth motion. For what seems like eternity. And eventually it does get to where I just cannot see them out in front of me at all. No matter how much faster I try to run. They are, they're nowhere with sight. I can also tell you that one of the gals had like a little speaker that was in her little run belt [00:22:00] and I could no longer hear the music like, Nothing.

[00:22:03] Jen Ingram: Nothing. I don't know where they are. So I get, I start to get a little frustrated and I'm like, okay, well I can't see them so clearly I'm behind. So I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna walk for a little bit, catch my breath till I feel a little bit better, and then I'll try to run some more. So I'm walking, I'm walking, and then, you know, I pick up a bit of a jog and I keep going.

[00:22:25] Jen Ingram: And pretty soon I'm like, how am I still running? How is this 5k not done? Like you really start to get frustrated. Cuz I'm thinking this feels so much longer than I would've thought. A 5K is not that long. Okay, so I'm going along and by this time I'm really frustrated. It's getting hot. I'm tired and and by hot, I mean it's the end of April, but for whatever reason, that particular week, it was like we were like breaking records for [00:23:00] heat in April.

[00:23:00] Jen Ingram: Okay. It was significantly more hot than it typically is in April in this area. So anyways, I'm going, okay. There's a really important part that I want you all to, to follow with me here. I get to where I'm mostly walking, and at this point they are. I, I haven't seen any of the pack for quite a while and there's nobody else really on this trail.

[00:23:24] Jen Ingram: I had already passed several people very early on. Again, it's the middle of Covid, it's April after Covid d things are pretty quiet. Okay. And so I start getting really frustrated and I'm feeling really down. And as I'm walking, I. I'm having all of these thoughts where I'm like, you know what?

[00:23:45] Jen Ingram: Maybe running's not for me. Like, I know I said I wanted to run, I know I wanted to learn it. I know that I tried really hard. I downloaded the app, I did the run walk thing. I have these, these shoes that I got that, you know, somebody from the gym [00:24:00] gave me. And and I've been doing all these things and I'm, I'm walking several times a day.

[00:24:05] Jen Ingram: But you know what? Maybe running is just not for me. And so I don't know where these girls are at and maybe they've already left for the day and they're gone and that's fine. And I'm literally, I'm honestly kind of pouting at this point because I am feeling. So much frustration and such a sense of failure, like, I really thought I could do this.

[00:24:34] Jen Ingram: I went into this with so much confidence like. There's no way I could not do a 5k. Right. I was so confident in the beginning and here I am and I haven't seen the pack in what seems like forever and my feet, my, in particular, my right foot and my right leg and my hip, which I struggle with to this day, is really in a [00:25:00] decent amount of pain.

[00:25:00] Jen Ingram: And I'm like, I guess I'm not a runner. I'm just not a runner, blah, blah, blah. I have all these thoughts going through my mind. So at this point, like I'm honestly walking pretty slow because I'm just thinking I. What's the rush? Like? What does it even matter? They're so far ahead. What? What's the rush? Like?

[00:25:23] Jen Ingram: What am I even going for? Right? So I'm walking along and then I get to where I can see that the trail kind of does a bit of a u. Now this is way off in the distance. When I say it, it makes like a U shape. This is pretty far off into the distance, but I can see that where it. Kind of makes the U shape takes me back to the parking lot where we parked our cars and I'm like, is that the, I'm like, no.

[00:25:53] Jen Ingram: Oh, and this is the other thing. Throughout this park, there's several parking lots. So even when [00:26:00] I see this, I'm like, Okay. Is that the parking lot I parked at or is that just another parking lot in the middle of this damn park? Because I've passed a lot of parking lots and I'm really not sure at this point.

[00:26:13] Jen Ingram: And again, even though I can, I can see it in a distance. It seems so far away, and I'm like, oh my gosh. So. Here I am. I'm pouting. I'm walking really slow. I'm super sweaty. I can feel that I'm sunburnt and I'm like, oh my God, I'm just not a runner. Woe is me. And I look down and I don't remember if I had I, I regularly, I wear a fitness device.

[00:26:38] Jen Ingram: I wear the whoop, but I don't think I had, I had this at that time, I must have looked down at my phone. But somewhere along the way I looked down and I realized, You guys, I literally have like less than a quarter mile to go. I have maybe, maybe two minutes of [00:27:00] running left. Maybe I am practically at the finish line and I see this on my phone and I'm like, oh my God, I'm about done.

[00:27:13] Jen Ingram: I can run for two minutes. Totally. I could run for two minutes. That's all that's left. So I see this, I get my phone back in my pocket and I start booking it, and I start running it again. I'm like, holy crap. Wait a minute. I'm almost done. Maybe this ended faster than I thought right now. Mind you, 10 seconds ago, I swore this was the longest race of my life.

[00:27:38] Jen Ingram: But suddenly I'm like, this went by really fast. And so I'm running and I'm running, and finally I can see that all of my friends and my gym buddies are waiting for me. They're still there. Yes, they had finished, but at the end where the trail makes that u they're all waiting for me. I'm like, holy crap.

[00:27:58] Jen Ingram: So now I'm like, I have to [00:28:00] keep running. Like there is a part of me that is still is out of breath. I'm really tired at this point, but I'm like, no, just keep running. And I'm trying to just jog and I can see and I keep going. And as I get closer and, and closer, I can see that at the end of this, Path at the end of this running path, they had even made like a makeshift finish line for me and they had brought out like some finish line tape and tied it between some trees and made like a little area that I got to like run through.

[00:28:36] Jen Ingram: And they made it so special. Like they were there waiting for me to finish my first 5K cause I was so excited. So, And I remember that I could finally see them. I was like, oh my God, they didn't leave. They're the most amazing people ever. And. I finally get through [00:29:00] it and I get crossed this finish line, and it's so cute, you guys.

[00:29:03] Jen Ingram: There's a video of me and, and every year I share it on my Facebook when my when my birthday rolls around because it's so cute. And they're there and they, they've got the finish line tape and, and they're, we got mimosas and all the things they're, and ready for me and I'm like, oh my God, I did it like.

[00:29:26] Jen Ingram: I actually did it, so just two minutes ago I was back here pouting, dragging my feet, saying, I guess I'm just not a runner. I guess I just can't do this. When the finish line was like one or two minutes away, all I had to do was pick up the pace and go and trust that the finish line was right in front of me.

[00:29:54] Jen Ingram: Now I want you to stop and think about this. I want you to stop and think about those times in your [00:30:00] business because we don't get to see the finish line. We don't get to look at a widget on our wrist or on our phone and, and some app and see where the finish line is. There's nothing telling us where the finish line is.

[00:30:14] Jen Ingram: We don't know the finish line. There isn't really a finish line anyways. All it is is you reaching the next milestone in your business, but you have no idea where that is. You have to just trust that going through the process and remaining consistent and staying the course is going to get you across that milestone mark that you wanna hit.

[00:30:43] Jen Ingram: We don't always get to see that finish line in business. That's part of the lesson that I want you guys to learn. This is what I want you to learn and understand why something like physical fitness into your daily routines as a business owner is so important [00:31:00] because it it I makes you have to really teach your brain hey, There isn't always a finish line or I don't know where the finish line is going to be.

[00:31:14] Jen Ingram: All I can do is keep pushing myself. To run the extra mile, to go the extra minute, to be consistent, to show up every day, to do the things that I don't feel like doing, to do the things that make me feel like maybe I can't do them at all. I still have to show up for them and know and trust that that line that I'm wanting to be able to.

[00:31:43] Jen Ingram: Jump across. Is there waiting for me with celebration? I just have to trust and keep going because it's there. That's what I want you to understand. This is one of the things that [00:32:00] incorporating a regular fitness routine into your daily habits as a business owner is going to help you understand and help you create.

[00:32:09] Jen Ingram: It is gonna help you push past those mental barriers that tell you, maybe I'm not a runner, maybe I can't be a business owner. Because I'm tired, because I feel like dragging my feet because I don't wanna have to show up today because I don't wanna have to post on social media today. All those thoughts.

[00:32:32] Jen Ingram: Maybe I'm not very good at social media. Maybe I'm not very good at networking. Maybe I'm not very good at marketing. Maybe I'm not very good at sales. All those thoughts. I need you to understand that those are just thoughts that you get to change and create a new pathway in your brain that says, Hey, there [00:33:00] is a milestone mark that I can run across here.

[00:33:05] Jen Ingram: I just need to show up for it, remain consistent, and go the extra mile. I know I'm saying that's all as though it's just so simple, but in a way it really is just that simple. It's about showing up every day, sticking to those daily habits. This is why physical fitness is so important. This is some of the things that it teaches you.

[00:33:37] Jen Ingram: And yes, it's also about your health because obviously being the healthiest version of yourself is going to help you have the energy and the mindset to show up on a consistent, regular basis and do all of these things. Yes, that freaking matters, but it's so much more than that. It's so much more than [00:34:00] that.

[00:34:02] Jen Ingram: All right. So I know that I kind of covered a lot. But here's my point. If you don't have a regular physical routine in your daily habits, I want you to start incorporating it. This does not mean, I, I wanna say this. This does not mean that you absolutely have to go out and. Buy some gold star gym membership.

[00:34:33] Jen Ingram: This doesn't mean that you have to pick something that you don't like. Maybe you don't like running. I don't like running. I learned that about myself, but that's okay, right? Like you get to go out and find the things that you enjoy doing and figure out how to incorporate that into your regular routine.

[00:34:50] Jen Ingram: Listen, I've tried a number of things , over the last several years, and some of them I've liked and some of them I, I haven't liked, and I can, I can also tell you some of the [00:35:00] things that I tried that I did not think I would like. I did some of the things that I was excited to try, thinking I would love.

[00:35:07] Jen Ingram: I did not. And so you, you're not gonna know until you just get out there and if something looks interesting to you or if something looks fun, you've gotta just get out there and give it a shot. And know that the first time that you try it, you might not be the best. I actually am gonna go ahead and say, the first time that you try it, you're probably going to suck.

[00:35:27] Jen Ingram: And that's okay. It's kind of the point everybody kind of sucks the first time they go try something. Like nobody is, just shows up and is a freaking master. Like, and if they are, well good for them. I don't know how else to say that, but incorporating something into your daily routine, walking is actually one of the very, very best things that you can do for your overall.

[00:35:57] Jen Ingram: Physical and mental health. [00:36:00] Walking does so much for you. Walking gets you outside of your regular environment. It gets you to go out and look at things. You have the opportunity to look at things differently. You can take walks in neighborhoods maybe you've never explored before. It gives you a new new perceptions.

[00:36:20] Jen Ingram: Walking has incredible, incredible health benefits. So if you're somebody who's like, you know what, I just don't wanna have to, to to join a gym, that's just not my jam. So, Totally cool. There are tons of groups out there that you could join that that are walking groups. You can walk with your neighbors, you can walk by yourself, walk your dog.

[00:36:40] Jen Ingram: Find something. Okay? It doesn't have to be extravagant. And again, this does not mean that you need to spend two hours in the gym.

[00:36:47] Jen Ingram: In fact, I would argue that that's just pointless. You shouldn't be spending two hours a day in the gym. There's no reason why you can't get in a 30 minute, 40 minute workout, something like that and, [00:37:00] and reap. The same if not better benefits, honestly. If you ca, if you don't have a solid 30 minutes in your day like that, even if you get out and you go on, you take two breaks a day, two 15 minute breaks a day, and you go out and you walk, I assure you that you will see benefits in both your physical and mental strength.

[00:37:20] Jen Ingram: Guaranteed. Guaranteed. So this is why I truly believe that A physical fitness routine is so imperative in your business. I will say one other thing, I apologize. Let me back up. The other thing that I do wanna say, even if you don't think that joining a gym is your jam, I strongly encourage you to do something where you can create a community, which is why I, I also made the suggestion about fighting a walking group because there's truly something to be said.

[00:37:55] Jen Ingram: For having a community that you surround yourself with [00:38:00] who also have the same goals? That 5K that I did in 2020 on my birthday, my first and only 5k, I don't know, maybe I'll do a 5K again. I don't know. I'll probably walk most of it next time. But if I wouldn't have had my gym buddies there. It would not have been the same.

[00:38:20] Jen Ingram: The fact that they made it so freaking special for me meant so much. Like that's something I'll just remember forever, like honestly just here on this podcast. As I was telling that story, like I about started to get emotional just thinking about that because. They didn't have to do all of that. I mean, it was covid, everything shut down.

[00:38:43] Jen Ingram: And yet they found a way, like they found actual like finish line tape and they created a finish line for me and they had like all the things and and it was so special. And that's. I get to experience that, believe it or not, [00:39:00] quite often. And not only do I get to experience it and receive it, but I also get to give that back because I do belong to such an incredible gym community, and I do belong to a group of people who are out here trying to achieve the same thing as me.

[00:39:16] Jen Ingram: Maybe not exactly right. Maybe they're not running a podcast for multiple passionate female entrepreneurs. Okay. But but they have similar goals in life and we're really, we're all just really after the same thing. Trying to become the best versions of ourselves and live the best life that we possibly can, and to be surrounded by others who have that same goal is huge.

[00:39:44] Jen Ingram: It is so huge and it can help you so much. And I can tell you that the networking ability that I have had just within, within my own gym community has just [00:40:00] been irreplaceable. It's, it's really been amazing. So I strongly encourage you that if you can incorporate some form of community into your fitness routine, I strongly encourage that.

[00:40:11] Jen Ingram: All right. I think that does it for today. I really hope that you guys enjoyed this episode. I really hope that you think about what your milestone mark or your, your 5K finish line might look like, right? Because that's, that's just the 5K finish line. Like, there's so many more to come. Like I said, that's not even really a finish line.

[00:40:37] Jen Ingram: It's just a. A milestone mile marker, but I got to cross it and I was celebrating the hell out of it. And that's one of the things that having a fitness routine has helped me figure out how to do in my business. So, All right. I hope that this episode has helped you. Remember, if you are [00:41:00] not a part of the whole Lot Shift Facebook group, I strongly encourage you to get in there.

[00:41:05] Jen Ingram: There are tons of live videos, and again, it's another opportunity for community. So thank you all for joining me today, and until next time, keep making shift happen.

[00:41:16] Jen Ingram: Hey shifters. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of a whole lotta shift. If you heard something today that inspired you or resonated with you, please head over to iTunes and leave us a review to help others as well. Your review helps me give as much motivation and inspiration as I possibly can.

[00:41:36] Jen Ingram: And don't forget, you can catch all the outtakes bonuses. Special live stream interviews and much more over at a whole lot of shift Facebook group. Until next time, keep making shift happe