Importance of mental well-being for a business owner or a CEO
Every day your mental well-being plays a role in your work performance. Prioritizing your mental health is a must if you are directing a corporation. When you travel on an airline, you must have heard flight attendants instructing you to “Put your oxygen masks on first, before helping others”. This analogy is true for business owners, CEOs, or executives.
According to Forbes reports, Deloitte insights, and other prominent research studies, business owners and leaders are suffering from terribly low mental, physical, and emotional health. They prioritize their packed business schedule and business needs over their personal needs. They ignore their wellness and well-being and as a result, their personal life suffers, which ultimately impacts their professional/business life negatively.
Struggles with depression, anxiety, divorce, etc. impact your mood and mental health drastically. You have probably been hearing and reading a lot about “employee well-being” programs and initiatives. These types of programs are being driven by C-suite executives who care for their team and employees. If your well-being is terrible, you can’t and won’t be able to take care of your employees.
So, this blog is about YOU. I will make you realize how prioritizing well-being can improve your professional lifestyle and help you succeed in your business. We will be improving your health as bonus!
4 battle-tested ways mental well-being can benefit your business
Up until 2018, Elon Musk used to work 120 hours per week at Tesla and SpaceX. Then one day he tweeted “You’re gonna go a little bonkers if you work 120 hours a week.” He admitted that his long work hours did more harm than good to the world. According to Business Insider, it costs his companies $20 million each year. Working more isn’t the answer.
He retreated to 80-90 hours a week later, but that’s also a huge workload if you are not Elon Musk. That’s just one instance, Google any self-made billionaire, and you will get to know that among their top priorities, well-being is one at the top.
The question is… why? Why do those billionaires (who know that if they work more, they will make more money) prioritize less work and more well-being?
The answers lie in 4 points that I mentioned below;
1. Increased productivity
Standford study on meditation and mindfulness showed that if you focus on your well-being, it enhances your concentration and focus. It also improves your mental health, and you can memorize things better.
Likewise, if you focus on better sleep and exercise, you make better decisions quicker. It helps you avoid “decision fatigue” that zaps your willpower.
Well-being is a state of mind, where you feel relaxed, satisfied, and calm. Mental well-being requires you to actively take care of mental, physical, and emotional health. You can achieve this state of mind by simply eating a balanced diet, exercising, and even sparing some time for your favorite hobby. I can help you with these.
Well-being increases productivity and when you are more productive, you perform better in business. It’s that simple. Next time you are feeling low productivity, burnout, or feeling like quitting, just go outside and move your body. You will feel better immediately.
2. Positive mindset and forward-thinking
This is one of the most beneficial outcomes of prioritizing mental well-being for a business owner. Business is a mind game, it takes some nerves to play big and achieve bigger goals. If a business owner is suffering from negativity, stressed out, or is stuck in the past, they won’t be able to run the business smoothly.
Prioritizing well-being builds your emotional intelligence, self-awareness, resilience, and optimism. This in turn helps you in pressure situations, leading to smarter decisions, quicker thinking as well as having better problem-solving abilities.
According to CNBC (which interviewed 21 self-made billionaires), business owners who prioritize well-being possess creative thinking. They also found they could come up with out-of-the-box ideas.
Isn’t that something your business demands? Yes!
Despite business success, a positive mindset will help you in other areas of life, too. You will get better at building stronger relationships, you will feel happy, and find more satisfaction in all areas of your life.
3. Better employee management
If you, as a leader, are an embodiment of mental well-being and physical health, your employees will more likely be following the same approach. When you preach well-being at the workplace, you’ll be walking the talk.
But, even if that’s not the case, your mental well-being will still help you manage your employees better. When you prioritize your overall well-being, you become a more understanding and compassionate leader. This magic touch translates to happier, engaged employees who feel valued, supported, and committed to your company. This leads to lower turnover and higher retention rates. It’s a win-win!
Stress management helps you communicate clearly and effectively which will build trust and reduce conflicts. Well-being creates a culture in your company that increases job satisfaction and employee loyalty. When you practice total well-being, you attract the brightest talent to your company.
What can be better than a positive, productive, and thriving work environment for your business? Nothing.
4. Better objection handling
Psychological studies show that 90% of problems are NOT real. These problems are only in our thoughts. Some psychologist says that 85% of what you worry about never happens.
Have you ever wondered ‘Where are the roots of these unreal problems’? They originate in your stressed out, tired, and mentally spent mind.
You may meet one person a day who is ranting and raving about all things going on around them. Those are the people who never try to implement well-being in their lives. They can’t handle pressure situations, they don’t know how to solve a problem so they complain.
On the other hand, a person who’s been consciously doing mental well-being practices is more likely to tackle all difficult situations in a snap. Those people have strong nerves and can handle major objections easily. It may sound a bit fictitious, but having your mental strength and physical health helps you use your superpowers.
We can use multiple modalities to manage stress, take action on the things we can do something about, and physically calm down your adrenals to avoid burnout.
It’s all up to you
You can ignore well-being if;
- You want your business to suffer
- You don’t like a balanced life of ease and relaxation
- You don’t want to see a positive change in the world
If not, then nothing is more important than keeping mental well-being and physical health at the top of your priority list.
I have worked with many business owners and being a Nutritional Consultant for well over a decade, I have noticed that;
- Those who actively take care of their health and well-being are succeeding in business
- Those who are careless about their health and well-being are facing difficulties in their business
Where do you stand?
If you don’t know the answer, if you are unsure about the solutions, or are stuck in a heavy business grind, I am here to discuss your health needs.
Successful C-Suite executives and business owners know the value of their health in changing their corporate culture to follow the leader. They are truly the heroes who save their companies money with less sick time, increased productivity, and improved retention rates to keep great employees.
LET’S CHAT to discuss your mental well-being and improving your physical health today!
Copyright Scientific Nutrition, LLC 2024
Further studies and reading
https://uhr.rutgers.edu/future-of-work/managing-your-well-being-leader
https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/in-the-news/good-health-is-good-business
https://startupsmagazine.co.uk/article-health-and-wellbeing-support-has-positive-impact-business
