Taking Care

If you asked ten people to rank which was more important in their lives, I’d say seven or eight of them would reflexively say that physical health is more important than success in business. If you’re not healthy, the reasoning goes, there’s no way to enjoy the fruits of success. These people also recognize that being robust and healthy gives you a better shot at becoming successful in the first place – and of staying that way.

As obvious as all of this may seem, it’s phenomenally easy to lose sight of the immediate importance of healthful habits. I know deep in my heart that being healthy is a long-term commitment, but I also know how easy it is to set that discipline aside. (As difficult as it may be for some of you to believe, I’ve been guilty of abusing my body from time to time.)

As we make our way through a summer season that many are seeing as the start of a real recovery for the watershaping industry, it’s easier than usual to set aside concerns about healthy living in favor of aggressively pursuing business opportunities that had gone missing through the past two or three years. While it is certainly wonderful to be busy, we should nonetheless be aware of the pitfalls that exist in living our lives out of balance.

FINDING BALANCE

It’s a fact: Not having enough work is stressful, but it’s also true that having too much can take its toll. Overwork leads to a lack of sleep and to limited and insufficient exercise – or to too much exertion if you’re in the service or construction end of the business. In these times, we fall into bad habits – eating fast food (or not eating at all) and consuming too much caffeine to get going in the morning and maybe indulging in a bit too much alcohol or sedatives in the evening to wind down.

The nasty thing is, you can find yourself on this slippery slope without even noticing it – or, more troubling, you may be aware of what you’re doing but have rationalized your unhealthy behaviors as it takes to stay focused on work – and on catching up rapidly after a couple of lean years.

In most things and especially when it comes to health, I’m a firm believer in striking balances. As I’ve written here many times in the past, I love the good life and make a point of engaging it head on as often as I can. I love great food and fine dining, and I especially love drinking good wine. On top of that, I see the occasional cigar as a nice, special indulgence.

In other words, I’m in no position to preach, nor do I have a holier-than-thou attitude. And I’m definitely not saying that anyone should give up the things they love, because I, too, am put off by health gurus who speak in absolutes about what anyone should or should not be doing. I believe instead that each person should make decisions that are right for his or her situation and that it’s not up to others to judge.

In plain terms, I suggest instead that we all need to seek balance in our lives. We should not hesitate, for example, to balance a week’s worth of hard work with a relaxing weekend. We should also incorporate rest and exercise into our routines during the week so we can stay sharp mentally and energetic physically. I know from experience that being healthy enables me to concentrate better, makes me more creative and helps me avoid stress.

Avoiding stress is very important: You don’t have to be a health professional to know that if you pile stress on top of a mind and body that is already compromised by a lack of rest, a bad diet and too little exercise, you’re asking for trouble physically and mentally.

To that end, I’m a confirmed believer that, when it comes to indulgences such as rich foods and great wine, those things are better enjoyed when you hold them in balance with healthy eating, proper hydration, adequate rest and reasonable exercise.

Balance is the key!

GOOD TO FEEL GOOD

Again, none of this should be news to anyone reading this column.

But there’s a subtler factor in play here: In our society, we like not only to feel good, but to look good as well. We like the idea of presenting an image of a fit and healthy person, and we know that, in our daily interactions with others, many of us are more positively disposed toward people who present a good appearance.

That doesn’t mean trying to look like a model or a body builder, but it does imply that you should carry a reasonable weight, groom yourself well, wear presentable clothing and have a healthy complexion, clear eyes and a nice smile. Everyone’s different, of course, but we all seem to value having someone we meet put his or her best foot forward.

We also seem to like the thought that we can do things of a physical nature – take long walks, swim in the ocean or outlast that large fish on the line. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed a real divide in the way people approach aging, especially when it comes to notions of remaining physically active.

I know plenty of people who do a great job of staying active and exercising well into their 60s or 70s and beyond. I admire them, because I know they have a far greater chance of retaining their physical strength, mobility and endurance and are obviously taking reasonable care of their bodies. And what I like most about these folks is that their physical health is almost always accompanied by a positive mental outlook.

I also know several people who have packed it in and have simply given up on their bodies – and then spend lots of time complaining that they can’t do the things they once did. None of us is crazy about the physical changes that come with getting older, but I think these people are focused a bit too much on dying and have lost touch with the fact that they still have more living to do.

I personally believe that giving in to the aging process is a great way to accelerate it. Yes, we’re all going to die, no exceptions, but none of us knows when, so I intend to live my life to the fullest and take care of myself as though I’ll be around indefinitely. No one gets out alive, so why worry about it? I’d much rather think in terms of how I can live better today and ponder how I might live even better tomorrow.

Again, it’s all about balance: We all need to exercise in ways that are appropriate (I, for one, have no plan to take up gymnastics, although my first steps in that direction might be hilarious to watch) and seek out activities that keep us moving, make our hearts beat a bit faster and maybe get us to break a sweat.

For example, I’m currently flirting with the idea of joining a four-man flag-football league. (That’s not a misprint.) Honestly, I just found a local league that has set up different divisions calibrated to differing levels of fitness and competitiveness. I’ve watched a few games and I think I’m a perfect candidate for participation in the Couch Potato Division. Now all I have to do is find a couple other guys with similarly appropriate ambitions.

UP TO YOU

In my case, the urge to hit the gridiron has sprung at least in part from a weight-loss program I’ve been on for the past few months. At this writing, I’ve dropped 30 pounds and feel fantastic.

The program I pursued was pretty extreme, but it’s what I needed to get myself on the right path. It’s hard to imagine, but for six weeks I existed with an extremely restricted diet and a daily caloric intake of no more than 800 calories. (I like to joke that I typically have 800 calories on my teeth after a good meal.)

The program forced me to change everything about my diet: no cooking oils, radically limited dairy intake, all starches eliminated (including bread and pasta, which was not easy in a household ruled by my Italian wife). Most painfully, I abstained from wine for 42 days, except for one evening where I cheated and had a couple glasses with a client.

I have so thoroughly retooled my dietary habits that it is my firm hope that now, as I allow some richer foods back into my life, I will do so in a more sensible way.

I can tell already that my personal boot camp for a healthier lifestyle has made a difference: I truly enjoy looking somewhat thinner, and I wasn’t prepared for the extra energy. True, being without wine for so long has, as my wife Gina will attest, made me crabby from time to time, but I am confident my jovial nature will bounce back once I reset my internal balances.

Everyone is different, of course, and what’s good for me might not be so good for you. In my case, I just couldn’t find a way to ease into things and slowly build momentum and, instead, had to take extreme measures. However you approach being healthy, there’s a strong chance that if you stick with it long enough to see some positive results, you’ll become even more enthusiastic about what you’re doing.

The toughest thing is getting started, and then the most important is sticking with the program. If you set your mind to it and truly want to become healthier, you will, as I have, be able to do it.

One of the great things about modern life is that you don’t have to look very hard or go very far to find resources that will help you get healthy. Fitness clubs are everywhere, diet programs are perhaps too plentiful, health-food stores are opening all over the map and the information available on television, online and in libraries is truly overwhelming. Lots of avenues to good health are available to all of us – we just need to take the first steps.

INDUSTRY FOCUS

Tying this monologue back to a broader observation, professionals in the watershaping industry should also remember that one of the big selling points for pools and spas is the fact that they, in addition to being beautiful, foster healthy lifestyles.

Swimming and all forms of aquatic activity are known to be among the healthiest forms of exercise – a fact widely recognized by teams of researchers and scientists. Just glance at the flood of data coming out of research sponsored by the National Swimming Pool Foundation (which, by the way, is doing amazing work on our behalf), you’ll find that activity in water benefits almost every facet of physical and even mental health, can be a part of anyone’s therapeutic regimen and even has been linked to increased longevity.

In a quantifiable way, we can say that our industry provides its clients with fountains of youth: The clinical data is incredible, far better than even the most optimistic of us would ever have imagined. Even though we’ve always known swimming is healthful, it’s actually far better for us than we ever dreamed.

It’s always bothered me that more watershapers don’t make hay with the primary benefits offered by our products – but perhaps there’s a balance to be struck here as well: After all, you don’t have to give up on beautiful aesthetics to promote health benefits at the same time. These are not conflicting concepts, but instead are complementary ideas that consumers love once they put them together and they can use the healthfulness of aquatic activity as a rationale for an aesthetic indulgence.

So step back and consider: You look and feel great, and you walk into a client’s home ready to discuss a product that not only will make the backyard more attractive, that not only will foster an engaging outdoor lifestyle, but that also stands to make the client more healthy. If you look at all this with the right set of eyes, your clients can have it all – and so can you.

To the extent that I’m preaching here, I hope that you’re the choir and that you already know all of this. As I see it, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain by keeping health on the top of our “to do” lists – not just for our clients, but for ourselves.

Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants, a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is a co-founder of the Genesis 3 Design Group; dedicated to top-of-the-line performance in aquatic design and construction, this organization conducts schools for like-minded pool designers and builders. He can be reached at [email protected].