I’ve had decades of coaching entrepreneurs and executives — people who put everything else before their health. They prioritize family, business, wealth-building, and countless other pursuits while treating their physical wellbeing as an afterthought. This approach is fundamentally backward, and I’m convinced it’s costing people not just their health, but their ability to achieve everything else they value.
When you place family first in your priority hierarchy, you’ll rarely choose exercise when faced with the alternative of spending time with loved ones. Similarly, if making money takes precedence over health, you’ll consistently choose work over workout. It’s human nature – we follow our priorities.
Health isn’t just another priority – it’s the foundation that makes all other priorities possible.
Think about it this way: When you’re healthy, your capacity for achievement expands dramatically. You have the energy, clarity, and stamina to pursue multiple goals simultaneously. But when health deteriorates, your options narrow dramatically. Suddenly, your only wish becomes feeling better again.
The False Choice of Health vs. Success
Many ambitious people fall into the trap of believing they must sacrifice health for success. I’ve coached countless executives who proudly wear their 80-hour workweeks and minimal sleep as badges of honor. They view health investments as time stolen from productivity.
This perspective fundamentally misunderstands how human performance works. The research is clear: proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and regular exercise dramatically enhance cognitive function, decision-making, creativity, and emotional regulation – the very qualities that drive success.
The most successful people I’ve worked with don’t succeed despite prioritizing health – they succeed because of it. Their physical wellbeing gives them the competitive edge that others lack.
The Convenience Trap
When health is a secondary priority, it becomes a matter of convenience. You’ll exercise only when conditions are perfect – when you’re on vacation in Bora Bora, when the weather is ideal, when you have absolutely nothing else competing for your attention.
This approach guarantees inconsistency. And with health, inconsistency means ineffectiveness. The benefits of exercise, proper nutrition, and adequate sleep compound over time through consistent practice. Sporadic efforts yield minimal results.
I’ve observed that people generally approach health in one of three ways:
- As a last resort when problems arise
- As an occasional convenience when conditions are perfect
- As a non-negotiable foundation for everything else
Only the third approach yields transformative results. When health becomes your first priority, other priorities don’t suffer – they flourish.
The Multiplier Effect
The most powerful insight I’ve gained about health prioritization is what I call the “wish multiplier.” When you’re healthy, you get multiple wishes and dreams each day. Your energy reserves allow you to be fully present with family, excel at work, pursue personal interests, and contribute to your community.
But when health deteriorates, you get just one wish, one dream per day. Your limited energy forces brutal tradeoffs between what matters most. This creates impossible choices no one should have to make.
I’ve witnessed this reality with clients who neglected health until serious problems emerged. Suddenly, career ambitions, family time, and personal pursuits all took a backseat to the overwhelming priority of regaining basic wellbeing.
Practical Implementation
Prioritizing health doesn’t require becoming a fitness fanatic or abandoning other responsibilities. It simply means establishing non-negotiable health practices that come first in your daily schedule:
- Schedule exercise appointments with yourself that have the same importance as your most crucial business meetings
- Establish consistent sleep and wake times that provide adequate rest
- Plan nutritious meals rather than leaving food choices to convenience or impulse
- Build stress management practices into your daily routine
- Track health metrics with the same attention you give to business KPIs
The key is consistency over intensity. A moderate daily health practice yields far greater results than occasional extreme efforts.
My experience coaching high-performers has shown that those who implement these practices don’t sacrifice success – they accelerate it. Their enhanced energy, focus, and resilience create a competitive advantage that compounds over time.
The choice is clear: put health first and multiply your capacity for everything else, or put it last and watch your options narrow. Your priorities determine your results. Choose wisely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can busy professionals realistically make health their top priority?
Start small with non-negotiable health blocks in your calendar. Even 20-30 minutes of exercise, proper meal planning, and protecting your sleep schedule can make a tremendous difference. The key is consistency and treating these appointments with yourself as seriously as you would treat meetings with your most important clients.
Q: Won’t putting health first take away from family time?
Actually, prioritizing health enhances family time because you’ll be more present, energetic, and emotionally available. Consider involving family in health activities or using your enhanced energy to create more meaningful connections. Remember, it’s not just about quantity of time but quality.
Q: What if my work environment doesn’t support healthy habits?
This is a common challenge. Start by identifying what aspects you can control – perhaps bringing healthy meals, taking short walking breaks, or establishing boundaries around work hours. Then gradually advocate for wellness initiatives that benefit the entire organization, positioning them as productivity enhancers rather than distractions.
Q: How do you measure the return on investment for prioritizing health?
Track both objective metrics (energy levels, productivity, sick days, sleep quality) and subjective ones (mood, stress resilience, mental clarity). Many of my clients report that within 30-60 days of making health their top priority, they accomplish more in less time and experience significant improvements in decision-making and creative problem-solving.
Q: Is it ever too late to make health a priority?
Absolutely not. The human body has remarkable regenerative capabilities at any age. I’ve worked with executives in their 60s and 70s who transformed their health and experienced dramatic improvements in energy and cognitive function. The key is starting where you are and building consistent habits that support your wellbeing.
