ThemeEnergy & Wellbeing
CardCard 23 of 66
Questions5 to explore

Health

Current state & history you need to be aware of

Your health is not separate from your career; it is one of the foundations that everything else rests on.

It is easy to treat health as something to deal with later, once things calm down at work. But the relationship runs the other way: the state of your health shapes your capacity for everything else, from concentration and creativity to resilience and the ability to handle pressure.

This includes physical health (sleep, movement, chronic conditions, nutrition) but also mental and emotional health, which often go unexamined until they become a crisis. Understanding your own history and current state gives you information you need to make better decisions about how you work.

This is not about achieving some ideal of wellness. It is about being honest with yourself about what you are carrying, what you need, and whether the way you are working is sustainable over the long term.

How to work on it

Practical ways to reflect on and develop this dimension of your working life. How it tends to look at different stages of a career, and where to put your attention.

Early career

Build the foundational habits now, while the stakes of neglecting them seem low. Sleep, movement, and stress management are much easier to maintain than to recover. Your future self will notice whether you invested here.

Mid career

Take stock of what years of work have done to your body and mind. Do you have chronic tension, disrupted sleep, or patterns of anxiety that have become so familiar they feel normal? Naming them is the first step toward addressing them.

Later career

Be honest about how your health is shaping what is possible for you. This is not about decline; it is about working with the body and mind you have. Many experienced professionals find that being more selective about where they put their energy is the most effective adjustment they can make.

A practical start

Answer honestly: how well are you sleeping, how much are you moving, and how would you rate your stress levels right now? Those three things tell you more than almost any other measure.

Questions to explore

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

How would you honestly describe your physical health right now, and how is it affecting your work?
Are there health issues (physical or mental) that you have been managing around rather than addressing?
How does stress show up in your body, and what do you typically do about it?
Is the pace at which you are currently working sustainable for the next five years?
What would it look like to take your own health as seriously as you take your professional responsibilities?

Things to notice

Treating health as a reward for finishing the work. There is always more work. If you wait for things to calm down before taking care of yourself, you may wait a long time.
Normalizing symptoms that deserve attention. Persistent fatigue, difficulty concentrating, chronic anxiety, and disrupted sleep are signals worth responding to, not just the cost of doing business.
Conflating health with performance. The goal of attending to your health is not to become more productive. It is to live better, which includes but is not limited to your work.