003: A Rarely Discussed Dimension of American Corporate Life

It doesn’t take an extensive doom scroll search down your newsfeed to recognize that there is an abundance of self-help gurus on social media who advocate vacating your 9-to-5’s in favor of business ownership (or generally taking up your own venture somehow). While self-employment or business ownership is perfectly commendable, I am not one of those people. As long as one is able to keep in perspective that he or she is not much more than a number at the end of the day, it can serve as a solid foundation for one’s financial life.

I am thankful to have had enough success in my corporate career that I have been able to maintain my finances without too much issue (although the last few years have been a little tighter for everyone), so this isn’t a knock on corporate life.

I do want to touch on a concerning trend that I’ve noticed though. I’ll begin this reflection by first disclosing that I spent 5+ years in the United States Coast Guard–4 years at the academy before those 5. Fitness was drilled into me, and I took it further yet. I was a collegiate athlete and continued my strength training interest after graduation. My time in the service shaped my fitness life, and I bought into it heavily. Only during a brief period where I was battling some semblance of–I don’t want to call it depression, but being in a dark place when my mother passed away–struggle, did I ever really let myself go. I was fortunate, due to a few good friends who kept me accountable to myself, to quickly get back on track.

So when I transitioned into the corporate world, I was almost shell-shocked by the general state of people. In my years as a corporate employee, I have known countless co-workers who fall into a morbidly obese category. Good people, too. That’s the tip of the iceberg though.I know a concerningly high number of people who have suffered heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure is a regularity, and that’s just those who are open about it. I could talk about diabetes, but half the damn country has some form of diabetes at this point. 

It is easy for people in my position to forget that I was required to make my fitness a commitment. In more recent months and years, my diet has become more of a focal point in my life. There is nothing of such variety in most professional sectors. For that reason, few people probably even think to make it a commitment–to set a non-negotiable boundary–in their lives to exercise. And despite some half-assed rhetoric about work-life balance from corporate talking points, most large companies see minimal incentive to contribute to any progress on this topic (despite that having a healthier and more energetic workforce would undoubtedly help the bottomline in a roundabout way).

Combine that with the fact that it is more difficult to maintain health and fitness in the United States. We work more hours than most countries, we are balancing family life with professional life, and we most importantly have a plethora of gravely unhealthy food options in our grocery stores. The clean items are there, but it requires a deliberate effort.

I say that to say this…it’s easy to let yourself go. 42% of the country completely has (the obese portion of the United States.) Three-quarters are overweight, and chronic disease is likely the unspoken but existential threat of our time. I don’t even fully blame you if you’re struggling with the waistline, as sedentary lifestyles in professional sectors do not help. But you get to own the trip back to the promise land. It requires planning ahead, at least a little, on meal planning (and shop the damn perimeters of the grocery stores, other than maybe spices). Set a rigid boundary around a block of time each day to exercise–or at least several days per week. Have those close to you keep you on track. None of this is meant to be critical, but it has become beyond concerning. It troubles me to see so many great people needlessly lead unhealthy lives. To think, some consider it laziness. I think this is far from the truth. Americans are many things, good and bad. Laziness though? With the hours we work and multi-faceted lives we balance? Come on…

So eat real food. Exercise. Get outside. Keep the junk calories out of the pantry. These are difficult to implement consistently, but they are simple concepts.

I have heard it said that most who lack the energy to exercise don’t have the energy to exercise because they don’t exercise. Momentum works both ways. Just a random midweek thought.

I’ll finish this up by saying a few quick things. First, thank you if you read this far. I am detailing a problem that I think there might be broader solutions for, but in the meantime it is up to individuals to make a few changes.

Additionally, this is an important part of my life. I’ll likely make more posts in this blog about fitness and general health. I’m not a robot though. I am also a foodie, and I enjoy a nice glass of wine or cocktail. Moderation is key, but food and beverages will probably make their way into this gumbo of blog topics as well. Don’t expect me to stay on the same topic too damn extensively or often. I suck at it in real life and don’t see how this will be much different. :) Cheers!

-P.K. Pajak