You know that feeling when travel completely knocks you out of rhythm?

A few years ago, I flew from Alaska to Virginia to spend time with my family. It should have been an energizing, joy-filled trip. Instead, within two days, I felt that unmistakable fog creeping in, the heavy limbs, the scratchy throat, the dull ache behind the eyes that whispers, Uh-oh… you’re going down.

By the time I returned home, I was sick. My energy had tanked. My focus was scattered. And every ounce of leadership I normally bring to my work felt muted. Not because my desire to lead had faded, but because my body couldn’t keep pace with my responsibilities.

That trip reminded me of a truth I see repeatedly, not just in my own life, but in the lives of every leader I coach: health isn’t a side project. It’s the infrastructure that holds up everything else you’ve built.

Why Health Isn’t Optional for Leaders

We live in a culture that often treats health as something we’ll “get to” when there’s more time. But leadership doesn’t wait. Every conversation, decision, and opportunity flows through your physical capacity to engage with it.

When your body is strong, you carry more presence into the room. Your influence multiplies because you’re fully available, mentally, emotionally, and physically. When your body is depleted, the opposite happens. Even the best strategies fall flat because you can’t execute them with energy and focus.

Leaders, like a female business coach, who put health on the “optional” list eventually pay for it. The cost shows up in missed opportunities, slower decision-making, lower resilience, and sometimes even diminished credibility.

The Hidden Benefits of Good Health

Most people know the obvious benefits of staying healthy: more energy, better focus, fewer sick days. But the hidden benefits are often the ones that elevate your leadership.

When you are physically well, you bring a calm steadiness into high-pressure situations. You think more clearly and make better decisions under pressure. You recover faster, not just from illness, but from the emotional and relational bumps that leadership inevitably brings.

This quiet, steady resilience is contagious. Your team feels it. Your colleagues trust it. And your influence deepens because people sense they can rely on you.

Your Body Is Your Best Leadership Asset

If you want to lead for the long haul, your health isn’t negotiable. It’s not “extra.” It’s foundational.

You can’t outsource it. You can’t delegate it. You can’t schedule it into someone else’s calendar. You can only steward it, one wise choice at a time.

So take the walk. Eat the nourishing meal. Rest before you’re exhausted. These aren’t luxuries, they’re effective leadership decisions. And they will multiply your impact more than any single productivity hack or time-management system ever could.

Your body is the only leadership tool you can’t replace. Treat it like it matters, because it does.

Dr Barbara Eatoon

Want to Go Deeper?

I write more about this in Two Streets Named Hard, especially Chapter 5, where I explore how personal development can feel painfully slow and strangely invisible, even when everything inside you is shifting. You’ll see how to work with your nerve system instead of against it, and why honoring the hidden, uncomfortable parts of growth might be the strongest thing you’ve ever done.

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