I’m a 45 year old Executive for Accent Inns and have been thinking of a good answer. If you really think about the question perhaps I should be saying to myself, “why am I not still healthy in the first place?”
If you’re lucky enough to be in a job that requires physical activity as part of the job then you probably don’t need to read this article. If you’re like me and have a job that has you either sitting behind a desk, the wheel of a car or worse, breakfast meetings, luncheons, dinner events, mixers with food always present, then take heed. In the world of business today it is so easy for us to focus on our work and forget taking care of #1 (yourself). Speaking from my own perspective I’ve gone from being very active in my life to only occasionally getting “out there” anymore.
You might be thinking out there why doesn’t he go to a gym or work out at home and you’d be right. For many folks I know those kind of activities work well. In fact the Accent Inn hotel chain has made sure to have either onsite fitness rooms for our business travelers or access to great facilities like the Steve Nash sports clubs. My issue has been with time. I either need the time to complete my work, connect with our many community partners, or hang-out with my beautiful wife and daughter.
So here I am in a time of reflection. Take a look at my boss, Mandy Farmer, President and CEO of Accent Inns. She’s just as busy , if not more, than I am but she has been clever enough to integrate physical activity into her daily life. Years ago I used to ride my bicycle daily to School, then later in life when I worked at the Accent Inn Victoria Hotel I again commuted by bike. For some reason I have gotten away from that. Now here I am working with my colleagues to launch new Cycling and Kayaking packages and focusing much of my time on partners that support Accent Inns environmental values. “BING” it hit’s me. Why don’t I rework my schedule, my routine, and get back to cycling to work. Well that is exactly what I’ve started to do. One great advantage our Accent Inn Victoria Hotel and our Accent Inn Vancouver Airport Hotel staff has is year round decent weather in which to cycle. Sure it may rain in the fall and winter but generally it’s warm enough that you can still ride. Throw on some rain gear and you’re set.
Now the nice thing about commuting by bike is that it fits my schedule, works with my routine, and is getting me back to being healthy. In many cases I’m passing all the cars stuck in the same traffic that I used to get stuck in. With the invention of smart phones, I can ride my bike, listen to music and take and make business calls, all while riding! The other wonderful benefit is that I’m being green in my commute. Corporately Accent Inns has been trying to find ways to not only make our operations as environmentally responsible as is practical but also to work with our staff and help them contribute to this goal in their own personal lives. By several of our Accent Inn team riding bikes or taking transit like the Skytrain to work, really helps our company decrease the overall impact we have on our local environment. So when is it a good time to get healthy…if you’re smart, never get to a point that you have to ask that question and if you stay at an Accent Inn hotel, we’ll do our best to keep your options open!