© Elliot Essman 2005. All rights reserved.

These pages contain the complete 2005 revised text of Building Yourself, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's guide to living the successful life.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Building Yourself Table of Contents
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• In everything the middle course is best; all things in excess bring trouble to men. Plautus (254–184 B.C.)

The right path for most people is somewhere in between. This means careful, proper nutrition, based on a good knowledge of your own body. It also means moderate exercise— done regularly and consistently.

Let's look at exercise first. The human body needs it. It keeps the brain sharp. It clears out the dead matter that clogs both body and mind. But people are overdoing exercise all the time. Fanatical exercise is for professional athletes. For anyone else, it's asking for exhaustion and injury. Many people go in cycles, exercising hard until they hit a brick wall. Then they let it slide. Later, they start the cycle all over again.

I used to run up to eight miles at a stretch, but I couldn't keep up this pace. I would exhaust myself. I would think this was all right, since I was “in training.” But who was I fooling? I'm a writer, not an athlete. My goal is optimum health, not breaking any records. I now do more sensible exercise. I am never exhausted and I never hurt myself. By going to some extremes and then learning from my body, I was able to determine the exact program of exercise that was right for me. I feel great.

People also go to extremes about nutrition: from eating everything in sight, to becoming much too cautious. As with exercise, the real key is learning what your body needs. Here are a few general hints that shouldn't offend anybody's strongly held nutritional beliefs. Learn to cook good fresh meals. That way you know what you're getting. Shop carefully and avoid processed foods. Do some research on vitamins and minerals for your particular body needs and take balanced supplements regularly. Beware of following health or weight loss fads. The only effective way to lose weight and to keep it off is to eat sensibly and get regular exercise. Period. Avoid empty food and drink addictives.

The goal is balance—and no one said that would be easy for busy people. It's tough to get regular exercise unless you make it a real priority. It's tough to learn to shop and cook instead of going for that frozen entree (with all that goo in it), unless you make it a real priority. It's tough to shake empty addictives unless you make it a real priority. It's tough to set up a vitamin and mineral program unless you make it a real priority. But this is your body and your priority.