Your gifts, your circumstance, your purpose, your imperfections, your journey, your destiny. It’s molding you, so embrace it.

A few weeks ago I attended the inaugural Elliman Altitude conference focused on Mind, Body and Business. It was great to connect with so many of our agents from around the country and create even bigger and better opportunities together. The weekend was packed with powerful information focusing on how better awareness of the mind body connection can positively impact productivity and performance. It makes a lot of sense. Any elite athlete will tell you the importance of a positive mindset when it comes to their quest to be the best.

The timing of our event was perfect since lately I’ve been thinking about the mind body connection and the impact it has on everything—including our sleep, energy focus and even our eating habits so I was especially excited to hear what the expert speakers at the Altitude Aspen event had to share on the topic. Whether we realize it or not, the brain and the nervous system, the endocrine and immune systems, and all of the organs of our body, all of the emotional responses we have share a common chemical language and are in constant communication with one another. This means that our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and attitude can both positively or negatively impact our functioning. And, what we do physically, from how much exercise we do, the food we eat and stress, which releases cortisol into our bodies, can have a positive or negative impact on our mental and physical state. I know I feel a whole lot better on days I workout than days I don’t. That’s not a coincidence. That’s the mind body connection. And, I also know I am a lot more focused and productive on those days I go to spin class or train in the gym. I often say, “How you start your day determines the outcome.” Starting with a positive mindset, doing something healthy for your body is a tremendous combination and a great way to start your day.

Awareness of the mind-body connection is hardly new. However, I am seeing more and more the implementation of making this connection in business. Why? Because awareness is a great first step to becoming better at everything we do. And mind body awareness starts with listening to your body. 300 years ago, virtually every system of medicine throughout the world treated the mind and body as a whole. But during the 17th century, the Western world started to see the mind and body as two distinct entities. It’s as if body is like a machine, complete with replaceable, independent parts, with no connection whatsoever to the mind. Of course, today it sounds absurd to think there isn’t some type of a connection. How often do we go about our days feeling things like a tightness in our shoulders, a stomach ache or other ailments and either ignore them, write them off or try to determine their cause, without really finding an answer? While sometimes these problems are simply the result of having eaten the wrong thing, moved the wrong way or being exhausted, our state of mind and our emotions could be the real contributing factors to consider.

Humans are all full of energy. This isn’t some new-age spiritual concept. Our body literally has electricity that runs through it and it flows or becomes blocked based on several factors, both mental and physical. What I learned last week was the importance of keeping flow and the importance of navigating blocks.

Next time you have a pain somewhere, notice tight shoulders, etc., take a moment and see if any of these can trigger some internal reflection. What’s going on in your life? Are you under a deadline at work? Are you going through an emotional time? A breakup? Are you carrying around everyone else’s problems as your own? Maybe you’ve been eating the wrong foods or drinking more than usual, something that often happens as we near the festivities of the holiday season. We give in to temptation and then pay the price. If you take a beat and think about any of these possibilities, you might be able to pinpoint areas that are draining your emotional bucket. I greatly believe the emotional and spiritual side of our health is just as important as the physical — it’s just been avoided because we tend to set aside personal development for the quick fix. I get it. I love instant gratification as much as anyone, yet sometimes the obvious is so easy to overlook.

When you start to figure out what you are feeling in those areas, you can question how it got there and why you feel that way, and then ultimately accept it for what it is—not what you want it to be. Afterward, know that it’s all an experience, and now there’s a chance for you to move beyond it. The issue will not have the same power and you can now choose how you feel. At the end of the day, the body can be a great tool for showing you what you might be holding onto emotionally, energetically, and spiritually. With an open mind and personal honesty and reflection, you have the tools to get to the bottom of your issue and leave it behind for good.