If you’re running a home business, you’re probably struggling with a common problem: how to run your home business without going broke.

If you’re a parent, part of the answer may be right under your nose. in your children. Children not only have an invaluable sanity-saving life lesson to teach us, they are also the incentive to make this solution a priority.

This is what I mean …

Look, sometimes I have to grit my teeth when it’s time to do homework.

My son moved in the womb and has not stopped for the 12 years of his life. Even for homework.

Trying to make sure he stays focused on his math… and stepping in every five minutes on behalf of his sister who wants some quiet time to study… is beyond frustrating.

But sometimes I can go back a bit and see something else in its incessant movement: Life!

A few years ago Mayo Clinic researchers discovered an interesting phenomenon. They found that people who have this habit of aggravating restlessness tend to be thinner.

Digging deeper into this, they found that you can actually lose more weight by moving more slowly throughout the day than by exercising on the treadmill for an hour.

Children instinctively do this. They move, twitch, jump, wiggle, giggle, roll, jump, run, jiggle, bounce, jump and spin.

We adults have forgotten how to do this. We sit quietly at desks and get to work. And we are slowly killing ourselves.

As my husband points out,

“It’s not that we get old and stop moving.We stop moving and grow old.”

And this has profound implications for your business: This limitless energy that we see in our children stems from the instinct to move. Movement feeds movement and energy.

Adding some wiggles and shakes to our day will not only keep us leaner, but also more energized, productive, and – lots of research behind this – more mentally positive.

Now, I still want my son to eventually learn to sit still when needed and focus. When I find 7 mistakes in his math homework on a particularly bad day, I know he needs to learn this skill and be able to apply it strategically.

But I also don’t want him to completely lose this instinct to move.

So here’s the flip side: What are we teaching our children?

First Lady Michelle Obama has launched a major campaign to get kids moving more. It involves schools, community programs, sports teams and more.

But I think she was wrong. Children do not need to move anymore.

We adults do it.

Children will do what their parents do. When our children see us glued to the office chair and then to the couch, glued to our screens, what do we expect them to do themselves?

Keep moving alone?

No, they will follow our example.

When they see us worried about our health and express hopelessness about changing it… that’s what they will feel too.

And when it comes to their future… when they see us throw ourselves into our work leaving aside health, family, emotions… What do you think they will do when they grow up and have a busy adult life?

Now it’s not easy to integrate healthy habits into our busy schedules as parents and home business owners.

I am a health freak and have still had a hard time doing what I know I need to do to stay healthy at times. I have my business to run, my children to feed and the house to clean… you know what I’m talking about!

But I knew there had to be a better way to live Y works Y play that what we are doing more and more these days.

I discovered that it can be done with the right combination of decision and strategy.

Taking a page from our most adorable wrigglers and giggles, I discovered that we can transform our health. By making movement and healthy living an integral part of our lives instead of an isolated hour at the gym, we can make it an easier and more effective part of our day.

And most importantly, by modeling a more active healthy life we ​​can nurture that part of our children that loves to move and feel the energy coursing through their veins.

What better tool can we give our children than the knowledge that in order to live well and be successful in business, it is necessary to invest in their most valuable asset: their health.