When you feel better, you tend to feel better about yourself which leads to a confidence boost. This helps you to make better & quicker decisions in tough situations. Most of the time, your gut is right. You just have to have the confidence to believe in yourself & your abilities. Being physically fit means your brain is working better & more efficiently allowing you to make quicker & better decisions on issues that come up on duty and off duty. These choices effect you, your partner & your department.

Exercise combats effects of physical & mental stress while improving your brain’s response to stress. You may not be able to reduce the daily stressors in your long day, but you can change the way you respond. At the same time, increased confidence & lowered stress chemicals help manage the symptoms of depression & anxiety. In some cases, even 30 minutes of exercise a day is even more effective than medication! Being mentally strong can help you to make better decisions for you, your partner & your family.

When your body is able to function better & more efficiently, it allows for the extra energy that would have been spent on basic & every day functions & tasks - to be spent on other things. This could include going fishing, checking off some of those honey-to-do lists, or even more quality time spent the kids after long shift. Being able to more efficiently & quickly accomplish the same amount of tasks, allots you a little extra time & energy - even if its just going to dinner with your loved one, or staying up a little later to finally finish that show you love. The extra energy gives you & your family a better quality of life.

Highly motivated individuals tend to perform better. This shows in their attitude, daily outlook, performance, quality of work, time management & is directly felt by their partner. This means you need to try every way you can to keep your motivation and your belief high. There will be setbacks, disappointments & tough days. If you have a clear idea of what you are trying to accomplish & you are mentally & physically able to keep up with the challenging career, you stand the best chance of achieving your goals & success.

Over the winter months especially, it is easy to get a little sluggish. Keeping you flexible, strong & healthy for when you really need it - a healthy diet & maybe even some lost pounds will help you to perform better. Less weight puts less pressure on your bones & joints, increasing flexibility & agility. This helps to make you faster & have a quicker reaction time. Split second decisions/actions are often required in this line of work - the better shape you are in, the better prepared you are. 

Being a police officer is a physically challenging occupation demanding long hours on top of constant mental strength, discipline, compassion & state of awareness of your surroundings. No matter if you walk the halls of high school, are a security officer, or you are in pursuit of a fleeing criminal - you need to be in physical shape. This includes being flexible enough to correctly fulfill your duties & potentially avoid injury. You earn your PTO days & you should use them taking vacation, going hunting, whatever brings you happiness - not laying in bed sick or injured. Staying in shape will help to avoid this as much & as long as possible.