Mind Over Money: Running marathons keeps this real estate director mentally fit

In an interview with ETMarkets, Ajmera said: “I am a big advocate of adopting a lifestyle and pursuing my health routine religiously. I work out at least 4-5 times a week” Edited excerpts:

Q) Take us through your daily, weekly fitness regime – how do you keep yourself mentally and physically fit?

I personally believe that if we really want to be successful in life, the most important thing to do is to be mentally strong. Mental and physical well-being is of the most and foremost importance.

If you prioritize your health, it changes your overall lifestyle. It creates a mindset to be more successful and resilient in achieving what you want.

Personally, I am a big advocate of adopting a lifestyle and pursuing my health routine religiously. I work out at least 4-5 times a week.

Running is something I am passionate about and it works as a revitalizer for me. I usually go running at least twice or thrice a week.A marathon runner – very impressive. Any recent ones that you have completed or won?

I’ve been running marathons for the last 15 to 16 years. I’ve participated in almost all of Mumbai’s marathons, completing four full marathons and plenty of half marathons.

The whole idea about running is that it completely rejuvenates me. It gives me a lot of time during running to think about how I want to progress in life personally and professionally, and last but not least, helps me to stay fit.

So, it serves both my purpose of being healthy and also, to think about work.

Tell a little bit about yourself – your background, education, and how your fitness journey started.

I have done an MBA from Cardiff University. Earlier, I was quite unhealthy and didn’t take fitness as seriously as I should have. Around the age of 26 or 27, I got a little bit of inclination towards running and enjoyed doing it. This marked the starting point of my journey to fitness.

Eventually, I started exploring workout techniques like HIIT, core exercises, and running exercises. From there on, it was never looking back and fitness, exercises, and workouts had become a part of my routine.

You did mention your inclination for cycling. It is also a full-body workout and helps keep a lot of diseases away. Tell us a little bit about that. The routine and any events in which you have participated recently.

After being into running for a considerable amount of time, I wanted to level up my fitness game and that’s when I got into cycling.

Soon, I will be participating in the Ironman Triathlon, which consists of cycling, swimming, and running.

What role does mental fitness play, especially in leadership roles?

I believe that when you are a leader, there are lots of uncertainties and challenges that you need to face on a daily basis.

The nature of these challenges can be impromptu or planned. However, as a leader, your role is to ensure that you are performing your job of addressing any given situation in a way that is in the best interest of my company and people.

One needs to be mentally calm and stable to do this. Talking from my own experience, fitness plays an important role in overcoming all these adversities.

Any experiences you would like to share which helped you become a better person?

Fitness has been one of the important pillars of my growth. I have seen myself growing and evolving into a better version of myself than I was earlier.

The time I spend working out, be it of any kind, gives me the window to think, reflect, and accordingly make decisions, both in business and personal aspects.

I have seen the benefits of this habit mirror the success we garner in my day-to-day business operations and decision-making.

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