My mental well-being journey started with self-awareness. There came a day when I realized that I needed to connect with my true self, my plans, priorities, and dreams if I wanted to become the best version of myself. I spent some time figuring out the answers to these questions, and ultimately this helped me focus and commit to my personal improvement plan!

My first area of improvement was food. I knew I wanted to start eating better, but I’m someone who always cheats on every diet or meal plan. It’s hard for me to say no to delicious food! Once I realized we are what we eat, I understood how essential nutrition is to whole health. I now enjoy treating myself with nutritious and healthy food, because I know how much it’s benefitting my health.

The next thing to tackle was movement. After a little bit of trial and error, I found the joy of connecting my body, mind, and soul through yoga! I now start every morning with a yoga practice, and the exercise makes me feel energized, strong, and healthy. Sometimes I like to pair this with my meditation Microstep. I practice pranayama, the exercise of breathing. For me this means filling my body with the source of life: oxygen. Meditation helps me to manage stress and be present every day.

Once I took care of my personal well-being goals, I focused on reconnecting with others. Remote work has made it more difficult to bond with co-workers — even if you worked alongside them before the pandemic — so I found great satisfaction in reconnecting as a team with a group of my team members! Our relationship is founded on mutual trust and understanding. Each of us has a life beyond work, and we help each other to have a balanced life. We work hard, play hard, and make our daily work fun by finding moments to relax and share together.

I have two pieces of advice for those looking to begin their own well-being journey. The first is to do things you love! Spend time with your loved ones, find new hobbies, lose yourself in nature. All of these things charge my batteries and fill me with joy and happiness. Figure out what you love!

The second piece of advice is to believe in the power of consistency. It is in your daily efforts, in small Microsteps, where you can make your life more balanced, more fulfilling, more fun, healthier, and happier! Taking good care of yourself is a priority, but don’t get frustrated if you don’t see results right away. To set those good habits for the long-term, start small and consistent.

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