#WellnessWednesday: what fuels you?

At the beginning of every year, I used to set very elaborate New Year’s Resolutions. Each February however, I found myself no longer going to the gym 5 days a week or stopping to bring my lunch every day, like I promised myself I would.  

This past year, however, I decided to take a different approach. I wanted to be more realistic with my resolution setting. So, I only set one resolution: to read one book a month.  

I was inspired to do this because of Bandwidth’s Whole Person challenges where we dedicate time outside of work to complete a variety of different “tasks” to become a more well-rounded, Whole Person: Mind, Body, Soul. Some of the tasks in the past have been workout components for The Body, reading books or watching TEDtalks for The Mind, and learning about a fallen solider and writing a bio about them for The Spirit.

As I sat down at the beginning of this year to think about a New Year’s Resolution, I thought about Bandwidth’s Whole Person premise. I’ve always been a fairly active individual so I knew a “Body” resolution wasn’t going to be rigorous enough. But where I fall short was dedicating time to refresh my mind and take time for myself. I found myself spending a lot of time binge watching Netflix show, after Netflix show, and I felt my brain becoming Jello. So, I decided to find a Resolution that would merge “Mind” and “Spirit.”

Reading has always been a very peaceful activity for me. I love challenging my mind with different ways of thinking and discovering new perspectives.  And sure, I didn’t think reading a book a month would be too hard.

But as life got in the way these past 9 months, I found it incredibly hard to make time to sit down and read. There have been a few months that I was close to slipping but I’m happy to report, I’m on book #9 this month. I’m currently reading “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson (and highly recommend it). 

#shegone