Why Wellness is the Secret to Personal and Professional Success

[Music]

in 2012

after years of being a perfectionist a

people pleaser

and an overachiever i hit a wall

a wall of burnout exhaustion

defeat grief and what i deemed as

failure

i was a working mom of two little boys

and caught in the rat race of working in

the digital media and tech industry in

silicon valley

i was also part of a dual career couple

with my husband

i was sleep deprived filled with stress

and anxiety

and experiencing growing health issues

along with my husband

i was also ridden with mommy guilt

feeling inadequate at work and at home

unable to keep up with the demands in my

life and feeling disconnected

from my family friends and myself

this time in my life brought me to my

knees literally

and figuratively and made me yearn for

change and transformation

i had a deep and burning desire to get

my health back on track

have more time for my family and pursue

my lifelong passions around health

wellness and fitness i also wanted to

help others

make a positive impact on the world and

do so on my own terms

i then had a startling realization that

after many years

i might be ready to leave my corporate

career behind and step into the world of

entrepreneurship

it was both a terrifying and

exhilarating realization

and one that would take me a few years

before i was ready to act upon it

during those years when i was hitting a

crossroads in my career and life

my dear grandfather who i called my nana

passed away in 2014 on my birthday he

was my last living grandparent

and the biggest champion of my deepest

personal and professional aspirations

he told me when i was 23 years old he

could see me doing work

focused on the upliftment of human life

we were certainly aligned in our visions

for my future because when i was 19

years old and a sophomore in college

i wrote a personal mission statement and

in that mission statement which i still

have today

i wrote that i wanted to find my purpose

on this earth and serve humanity

to the best of my ability after all of

my struggles during this time

along with the death of my nana and

having to confront my fears of making a

drastic change in my career in life

i finally developed the strength and

courage

to catapult myself into where i am today

and

live out those visions and dreams my

nana had for me

and i had for myself all those years ago

i’m now striving for optimal health and

balance to find my way

for my family and myself i also finally

made that aspirational career transition

and i’m now the founder and ceo of a

health wellness and fitness company

with a mission of empowering women to

flourish both personally and

professionally through wellness

i actually knew early on in my life that

wellness

across four key pillars of mental

physical

emotional and spiritual health was the

secret to personal and professional

success

i’ve always had a natural passion to

learn and become certified

in fitness nutrition and behavior change

and in being a first generation born

indian american

i was exposed to and trained in yoga and

meditation at an early age

through my parents and grandparents but

i lost sight

of this very important concept of

wellness as my life became busier

through becoming a wife and mother and

became more complex and also trying to

balance my career and progress in my

career at the same time

through my struggles to balance all of

these roles along with experiencing the

consequences of sacrificing my own

health and happiness in the process

i thankfully found my way back to

wellness to be honest it was my only

choice

if i wanted true and lasting change and

transformation in my life

and as a result of my experience during

that time

i’m now doing my life’s work as i stand

here today

with empathy and grace to humbly share

my learnings

with all of you i know many women can

relate to my story

many of you may have your own stories

experiences and struggles around burnout

which is why i stand with you and

empathize with you

in fact in 2019 the world health

organization

classified burnout as an occupational

phenomenon

which has basically turned it into an

epidemic within the pandemic

we’re currently facing across the world

in 2020

and according to the centers for disease

control women

are especially vulnerable towards

anxiety depression

and stress these vulnerabilities

are even more prevalent right now due to

possible career uncertainties

increased household responsibilities

child care and virtual learning needs

for our children

and continued challenges with gender

equity in the workplace

based on a 2020 women in the workplace

report

by mckinsey and lean in and featured in

forbes

one out of four women are contemplating

downshifting their jobs

or leaving the workforce all together

these trying and unprecedented times

are having a negative impact on women’s

mental and physical health

and career trajectories and we as women

need to be the ones to put a stop to it

many research studies also show that

women

simply aren’t as happy as we were in

previous decades

due to a lack of time for self-care we

so often in our lives

put everyone and everything ahead of

ourselves

we neglect our own needs to tend to the

needs of others

and it’s killing us whether we believe

these are characteristics that are

innate in women

or develop socially and culturally over

time

we owe it to ourselves and the

generations that came before us

to break out of these norms and create a

better future for ourselves and the

generations that will come after us

now more than ever women need to be

fearless and at our best

both personally and professionally in

order to rise out of this difficult time

in history

become leaders and be successful if

we’re able to dig

deep and focus on our health and

wellness we’re more likely to feel

strong

empowered and resilient we may become

brave enough to take

risks face our fears and overcome

obstacles

we’ll be able to bring out the best

versions of ourselves for the benefit of

our family

and friends employers communities and

society as a whole

at the end of the day without our health

and well-being

we have nothing with our health and

well-being intact

we have everything and anything is

possible

so how do we incorporate this well-kept

secret of wellness into our lives

we can start by incorporating those four

key pillars of mental

physical emotional and spiritual health

here are some examples

of actions we can take pillar number one

mental health setting intentions each

day

versus letting the day get the best of

us getting organized in order to

maximize our productivity

and getting sufficient amounts of sleep

for optimal cognitive functioning

pillar number two physical health

incorporating a daily fitness regimen

for energy

stamina and strength and eating whole

and nutritious foods

for disease prevention and management

pillar number three emotional health

prioritizing our relationships with our

family friends and ourselves

by creating boundaries between work and

home life and

setting aside time for regular check-ins

with those we love

speaking up when we need support

speaking up when we see injustices

releasing the pressure to be perfect and

simply being our honest and authentic

selves

never giving up hope and taking a chance

on ourselves

and others and pursuing our passions

in order to spark joy creativity and

light

into our lives and the world around us

and finally pillar number four spiritual

health

connecting with our inner selves through

practicing mindfulness and deep

breathing

focusing on what is in our control and

letting go of the rest

knowing our core values and living

according to them

listening to our inner voice and our

intuition

and living with true purpose that’s

bigger than ourselves

and practicing kindness and empathy and

giving back in some way

ultimately it’s up to each one of us to

determine

which pillars and which actions within

each pillar

will be most relevant and transformative

for our lives now

verses later therefore i want to

encourage you

to prioritize and take one action at a

time

and then keep building from there over

time

i hope you’ll come to realize just as i

did that these four key pillars

of mental physical emotional and

spiritual health

are the tools we need to flourish and

they are the very reasons why i

wholeheartedly believe wellness

is the secret to personal and

professional success