WE’RE HALFWAY THERE (BON JOVI AGREES)

I hope you are enjoying your morning water routine and your endorphin boost from adding daily exercise. Thank you to everyone that has reached out, and a special shout out to Total Party Planner! Their team was inspired by the wellness challenge, and at their State of The Company meeting last week they launched a company-wide TPP 5,000 Miles Challenge. Everyone in the company can contribute miles walked (or ran) to the overall goal. SO COOL! This idea has me excited to incorporate a team wellness challenge here at Footers. Keep MIBE-ing TPP, we are so proud of you!

WEEK 3

Growing up my dad always said: “The real learning begins when grade school ends.” I never understood at the time what this meant. In high school I was an ‘A’ student earning AP credits, involved in all the clubs and active on two sports teams. This routine continued into my college years as well. I was excelling at life and doing “real” learning, or so I thought. What I underestimated was the pressure and structure around the learning. I was so busy with deadlines and test dates that I just kept my head down and did the work because I had to. In a lot of ways the environment I was in basically forced me to learn. Then when I graduated college, I thought I arrived. WOO HOO!!! School is out! No more studying, no more tests, time to be a grown-up and start adulting. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Just me? Doubtful. A lot of us go through a similar experience as we face the real world. The realization that you never actually “arrive” is where the magic lies.

While pressure is known to create diamonds, the lack of pressure just leaves you with rocks. So what happens when you remove the pressure of school? You can either manufacture the pressure or you can intentionally choose the path of life-long learning. I have done both, and in my experience it is much healthier to dedicate to the path of being a life-long learner. This takes personal commitment and dedication, as no one is going to do it for you. At this phase of life, there are no longer teachers holding you accountable to turn in your homework. And you can’t use the excuse that the dog ate it! This is when you are tested in life to take personal responsibility for your future. Incorporating positive uplifting content into your day helps create a positive mindset. The power of a positive mindset can take you far in life as it contributes to goal-setting and achievement, lower stress, increased immunity, and it has even been proven to help you live longer!

CHALLENGE 3

So this week your challenge is to incorporate 30-45 minutes of personal development into your daily routine. Just like last week, we want to stack this in addition to your water and exercise. I know you might be thinking that I am asking too much, but once you get the hang of this it will be something you do every day, just like brushing your teeth. You can do this in multiple ways. My favorite is to listen to an audio book or podcast while I am exercising. I love a good multitask moment and this accomplishes both wellness initiatives at the same time! You can also listen while you are getting ready in the morning or on your drive to work or in the car between client meetings/walkthroughs. Anthony and I used to commute 45-60 minutes to work each way and called our vehicle a "University on Wheels" because we used that time to listen to positive motivational audio books. If audio isn’t for you, you can also begin or end your day reading a book (the Wednesday mid-week mibe message counts too) or get a mid-day boost with a personal or professional YouTube, a TEDx talk, or Anthony’s personal favorite Masterclass. These are just a few ideas to get you started. There are a ton more opportunities out there!

If you have already been doing this, I would love to hear from you! Or better yet, please share on the MIBE social media so we can all be inspired. If you reply to this email or email me directly, I will send you a list of some of my personal favorites.

I would be remiss if I didn’t use this opportunity to wish my best friend Anthony a Happy Anniversary. Yesterday we celebrated 13 years of marriage. The reason I bring this up is because one of Anthony’s most admirable qualities is his dedication to learning. It is even incorporated into one of his top personal core values. The way he takes responsibility for his personal and professional growth has always inspired me, was definitely an attraction early on, and still is today! So there is one more bonus for you: personal development might even help your dating-life/marriage ;)