IS IT THE END, OR THE BEGINNING?

Welcome to the fourth and final week of April’s MIBE Wellness Challenge. You have come this far, and I know you can hang in there for one more week and MIBE new healthy habits in your life. I hope you are enjoying your morning water routine, your endorphin boost from adding daily exercise, and your weekly motivation by incorporating personal development learning. Thank you to everyone that has reached out, and a special shout out to our friends at True Space!  They have been inspired to launch a company-wide wellness challenge in May. It is not too late for you to do the same at your own company.

WEEK 4

At Footers we provide lunch for our team Monday through Friday. We usually have between 30-50 people so most of the time there is a line. Thanks to our Ambassador of Awesomeness, Sam Totten, who is ALWAYS MIBE-ing, we recently added a double-sided buffet so the line moves faster. One benefit of the line though, is the organic conversations that take place with teammates while waiting. Last week I was standing next to Chef Dylan, our Chef de Cuisine, and chatting with him about his secret recipe for french fries. He makes the BEST french fries, seriously they are so addictive! I asked him why he didn’t get any on his plate for lunch and he said “Oh, I don’t eat fried food.” He said it with so much conviction that I was taken aback for a moment. I asked him why, and he explained that a year ago he made a choice for health reasons to just no longer eat fried foods. WOW, talk about self-control!

I shared with our MIBE community in attendance at our annual Summit that I, like Dylan, recently made a change for health reasons. One and a half years ago, I practically quit drinking alcohol. I say practically because I will still enjoy wine on the very rare occasion, like last summer in Italy with my ICAEF friends, and last Fall visiting a winery in Santiago, Chile. Today, alcohol is no longer a part of my daily routine. I realized I was getting too comfortable with the frequency and list of reasons I thought I needed to drink alcohol.  After reading Alcohol Explained and learning its affects on the body, I made a convicted decision to remove it from my day-to-day lifestyle. Fortunately, the non-alcoholic movement has really taken off and now I am an expert on the best N/A beer, N/A cocktails, N/A wine and N/A spirits. Reach out to me for my favorite suggestions!

CHALLENGE 4

I know what most of you are thinking; “What is April going to have us add to our daily routine this week?” Well, the answer is “nothing,” because this week is all about removing something from your daily routine. We are down to the final week so I am going to ask everyone to dig deep and challenge yourself personally by removing one thing for seven days (something from Week 1, 2 or 3 doesn’t count). And I don’t want this to be a Nicola Jokic lay-up (Go Nuggets)! Use this as an opportunity to remove something for 7 days straight that you know is difficult for you to give up personally. It is just one week, and you can blame me if you need an excuse! 

While I used to enjoy a glass or two of red wine to end my day and “allegedly” ease my mom stress, Anthony has always had more of a sweet tooth. I joke with him that there isn’t a baked good or ice cream he can pass by. I swear, he used to make multiple trips through our Footers kitchen just to sneak a cookie or sample a new dessert. I know this is going to be extremely difficult for him, but I am challenging Anthony to give up added sugar for the next seven days. I know he can do anything he puts his mind too, but I also know this is going to be a stretch goal for him.

Whether it is fried foods, alcohol, sugar or even television, be sure to select something to remove that is personal to you so that you maximize the benefits over the next seven days. As a bonus, make time in the next week to learn about what you are removing and the health benefits associated with not having it in your daily routine. It might lead to a more permanent change in your lifestyle!

KEEP IT GOING!

I’ve provided four attainable Wellness MIBE’s that you can incorporate into your daily lives starting today, that will make a huge difference you’ll start to notice a week, a month, a year from now and into the future. And since I love a good hack, consider this; If you wake up and go on a 45 minute walk, while listening to a podcast geared towards your own personal development, and staying hydrated with 32 oz of water, and then NOT having that cup of coffee before you head to the office, you have consolidated your 4-MIBE Challenge into just 45-minutes once per day!

Wherever your wellness journey leads you, I encourage you to find something that works for you, and just keep going! If you haven’t noticed, I’ve truly enjoyed taking over the MIBE Message these past few weeks, and it was awesome getting to hear from many of you. Thank you all and please continue to connect via email or our Social Media!

With Love, April