Tag: personal development

Your Health in Action: 5 Wellness Books Worth Reading

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As a writer, I constantly try to prioritize reading as a part of my daily life. (Some years, I’m more successful than others!) From fiction and poetry to nonfiction and memoirs, I try to vary my genres as much as possible to broaden my perspective and inspire my own creativity. Of course, because wellness is a huge focus for me and my blog, I often gravitate toward personal development books and podcasts.

For tonight’s edition of Your Health in Action, I wanted to share a few favorite wellness and personal development books worth exploring! As always, please feel free to share your suggestions in the comments below. I’m constantly looking for my next great read. 🙂

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small compensation.

Your Health in Action: 5 Wellness Books Worth Reading | WellnessAndWanderlust.net

1. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Okay, let’s be real: unless this is the first time you’ve stumbled upon my blog, you had to suspect this book was going to be on the list! For those who are unfamiliar with The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin incorporates scientific research on happiness to undergo a year-long experiment to live a happier life. Each month takes on a different theme, such as boosting energy, focusing on her marriage, learning something new, etc. The book provides practical, easy-to-implement tips for readers, as Gretchen shares what worked for her. Inspired by her work, I ended up creating my own happiness project for 2019. (You can read about my progress for the month of January here.) Be sure to check out Gretchen’s podcast as well!

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2. Food Freedom Forever by Melissa Hartwig
As a fan of The Whole30, I was especially excited when co-creator Melissa Hartwig released Food Freedom Forever. This book focuses on what to do after you’ve tackled the intense elimination diet. How do you let go of your bad habits and baggage around food? Melissa provides a lot of well-researched tips for habit change and creating a healthier relationship with food and body-image. My copy has about a million Post-It notes inside, and is back at the top of my list for required reading in 2019.

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3. The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein
If you believe in the law of attraction, The Universe Has Your Back is for you. Gabby Bernstein’s book on transforming fear to faith is worth exploring if you’re experiencing any major obstacles in your life right now. The book also provides several meditative practices to help you listen to your intuition and learn to trust yourself, while quieting those negative voices.

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4. The Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda by Sahara Rose
Ayurveda is an ancient system of Eastern medicine and the sister science to yoga. Thanks to Sahara Rose’s book The Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda, non-practitioners like me can learn all about Ayurveda and how we can incorporate it into our daily lives. You’ll be able to identify your mind-body type (or “dosha”) and learn the best foods, routines, and other practices to achieve mind-body balance.

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5. Rising Strong by Brené Brown
Brené Brown is a renowned social worker known for her research on shame and vulnerability (check out her TED Talk!), and as someone who struggles with opening up about her feelings, I was excited to finally pick up one of her books. Rising Strong focuses on resiliency, coming back from a perceived failure, and changing the narratives we tell ourselves. If you’re struggling to reset after a fall, I highly recommend this book!

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What personal development books do you recommend for 2019? Share your favorites in the comments below!

Your Health in Action: 5 Podcasts to Make Your Life Happier and Healthier, Part 2

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Back in 2017, I wrote about my (then) newfound love for podcasts, and shared my five favorites in the health and wellness space. Since that time, the podcast medium has really blown up, and it seems as though nearly everyone I know has become a podcast junkie. From lightening up a long drive or workday commute to giving us something fun to listen to when tidying up around the house, listening to podcasts can be a great way to let off steam — and learn something along the way. 🙂

Over time, as I began to subscribing to the shows mentioned in my previous post, I began to discover other wellness personalities and business owners whose stories inspired me. Because of that, I’m excited to share PART TWO of my favorite podcasts that will make your life happier and healthier! (Don’t worry, at some point I’ll share my favorite Bachelor recaps and other guilty pleasure podcasts on a future blog post.)

5 Podcasts to Make Your Life Happier & Healthier | WellnessAndWanderlust.net

1. By The Book
Ever hear about a trendy new self-help book and wonder if you should try it out? On By The Book, hosts Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg do the hard work for you! In each episode, Kristen and Jolenta choose a self-help book, live by the book for two weeks, and share their verdicts. These ladies poke fun at the self-help genre while exploring the privilege inherent in many of these books, and their husbands often make cameos in the episodes as they go along with the hosts’ temporary new lifestyles. By The Book introduced me to the concept of hygge (we’ll talk about that more in Month 4 of my 2019 Happiness Project), helped me identify my love language, and made me never want to read French Women Don’t Get Fat.

A few favorite episodes: Men Are From Mars, Women are From Venus. The Little Book of Hygge. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. French Women Don’t Get Fat. Year of Yes.

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2. The Goop Podcast
You probably associate Goop with Gwyneth Paltrow and extremely expensive lifestyle products, but her company’s new podcast does not disappoint. Gwyneth and Goop’s Chief Content Officer, Elise Loehnen, take turns interviewing doctors, researchers, authors, and celebrities on a variety of wellness-related topics. Although Gwyneth is obviously the more famous of the two, Elise’s interviews are especially engaging — she is a talented interviewer whose episodes dive deep. From functional medicine to hormone imbalance to the power of the unconscious mind, the show focuses on a variety of subjects that are relevant to listeners.

A few favorite episodes: Why We Use Food to Shame Ourselves. The Anxious Mind. How to Defeat Your Inner Critic. Herbs, Spices, and Proteins to Live By. The Autoimmune Spectrum.

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3. The Living Experiment
Hosted by Dallas Hartwig (co-founder of The Whole30) and Pilar Gerasimo, The Living Experiment explores ways to live happily and more consciously by implementing real-life “experiments” to shift your lifestyle. Their living experiments are practical and relatively simple to incorporate, and the research cited in these episodes will really make you think. The show is currently on a break, so it’s the perfect time to catch up on the existing 100 episodes as Dallas and Pilar both work on their respective book deals!

A few favorite episodes: Imposter Syndrome. Introvert Extrovert. Declutter. Coping. Healthy vs. Hot.

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4. Light and Life Live with Danika Brysha
I’ve been a longtime fan of Danika Brysha, the body positive model and self-care activist who runs Model Meals, so I was especially excited when she began hosting a podcast. Light and Life Live is a weekly one-hour live Instagram series, which is also available through podcast apps. Danika features various thought leaders, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and other wellness personalities about their self-care routines, passions, life paths, and how they bring light into the world. Although there are occasionally some sound/technical issues, Danika’s interviews are well worth the listen.

A few favorite episodes: Shut The Kale Up. Celebrity Nutritionist Kelly Leveque. Almost 30’s Lindsey Simcik and Krista Williams. Whole30’s Melissa Hartwig. PooPourri Creator Suzy Batiz.

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5. Highest Self Podcast with Sahara Rose
Sahara Rose is a leading voice in Ayurveda, an ancient Indian holistic healing science, and the author of The Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda. In her Highest Self Podcast, Sahara makes Ayurvedic concepts easy to understand and incorporate into your daily life, and I absolutely love to learn from her podcast. Her podcast focuses mainly on modern Ayurveda and how knowing your dosha (mind-body type) can make all the difference in various aspects of your life. If you’ve ever been curious about eastern medicine, I highly recommend her podcast!

A few favorite episodes: How to Heal From Adrenal Fatigue the Holistic Way. Creating More By Doing Less. Food Emotionality with Amanda Skelley. New Year’s Resolutions for Kaphas. How to Be More Confident.

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What are some of your favorite wellness podcasts? Sound off in the comments below!

Girl, Wash Your Face: Three Lies We Need to Stop Telling Ourselves

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Girl, Wash Your Face: Three Lies We Need to Stop Telling Ourselves | Wellness & Wanderlust

An avid bookworm, I was especially excited when someone recommended Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis. This book hit especially close to home for me, as it focused on the lies we tell ourselves that hold us back in life. Like most people, I tend to suffer from imposter syndrome and can often be my own worst enemy, letting my inner mean girl speak the loudest. Girl, Wash Your Face is a refreshing read that breaks down those negative thoughts with the goal of helping us move past them.

Three chapters in particular stood out to me, so I thought I would share them with my readers. Each chapter addresses a different lie that we tell ourselves, and how to reframe our thoughts. Depending on your own life experiences, other chapters may impact you more deeply, but I wanted to share these insights from which so many of us can benefit.

  • The Lie: I’ll Start Tomorrow
    I’ll be honest — I’m a sucker for kicking off new goals on a Monday or on the first of the month. There’s something I love about having a clear line of demarcation between the old and the new. However, this also gets me into trouble, sometimes causing me to put off my goals with the excuse that I’ll start tomorrow. However, as Rachel Hollis explains in this chapter, “Your subconscious knows that you, yourself, cannot be trusted after breaking so many plans and giving up on so many goals.” Many of us are great at keeping promises, unless those promises are to ourselves. We’re accountable and reliable for others, but when it comes to ourselves, we can become complacent and give up easily. However, when we tell ourselves we’ll start tomorrow or we push back our goals, we are really telling ourselves that we can’t be relied on. To combat this, Rachel suggests starting with small, more attainable goals, and building over time. We also need to be honest with ourselves about why we choose to put things off, and take the time to be intentional.
  • The Lie: I Should Be Further Along By Now
    This is a lie I constantly struggle with. In certain areas of my life, I feel like I’m not living up to the mental timeline I’ve created for myself, and it stings. However, when I step outside of myself and take a more objective look, I am reminded of how much I’ve accomplished: I graduated with my Master’s degree while working full-time, I’ve reached new milestones at work, I’ve been blessed with some amazing travel experiences, and so much more. Taking inventory of what you have done and setting goals, rather than time limits, will help guide you in the right direction.
  • The Lie: I Am Defined By My Weight
    Since graduation, I have been working hard to reframe the last 27 years of negative thoughts around body image. It is so easy to tell ourselves (especially as women) that we won’t be happy or won’t have the things we want in life until we reach a certain clothing size or a number on the scale. In truth, it isn’t our weight that makes the difference — it’s the way we treat ourselves and our bodies. What we eat and how we exercise matters, and it’s important to fuel our bodies with the foods that make us feel our best. As Rachel says in this chapter, “The lie I used to believe was that my weight would define me, that it would speak volumes about who I was as a person. Today I believe it’s not your weight that defines you, but the care and consideration you put into your body absolutely does.” You are worthy of love and happiness and success at any weight or dress size, but eating the junk foods that you know will make you sick is an abuse to your body.  Your weight does not define you, but the way you treat yourself does. It can be a struggle, but for the last couple of months, I have focused more on listening to my needs, eating intuitively, and incorporating more movement into my day because it makes me feel better. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, gain weight, or simply feel your best, treating your body with respect and listening to what it needs is always going to benefit you in the long run.

Have any of you read Girl, Wash Your Face? Which chapters stood out to you? What lie are you working to overcome?

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small compensation.

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5 Months Later: Life Updates

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Grad - 1

Well, it’s official: I’m a college graduate (again)! Earlier this month, my graduate school career came to an end as I received my MBA. I’ve learned a lot over the last two years, formed some great friendships, and read more case studies than I’ll ever know what to do with. The past two years have been both rewarding and challenging, and there were times I didn’t think I would get through the program. I’m proud to have proven myself wrong!

People keep asking me what’s next in terms of education and career moves, but honestly, I’m just happy to have some free time to lay out by the pool or hang out with friends without worrying about any upcoming assignments or exams. In January, I talked about my happiness project, but this and my blogging itself fell by the wayside as I combined a full-time semester with my full-time job. Expect to see more content here at Wellness and Wanderlust as I readjust to real life.

Since my last blog post, here are a few snippets of what I’ve been up to:

  • I’m taking Gretchen Rubin’s online Four Tendencies Course, learning more about my Obliger tendency and how I respond to outer expectations. I’m a huge fan of Gretchen’s books and podcast, so I’m really enjoying the course!
  • I started a Whole30 to reestablish some healthier habits in my life post-graduation. I’m on Day 7 and definitely still feeling the hangover effects of cutting out sugar and gluten. Can someone please bring me chocolate?
  • My apartment is finally getting organized. It’s amazing how much everything piled up over the past two years. I’m excited to live like a more functional adult again! If you have any good books or resources for organizing tips, please send them my way.
  • I booked the tickets for my post-graduation vacation and have begun working on the itinerary. Now I just need to dust off my passport!

What has everyone been up to this year?

2018 Happiness Project

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Happy New Year! 🙂 I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is gearing up for an even better 2018. A lot of people are skeptical when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, but sometimes a new year can be the perfect starting point to begin incorporating new practices into our lives. Last year, I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, in which the author underwent a full year of adopting positive new habits based on happiness research. I loved the book and its practicality so much that I quickly became a fan of Gretchen’s podcast!

Inspired by both the book and the podcast, I decided to take 2018 to create my own happiness project, based on applicable lessons from the book. For the next six months, I will focus on ingraining new healthy practices into my life (and re-ingraining some old ones that have fallen to the wayside!), and will share my results and lessons learned on the blog each month.

Feel free to adopt these practices into your own life from month to month, or create your very own happiness project using the resources from Gretchen’s site. Don’t forget to share your own findings in the comments section!

2018 Happiness Project | Wellness & Wanderlust

  • January 2018: Boost Energy.
    • Practice better sleep hygiene and go to bed earlier.
    • Exercise more often.
    • Go for 15-minute walks before work each morning.
    • Take time to reorganize.
  • February 2018: Focus on Nutrition.
    • Undergo a Whole30.
    • Make time for meal prep every Sunday.
    • Try one new recipe each week.
  • March 2018: Lighten Up & Appreciate the Present.
    • Attempt a “Pollyanna Week” of minimal to no complaining.
    • Keep a one-sentence journal.
    • Practice gratitude each day.
  • April 2018: Reevaluate Finances.
    • Look over my monthly budget and find areas to cut back.
    • Organize coupons and gift cards for more efficient use.
  • May 2018: Make Time for Friends.
    • Prioritize social time with friends.
    • Don’t gossip.
    • Show up.
  • June 2018: Pursue a Passion.
    • Dedicate more time to writing and blogging.
    • Submit an original piece to a new publication.
    • Work on learning a new technology.

What are your resolutions for 2018? Share in the comments section below!