My life always felt out of balance in one area or another throughout my life.  As a young adult, I was very curious about nutrition and constantly researching the “right way” to eat.  Every time a new nutrition book came out, I read it intently and would try to incorporate it into my lifestyle.  I always found the diets difficult to maintain and thought to myself “it can’t be this hard to eat healthy.”  After several years of experimenting, I found a way of living that focused on a nutrient-dense, whole foods approach to eating and realized this was what I had been looking for.  It allowed me to eat in a way that was nutritious, satisfying, and manageable. I shed unwanted weight, had more energy, and didn’t feel deprived.

Then, years later, I was in constant “go” mode, pushing my corporate sales career, managing my household, and tending to my husband and our two small children. I was burned out and exhausted, and a version of myself that I did not recognize.  I felt like I was trying to keep all the balls in the air, but one always seemed to drop no matter what I did. My life seemed out of balance, and I felt like I wasn’t truly living it.  I realized that being healthy involved much more than just eating healthy.  

This period of struggle led me to intensive self-exploration.  I dove deeply into reducing stress and nourishing my spirit through journaling, meditation, and spending time in nature. The key was to make myself a priority.  No longer could I put myself last. I had to define what was important to me, my values, and what I wanted out of life.  This allowed me to finally go from just trying to survive to truly thriving, taking on new challenges, and experiencing a deeper joy in life than I ever thought possible. 

On my journey to finding a balance between family, career, and living a fulfilling healthy life, I learned that the principles to go from just surviving to thriving are simple.  Success is possible when you are ready to create change.