It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, and a lot has changed in that time! As many of you may know, I became the most blessed mom in the world. Baby James is the biggest bundle of joy I could have ever imagined.
As busy as I’ve been as a mother, a lot has happened for me professionally also. For one thing, I have re-branded from Smarts and Stamina to MJ Shaar. With that re-branding, my website (mjshaar.com) and general email (info@mjshaar.com) have changed.
I’ve also re-centered my focus to applying positive psychology to the field of wellness. Yes, that should sound familiar- it’s what I’ve been doing for a long time. But while I used to discuss on sleep, food, mood, and exercise equally, I am now putting more emphasis on the psychological well-being piece.
Why put psychological well-being front and center, you might ask? There are many reasons, but here are the top three:
- Over the years, countless individuals have told me about their inability to combat their insomnia, their food cravings, and/or their dislike of exercise without success. Meanwhile, I have never heard anyone tell me “I’ve tried everything under the sun to improve my mood, yet I’m still in the same crappy mood I was before!”
- While “no time” is often an excuse to avoid home cooking and/or exercise, for many, it is actually a reality. As much as single moms, those caring for an aging parent or a sick spouse, and parents of special needs kids would like to participate in our wellness challenges, it’s often nearly impossible for them to carve enough time to join in. However, thinking differently while engaging in all their other activities is still accessible. Thus, mood makes participation more accessible to many people.
- Organizational cultures often suck. There’s no other way to put it. Way too many people are stressed beyond belief and starved for the recognition they deserve. That’s not something we can successfully address with food and exercise campaigns. But through psychological well-being campaigns, we can.
So with that, I co-published a new white paper, along with my friends at WELCOA. It explains how psychological well-being revolutionizes employee wellness and organizational culture. Please check it out to learn how to do a lot more, and do it better.
For the future of this blog, I am turning towards all sciences that contribute to psychological well-being and how they affect our physical health. And, as always, I will provide specific examples of how to integrate these gems into our health promotion efforts.
Lastly for today, there are a lot of opportunities for you to join me this month:
- Recording of my March 16th Webinar with Michael O’Donnell
- March 22nd & 23rd: Healthy Work Summit in Seattle
- March 29th-31st: Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference in Colorado Springs
2017 is going to be a great year for wellness! I hope you can all join me for the ride, and I hope to hear from you soon!