Keeping Up With The Joneses
- "Keeping Up With the Joneses" originally appeared in the January 2024 health and wellness issue of COMO Magazine.
Grab your kale chips kids and get settled in for this year’s health and wellness issue!
And if you are anything like me, just skip over the word “kale,” and grab your bag of chips!
It isn’t a coincidence that we run this issue every January. Health and wellness are at the top of a lot of people’s lists right now. New year, new me? Resolutions are fresh. Gyms are full. Shopping carts are lighter and healthier. All with great intention.
And while these intentions are great … again, if you are anything like me, it is easy to get caught up in it all. Keeping up with the Joneses. Are we supposed to be intermittent fasting this week? Drinking our greens? Keeping our chakras aligned? Is it keto or paleo? Are cheat days still a thing? Are we still doing hot yoga … or is it the cold plunge now? Keeping up with the latest trend can sometimes feel more difficult than folding a fitted sheet.
I don’t think health and wellness is one size fits most. I think you find whatever it is that works for you. Define your definition of health and wellness, because it truly is individualized for each one of us. There is no right or wrong answer.
You will never catch me eating a kale chip. If you are a kale chipper … I love that for you!
You will however catch me in our incredible restaurants around town, indulging in good eats and drinks with friends and family … and that to me is one of my versions of health and wellness. I feel healthier and more fulfilled when I am surrounded by my people. My mind feels clearer and more ready to take on the world after a solid two-hour massage and facial. I fill my cup with live music and laughter. I feel a weight off my shoulders walking out of a Sunday service.
My advice is to find your version of what health and wellness mean to you! Don’t do the comparison game. Don’t get lost in the sauce of what society tells you that you should be doing, or how you should be feeling. Life is all about balance. Everything in moderation. Find what is good for your soul. Find and surround yourself with the people who make you feel better walking away from them than you did before you saw them.
It is hard to juggle it all. Finding time for yourself, your family, friends, work, etc. We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with advice with every click of the internet. Give yourself some grace.
Whether you’re a fitness fanatic, or just someone trying not to trip over their own shoelaces (me), just remember that life is a journey, the days ebb and flow. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Find laughter and joy in the small things.
We hope you find something in this issue that inspires you on your own health and wellness journey. And if you can’t laugh at yourself, maybe I’ll sign up for a yoga class and record it so you can laugh at/with me. What the heck is a downward dog?!
Keep on keeping on COMO. We’re all in this together!
