Happy Spark-versary to me! Today marks not only the anniversary of my employment here at SparkPeople but also my Spark-versary. Last March, my boyfriend was laid off. Late one Sunday night, we were watching TV and cruising online job sites. I stumbled across an ad for an assistant editor/writer position here at SparkPeople. I was working as a business reporter and columnist at a large daily newspaper but wasn't truly happy. Business writing wasn't my passion. Writing was, along with healthy living--particularly healthy cooking. I was stressed, restless and anxious. Just two weeks before, I'd had a conversation with my editor about my future in business, a department where I'd been transferred just six months before. My boss, an ambitious and talented journalist about a decade my senior, saw talent in me, praised my stories and wanted me to love business writing as much as she did. I had been writing a careers column called life@work, about people who found passion in their work. I wrote about brothers who left corporate life to found a nonprofit that helped Guatemalan schoolchildren, a woman who started a vegetarian frozen foods company with her family, a couple who invented bathtub bumpers to protect their two young sons. Each week, I listened to interesting, heart-felt stories, and I felt twinges of envy. I was passionate about sharing their stories in the most honest and engaging manner possible, but I wanted to have a story worth telling. I wanted my own passion. "I have passion for writing but not for business," I told her. "I want a job where I wake up every morning excited to go to work, like the people in my columns." "Good luck," she replied. "Jobs like that don't exist." I smiled and said nothing. They did--I was sure of it. And I knew that sooner rather than later, I knew I would take steps to find a job I felt passionate about. I wrote up a cover letter, sent my résumé off that night, and got a response within a couple of days. (Tip: Always keep your résumé updated. If you wait until you need it, it could be too late.) Less than a month later, I was sharing an office with Coach Nicole and the rest of our Cincinnati-based content and community team. When I left print journalism, I knew I was making the right decision. I knew I'd be happy. I knew I had found a job that I could be passionate about. I just didn't realize how much I'd change. SparkPeople has changed my life away from the office, too. I gained 40 pounds after college and worked hard to lose them during the year I spent in Korea. I walked everywhere, ate sensibly, worked out a few times a week and lived a low-stress life. But after two years at the newspaper, 12 of those pounds had crept back on. I was perpetually stressed, anxious more often than not and too exhausted to work out most nights. I made it to my Monday night yoga class, but some weeks, that was the majority of my exercise, aside from walking to interviews with sources around the city. I ate erratically and often found myself going way too long between meals and reaching for whatever was in reach--usually junk. For a vegetable lover like me, this was a habit that made me unhappy. Suddenly, I found myself in an environment where fitness and wellness are encouraged and supported. I joined a gym that's a couple of blocks from our office and starting taking Coach Nicole's weekly Spinning class. I learned to ride a bike, trained over the summer and eventually rode 85 miles for a day trip with friends. I started taking Pilates classes again for the first time in years, and I went to the gym daily. I used the Nutrition and Fitness trackers, found new healthy recipes on SparkRecipes (and added some of my own) and did one of the Bootcamps! After a few months, I was taking Spinning three times a week and practicing yoga most days. Within six months, those 12 pounds were long gone, and now I feel stronger and healthier than ever. I've set some toning goals and a few other fitness goals, too. Earlier this month, I completed a 30-day exercise streak, I've even decided that running isn’t so bad. SparkPeople has helped me realize another dream: Becoming a registered yoga teacher. In March, I started a 200-hour Ashtanga vinyasa yoga teacher training program. I've completed 50 hours, and I've already overcome a few personal hurdles--including a slight fear of headstands! I'll be certified by the end of June, so stay tuned for more yoga-themed blogs, articles and much more! My first year at SparkPeople has been like graduate school. I was passionate about nutrition and healthy living before, and that interest has only deepened. Every day I learn something new from our Experts--and our Members. Thank you to each and every one of you for sharing your stories, tips and experiences. Keep dreaming, keep hoping, and don't let the nay-sayers get you down! "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." --Paolo Coelho What has changed in your life since you joined SparkPeople? Has losing weight and/or committing to a healthy lifestyle prompted you to set other goals in life? What are they? |
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