"Do You Find the Joy in Each Day?" Weekly Wisdom

Do you make it a priority to find the joy in each day?

Each morning when I head to the gym, I talk to myself in my car, pray for the ones I love and remind myself to always choose joy throughout my day. Many times during my day, I find myself getting frustrated, losing patience, dropping my pen a million times on the floor...and I am working on stopping myself to knock it off and find joy in the exact moment I am struggling in.  

Damn, it is hard. 

As FNCE is approaching, I think this could also be put into use during the conference. There is no dreamier place to be as a dietitian but let's be honest, we are in the midst of over 10,000 registered dietitians, students, speakers and vendors. There will be things you want to do, people you want to meet, lectures you want to hear and parties you want to attend. There is so much to do in a short period of time, we tend to not get enough sleep and the edge starts to set in. And don't get me started on the lines for coffee...

There are going to be many things testing your patience and this is totally normal at FNCE. If you are doing something at FNCE not giving you joy, there are plenty of other opportunities that will. You don't have to stay in a lecture you're not learning from. Go only to the events that get you excited, you will regret going to the ones that don't.  Make sure you find your zen before you go into the expo and allow yourself enough time to get around to everything you want to see. 

And yes, I am going to say this:  You are not going to vibe with every dietitian you meet and that's OK. Connect with like-minded friends and spend time with the ones who bring you joy. It will make your experience much more memorable and rewarding. 

#embracethehellyeah | #lessstuffmorelife

~AE

"How Do You Embrace Being Great Always?" Weekly Wisdom

How do you embrace being great always?

When I was writing my book and starting my podcast, I found a lot of inspiration in words. Words from people, words from books and words from social media. I listened closely, I read as much as possible and reached out to those whose words I connected with. At the time, I didn't realize how words delivered in these different ways were a collection of conversations with a lot of meaning and greatness. This is the one sticking out to me the most:

"Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."

~John D. Rockefeller 

This quotes hold a lot of different meanings for me but one in particular having a common theme in everything I do, just be great always. There is no situation or circumstance in which I shouldn't be giving my best, not my good, my best. This goes for the big things like work and for the little things like making my bed in the morning. Do it and do it greatly. 

 October is a pretty big month for registered dietitians with FNCE around the corner. Luckily, I have been able to attend FNCE quite a few times. But it wasn't until Boston 3 years ago, I went and did it greatly.  There was a notable difference in my experience, including how I experienced my interactions with others during the conference. Being your greatest exudes confidence in yourself and clarity in your purpose. And people notice. If you are going this year, go with your greatness bursting at the seams.   

#embracethehellyeah | #lessstuffmorelife

~AE

"What is Your Platform?" Weekly Wisdom

If your name was on any ballot, what would your platform be?

What do you think about mine?  I have a few others in mind, more on those later. 

On the regular, there is endless nutrition talk. Starting with what you should eat the first thing when you wake up to what time you should stop eating at night and all the bullshit in between. As a dietitian, why can't we just do what we wanna?  We need to be eating food to nourish our bodies but also our minds. If we are letting all the noise affect our food choices, then it is turning into an unfavorable mental game which I think is SAD. There is enough factors contributing to the state of our mental health, food should be helping it, not hurting it.

There is a place for every food in our lives. Lists like the "Top 10 Foods Every Dietitian Eats" and "25 Foods A Dietitian Will Never Buy" should not exist. We are contributing to the fear of food, we are part of the problem. We need to meet people where they are on their wellness journey and not scare them away. We need to do things like #makecarbsgreatagain. 

I am begging all my fellow dietitians, be part of the solution, not the problem. Use your platform to be a positive force in food. There is plenty of negativity in the world and registered dietitians should not be part it.  

#embracethehellyeah | #lessstuffmorelife| #makecarbsgreatagain

~AE