1. Welcome to FHGC! Thank you for joining us. Tell me about yourself and what keeps you blooming in your purpose?
My name is Keshia White. I’m a web designer for creatives by night and I’m in corporate sales by day. In my spare time, I love cooking, yoga, and taking in any personal growth resources that I can—from books, to podcasts, to YouTube videos. I keep blooming in my purpose because I hate the idea of having untapped potential. I know the potential of what I can accomplish and the people who I can help with my gifts and strengths, so always remembering that keeps me going.
2. What does wellness mean to you, in one word? How are you balancing wellness in your everyday life?
Content. To me, wellness means being content about how you feel when you wake up every day…feeling content with your health and your state of mind. I balance wellness in my everyday life by taking the time to do things that are nurturing for me. I make the time to cook healthy meals each week, I exercise regularly, I do fun cardio dance classes and yoga, and I love allowing myself to replenish my energy by just wasting time and catching up on my favorite shows, when I need a break. As an overachiever, I have to be sure to give myself regular breaks, so I don’t overdo it and exhaust myself.
3. What’s an exciting accomplishment you have made so far on your wellness journey?
I had “borderline high” cholesterol in May 2017 and I was shocked because I’m so young. However, I hadn’t been working out regularly or cooking healthy meals as often as I should have, plus high cholesterol runs in my family, so those were the causes. Right after getting that bad news, I started working out at least 3 days a week and I started cooking plant-based meals, only eating meat during my occasional cheat meals throughout the week. I just got my cholesterol checked again in August 2017, when I got a physical, and I’m proud to say it’s now in a healthy range. That’s definitely my most exciting accomplishment. The transition to being more healthy was tough at first, because I was ignoring my health for so long, but now I can’t see myself doing without my new healthy habits.
4. The FH lifestyle is about planting your health on higher ground. What is your biggest advice to someone who is on the path to flourishing heights?
My biggest advice would be to focus on your quality of life. Your health determines the quality of life you’re going to have as you age (and not to mention how “gracefully” you age). If you don’t take care of your health, you’ll have preventable health problems that will require prescription drugs to manage (and prescription drugs always come with horrible side effects), you’ll have less energy to live your life to the fullest, and you’ll be more prone to sickness. When you can simply prevent those things by adopting a healthy lifestyle, that’s definitely the way to go. Think about your health as your biggest investment in yourself so you can live your best life. Remember, if your health is out of order, you won’t be able to do all of the things that you’re out to accomplish in life.