Regardless of all the media buzz on health and wellness, being healthy, fit and happy has always been my personal pursuit. To me, wellness means:
1. Making sure my whole family eats healthy. As a mother, I shopper daily for dinner and always try to pick out the freshest ingredients. I do the usual: avoid high sugar and sodium food; try to cook from scratch; get fast food when I really don’t have a choice. When I am really pressed for time, I usually get pre-packaged dumplings, flavored rice and mac and cheese for dinner. Whatever I get, I try to mix it up with fresh vegetables, dairy products and a little juice to make sure my whole family gets enough nutrition.
2. Being physically fit. I consider wellness a long-term goal to obtain. I exercise at least three times a day and limit cartoon hours for my son at home. Every year I run a 10k race. Next year, I plan to sign up my son for a kids’ race. I arrange for all kinds of physical activities for my son with the hope that he’ll be athletic and have an active lifestyle. Our life is filled with books and educational activities from museum visits to movie screenings. It is indeed hectic, but I try to balance it with a little time for myself, outside of my family and career, to develop my own hobbies and restore tranquility.
3. Spirituality. I am not a religious person (rather, agnostic) but want to lead a more spiritual lifestyle. My academia friends all recommend meditation twice a day, which not only relaxes you, but also boosts your cognitive skills, sharpens your mind and makes you a more tolerant and content person. I believe in doing good deeds and helping others. So I’m in the middle of carving out some time to establish the once-a-day meditation routine.
4. Being flexible. This is an essential survival skill for modern-day working mothers (or everyone!) who are guilt-prone. I went through this phase but one day, realized if I relax just a little bit (reading only 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes before bed), the world still spins beautifully. So the self-made rules and high expectations are there, but I feel free to break them once in a while now.
