Adventure: Realizing my WITY's

I just had my first two days back at work, and boy was it a lot more difficult than I thought it would. Before I left on the first morning I just stood and watched my wife and daughter sleep for a few minutes. I thought to myself, “Gosh, I could do this forever.” They looked so beautiful. I didn’t want to leave but some how I mustered up the strength to do so. I went from being with my wife and daughter 24/7 to being at work for ten plus hours a day. All I could think about was my family. How was my wife doing alone? Is little Rose sleeping okay? What was I missing? That’s all that ran through my head, all day. That, and how I really just wanted to be there with them. It sucked but helped me to see that a change needed to be made. You see, I used be a workaholic. At one point I was doing 55+ hours a week at the hospital, teaching classes at the community college, doing consultant gigs, and starting a business in real estate. I had goals, big goals to climb the ladder fast and make a name for myself. But everything has changed, I have changed. I realized that that’s not what I really want. That’s not what makes me happy. So I began to think, “what really makes me the most happy? What matters the most to me?” My WITY’s as they’re called (what’s important to you). So I came up with my top three. 1. Family I want nothing more than to be there. I don’t want to miss a thing. I want to be there to raise my daughter, to love my wife, and to adventure together as a family. Nothing is more important to me. 2. Wellness Health and wellness used to be such a big part of my life. It’s the reason I became a Dietitian. Don’t get me wrong, I still focus on wellness more than the average joe, but it’s not like it used to be. I used to enjoy eating well, and working out. Somewhere along the way it’s turned into a chore and I hate that. I want to get back to where I used to be. I want to enjoy the workouts again. I want to love the foods I eat and not feel like its a burden. 3. Conquering challenges Over the years I realized that if I’m not being challenged, I’m not happy. I get bored. I think that’s why I used to work so much. It wasn’t necessarily the jobs, it was the challenge that excited me. Now that I’ve identified what matters most to me, I’ll be aggressively making changes to prioritize my time towards them. I’ll be reducing my work schedule, trying to fall in love with fitness again, and learning how to satisfy my need for challenges. So tell me, what's important to you? What's your top three? and more importantly, what are you doing to prioritize them? Tips & Lessons Learned: -Leaving your baby after being with them for so long is much harder than you think it will be. -When going back to work there's a serious learning curve. -Try to plan your leave so that both parents don't go back to work at the same time. The misses still has one more month off. -Be sure to give your spouse a break when you get home. You may be tired from work, but remember they spent the entire day taking care of your child. -Try to get your sleep wake schedule back on track before the day you go back. -Think about your WITY's. Talk to your spouse about it and make a plan. -Figure out where your time is going and if its being spent where you want it the most.

#family #wellness #workwhatsimportant #WITY