2020 Resolution- How EPM Measured Up.

Early in January of 2020, I took to my Lending Leadership and Life video post to discuss the most popular New Year's resolution. So many of us set a goal for health each year. Still, we need to go deeper beyond understanding that you need to work out and eat right. Wellness is about understanding that your body is a chemistry set— what you put into it and get out of it are all connected and reactive within you.

In that video, I focused on understanding the body, supplements that can improve your health, understanding how to be healthy, and how to sustain it. Little did any of us know at the time what was in store for us in 2020. It became more important than ever to find sustainable ways to improve our health because we entered our time's biggest health crisis.  

How 2020 affected our outlook on health

2020 sent us challenges we didn't foresee when we were all setting those resolutions. For many, it strengthened our resolve to commit to them on an organizational level. I’m proud of the whole mind, body, and spirit health crusade we have been on at EPM. While I still believe in the importance of physical health and understanding that, we really took the opportunity to get a close look at how equally important emotional and psychological well being is in facing those challenges and the other challenges that have come along in 2020. 

We’ve learned how resilient we are as human beings, but the fight is not over. At EPM, we really prioritized wellness this year. We learned from other experts and provided opportunities to access that knowledge and education within the organization during the workday. We emphasized the need to take a break and not be all about the grind all the time. We gave different opportunities to practice wellness at the office, including building a fitness center right in our flagship office in Atlanta and providing a platform for our team's online workouts to manage and show accountability for their wellness on their own timeline.

We talked about pushing through discomfort and building stamina for the uncomfortable to reap the benefits. Whether that means opening yourself to uncomfortable honest conversations and disagreements to find pathways to great resolutions, or whether it means going through the discomfort of being vulnerable and talking to somebody about your mental health and wellness and being open to finding solutions, or whether it was the discomfort of giving up those processed comfort foods, and making purposeful changes in our activity and our lifestyle that take an adjustment period. Only good things come from prioritizing your wellness, even when it is uncomfortable. 

Empowering our team for success

Looking back, the original video content came from a very personal place. I wasn’t always fitness-minded, and I suffered the loss and illness of the people I loved the most before it clicked for me. I want to help people feel empowered by the same things I have learned along the way. I want people to feel their best to do their best and make it easy and accessible to break the habits that hurt us the most. Watching the progress and the positive benefits in our team as the set and achieve positive health goals makes our success as an organization that much sweeter. Our team can be empowered and not exhausted. We can then face the challenges ahead more unified and with the best mindset and physical health possible. We will be unstoppable.