Happy Healthy New Year!

Over the holidays I was reminded of the book, CREATION, written by my long-time friend Dr. Des Cummings.  The acronym stands for: C = CHOICE, R = REST, E = ENVIRONMENT, A = ACTIVITY, T = TRUST, I= INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, O = OUTLOOK, and N = NUTRITION. I still have a copy of this book after all these years and I still remember, I hope correctly, the 8 powerful letters: C R E A T I O N. Often when thinking about a healthy life, I refer to these 8 letters and what they reference.

As I reflect on the accomplishments and challenges and the goals of 2022, I, along with Avalon Park Group, would like to declare 2022 as the HEALTHY YEAR.  This year we will focus on Health.  For some this will be a continuation, for some, it will be a completely new focus and for others, it will simply be a reset of focus.

Several years ago Avalon Park Group was the fortunate recipient of a community grant from Advent Health.  APG was selected by Advent Health to go through a 3-year program, called Working Well, with the goal of becoming one of the healthiest companies to work for in Central Florida.  We were informed that our application was selected amongst many others because of our desire to push the principles that we would learn through the program to the communities that we build.  It was a great success, many employees started exercising, lost weight, were cured of Diabetes and other diseases, and some even stopped smoking. This was not just a focus on physical health, but health from a holistic standpoint. Team members began spending more time with their families and loved ones took control of their finances, and focused on their mental health.  I personally lost some weight, ran a half marathon, and watched my diet.

While the Working Well grant period has ended, we continue to focus on health and wellness in our company.  We have also begun taking the steps to extend these principles into the community with a program called Live Well.  At the end of last year, we conducted a digital community health assessment, and in the coming months, we will be releasing programs based on what the community is interested in seeing as it relates to their health.

As with many initiatives, the newness wears off and we need a reminder and motivation!  I, as well as others in the office, regained the weight, missed going to the gym and who cannot resist the chocolates right at the front desk in our office!

So, while I have not talked to Mari Robles our HR Chief, I am almost sure, she will be excited about my “fearless leader decision” during the holidays to reinvigorate the Working Well program. I am confident we can all do it again together.

-Let’s start with using the stairs instead of the elevators

-Visit the gym at lunchtime

-Take a brief rest every 60 minutes

-Spend time with family and friends

-Choose the healthy version when at the store or restaurant

Accountability is an important part of getting healthy, hence on January 1st, in the morning I will “weigh-in” and report among those closest to me about the progress on a monthly basis.

At APG this year, it is our goal to take the community with us. The dream of creating the healthiest community in Florida is alive.  Every journey starts with a first step.

You decide what your first step is.

Have a Healthy 2022!