Achiever – a person who achieves a high or specified level of success.
– Oxford Languages

How It All Started…

Since I was 5 years old, I’ve taken great pride in being called an Achiever. I love setting big goals, just as much as I love putting on a good show. Winning shiny prizes, whether a trophy or a newspaper mention, became as common as 1-2-3. It defined me such that I deeply HATED failing and winning became addictive. I didn’t care how aggressive I became or what extremes I took, so long as I got my shiny prize. In time, this performance addiction was subtly creating problems in my life.

Just after I turned 22, my mind was redlining 80 hours a week from undergraduate studies, part-time work, and an ambitious passion project. I survived these days with coffee, Red Bulls, and exercise. But I never took a breather and after 6 months on overdrive, I crashed into burnout. Almost literally because I was sick for all of November 2009! In the next few months, I suffered from brain fog, chest pains, headaches, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Panic attacks were the WORST.

My burnout started from insomnia. Insomnia is when you want to sleep, but you can’t. It’s like hitting the brakes on your car, except you’re not slowing down! Doctors prescribed me with sleeping pills that worked, but didn’t give me the rest I needed. Wearing sleeping masks and watching boring movies didn’t help too. And since I wasn’t sleeping, my other illnesses got worse!

Where My Journey Began…

What got me on my road to recovery was trying massage therapy in April 2010. When I asked my massage therapist if she was forcing my body to relax, she said this:

“Your body knows how to relax on its own. I’m just helping it do that.”

My massage therapist’s words kickstarted years of learning how to listen to my mind, body, and soul. I discovered mindful journaling to help me sleep. I learned meditation to destress. Then to bring more joy in my life, I practiced visualization. Self-care practices like lunch break walks became part of my life. My growing passion for healthy living led me to study holistic wellness with the International Association of Wellness Professionals (IAWP) in December 2019. After graduating, I earned my Registered Health Coach (HCA RHC™) designation.

What Did I Learn…

Over time, it dawned to me that I ASPIRED for greatness and DESIRED ambitious goals. However, I never truly PROSPERED until I made these wellness shifts. I was so obsessed with winning that I forgot about “living in the moment”. I forgot how to celebrate my wins and I’ve got many of them! Do you know of any talented tech specialists who run obstacle courses worldwide and used to represent the voices of 19,000 as an alumni president? Other than me, I don’t! Ultimately, I forgot how to enjoy life for what it’s worth.

But thanks to my wellness teachers, I re-learned how to do all of this. Through them, I also learned how to be empathetic, to show grace, and follow my intuition where it leads me. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m LOVING every moment of it!

And so, I invite you to work with me and learn what it means to “BE WONDERFULLY WELL!”

Credentials