Back in 2012, I found myself in a place I did not intend to be. Having just obtained my masters in elementary education, I had to fall back on my undergraduate economics degree. The job market for teachers was tough, and long story short, I was eager to get off of my parent’s payroll. So there I was, working in corporate America, about as green as it gets. Months later it finally hit me that making money doesn’t ensure happiness, and I longed to feel fulfilled. Of course I couldn’t just quit my job, so what did I do? I started a blog.
Blogging back then was making waves on the internet. Before Instagram, it was a way to carve out a corner of the world-wide web. For me, it was a way to take my interest in nutrition and health and spin it into a side hustle. I called it Sara Smiles, and when I wanted to sound cool, I referenced the Hall and Oats song as the reason behind the name; in reality, it was because it was an outlet during a dark time in my life and I wanted to document those things that made me happy. I poured myself into posting during the morning and evening “fringe hours,” and I can remember right away feeling like I was finally doing something I loved. I didn’t know it at the time, but in hindsight, this is when I discovered “flow.” Blogging became an activity that helped me lose sense of time. There was no financial gain attached to it (despite my attempt at advertising, which wracked up a whopping five dollars a month); it was something I did because quite simply, it made me happy. Ironically, it set the stage for the rest of my career in the wellness space. Interest turned to passion, passion turned to purpose, and here I am, almost a decade later. In the years since, I obtained my health coaching certification, built a five-figure practice, founded a barre studio, published a cookbook, got certified as a yoga teacher, launched a natural foods company, started a podcast, and had a baby. Clearly my path is dripping with type-A perfectionism with a side of needing to prove something.
Maybe entering motherhood has you increasingly reflect on the past (as it has for me), but I have been thinking a lot about those blogging days. I was already “proving myself” thanks to my big, bad banking badge of honor, so blogging was purely for me. I was always aware of my readership, but nothing like how people anxiously analyze their Instagram engagement. So I have decided to pick it back up – blogging for the hell of it. No attachment to outcomes, just something I do because it makes me happy. I think we all deserve that in life. The way this ties into Healthified is that in my experience, being happy is what can lead someone to live more “well,” not the other way around. Finding flow in something reduces stress and anxiety, ultimately bringing the mind and body into balance.
You will find these posts published under “Lifestyle” on Healthified Magazine (what I hope is multiple times per week, but again, no pressure is the name of the game). Cheers!
