Big T, little t…

What begins with T?  According to Dr. Seuss, “Ten tired turtles on a tuttle tuttle tree,” (Seuss, Dr. Dr. Seuss's ABC. New York: Beginner Books, 1963.)

When I completed my first well check-up 5 years ago, I resonated with the description “tired turtle” 🐢😞. I had lost a good amount of weight (again) over the late winter/early spring  months through good habits that were working for me. Though I was feeling pretty good about my Physical Wellness, I was fearful about being able to sustain progress as my new self. I had been on the weight loss rollercoaster too many times. But to my surprise, the well check-up revealed something unexpected.  Of the 8 Wellness Dimensions, my Emotional Wellness lagged behind. Why?

Six months ago, in December 2024, I began a personal experiment. One rooted in curiosity, healing, and a desire for something deeper. I wasn’t drinking every day, and I would never have called it a problem. But alcohol had become a social norm in my life - something I turned to out of habit, routine, or simply to fit in. And somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling aligned with the version of myself I was working hard to become.

If you are here, I have something so important to share with you that perhaps no one else ever has. 

You are enough. You are loved. If you are seeking your best self, it is right within you. You are smart enough, disciplined enough, organized enough and you do have enough time to be who you are meant to be. You may just not know how to find it. And what you think your best self looks like, I promise you are not thinking big enough. It is more than you can even imagine.

I never lost sight of her, that twenty-something girl in the mirror. I was in my early twenties when my wellness journey would begin. Plagued with infertility and hormone imbalances, there was little to know and understand. With no such innovation called “the internet”, you saw doctors and talked to family and friends about your struggles. All you could know was that you weren’t “normal”. As the girl in the mirror aged and took on various shapes and sizes, I was driven, consumed with finding her again. Where did she go, and why was this so hard to understand and “fix”?

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is one of Europe’s most influential doctors with more than two decades of treating patients as a General Practitioner in the UK. In addition to hosting a successful podcast and widely viewed TED Talk, he has authored 5 Sunday Times bestsellers including The 4 Pillar Plan where he explains that simple small changes can have significant impact on health and happiness. At @Well, we couldn’t agree more! Chatterjee believes there are 4 focus areas that are as important to your health as any medication and encourages his patients to choose one area to begin improving their health and happiness:  Food, Sleep, Movement, Relaxation.