What Do Wellness & Canada's Best Managed Companies Share?

          Two weeks ago I had the privilege of facilitating a wellness workshop for a National restoration company by the name of First On Site or FOS. It holds the prestige of being named one of Canada’s best managed companies for two consecutive years! FOS deals with industrial and home restoration. Long story short, they save your damaged goods from disaster and destruction. After speaking with the Director of Operations for Atlantic Canada, we both agreed that it would be ideal to deliver a high quality health and wellness workshop to their branch managers. As leaders, they understand the importance of living and leading a balanced life. Receiving the opportunity to facilitate this workshop became an early highlight of this new year!

         A total of 11 branch managers were in attendance for my workshop. One of the assignments we did as a group was to break down the six domains of wellness and they are: 

Physical/Mental

Emotional/Social 

Occupational

Intellectual

        Each manager examined each domain of wellness to apply to their personal demands, families’ demand and professional demands for each day. They identified which domains may be out of balance for them and their staff and we discussed ways which we could build up those domains and become better balanced leaders in 2015. It was amazing for me to see the learning taking place! One manager made a great point in stating that all domains are interconnected and provide us with a perfect wheel that turns. Essentially if one domain is out of balance, it can lead to a cascade of imbalances across all domains. I was reminded in this moment of why I have such a passion for wellness and why I built this blog. Wellness is dynamic and always trying to be reached. It is about recognizing and implementing daily activities, decisions and routines which take you from living a good life to living your best life.

        Later, I took them through their personalized action plan ran them through two case studies and got them to examine what was going wrong in those particular situations found in their case. As I went around the room some of the things I heard were amazing. These managers were critical, methodical and logical to what they barrier to wellness were in their case and how they could set S.M.A.R.T goals to achieve a more balanced life. It was real cool to see and to be a part of that learning!

        I just want to say thanks to the FOS atlantic branch managers for a day in which both sides gained knowledge surrounding wellness. The leadership and energy within that company is both charismatic and contagious. It was solace for me to remind these branch managers of their capabilities when living a balanced life.

Ryan Fahey

Physical & Health Education Specialist

B.A Human Kinetics

CPTN Canada

@Wellnessrf Takes a Roadtrip

        

       Last month I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I was able to take some time away from work to travel the US and Canada. All I can say is “what a journey!”. I was able to workout for free at a different gym in each state and I also reconnected with old friends in multiple states! There are so many stories from my trip that I could write about and I will do my best to highlight the experience. 

        I began the trip by leaving the comfort of my friendships in North Carolina (which was extremely difficult). I drove through the smokey mountains into Tennessee and it was then that I realized I was in love with both Tennessee and western North Carolina. While driving to Nashville, I remember seeing the most magnificent sunset I had ever seen. It somehow blinded me, humbled me and made me feel alive all at the same time! I believe Nashville to be one of the greatest cities in the world. The people I ran into while there truly love life, friendships, family and Jesus. Their social wellness is unmeasurable and their emotional happiness is astounding. I recommend Nashville as a destination for any of you who share those same values. 

        Next up was Kentucky. I was able to stay there with an amazing family who showed me what Kentucky was all about. The people there seem happy and they love the outdoors as much as corvettes and NCAA basketball! They treated me like a king by taking me out to a nice dinner, giving me a warm bed and they made sure that I was comfortable as we shared stories together around the fire. They were some of the nicest Americans I have ever met! From Kentucky came the climb north to Naperville, IL. While there I was able to workout at an awesome gym, meet the coolest spin bike instructor and even learned some strings on my new guitar. Illinois was a fun place with lots to see and do, but I was on a mission to pursue my first spartan race in Wisconsin.

       Wisconsin is the coldest and friendliest cheese loving place in the world! Upon entering Wisconsin, I was able to reconnect with a Phys. Ed leader named Joey Feith. We shared numerous stories as we attended the WHPE conference in Wisconsin Dells. After a great workout with some teachers and some great conference presentations, I began heading east to Milwaukee for the last leg of my U.S road trip. It was time to venture to Miller Park for my first Spartan Race. I had been training for 5 weeks for this event and I was more than ready to compete at this level. I finished the Sprint race in just over 1 hour and finished 69th in my age group and was ranked 438th out of 1,593 participants. The most important message I took from that race is that I did my best. It was a completely new event for me filled with challenging obstacles and I was so glad to be able to compete at such a high level physically. I am already planning to compete in another Spartan Race in 2015! Immediately following the race, I had a protein shake and headed east for Windsor, Ontario. Stay tuned for my Canadian road trip reflection in the coming weeks.

Ryan Fahey

Physical & Health Education Specialist

B.A Human Kinetics

CPTN Canada