Articles

Message From the President

Greetings,

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month. How can we support our mental health and those around us? Maintain healthy habits, foster your community, and ensure open lines of communication.

Healthy habits are a cornerstone for mental health. Keeping track of your habits ensures that you can build upon your successes. With modern technology, habit tracking can be more accessible than ever before. Here are some habits I am currently tracking:

• Sleep – 7 hours
• Meditation – 2 minutes of focused meditation each morning
• Record Weight Daily
• Exercise – 40 minutes (I am lucky to have two good dogs to get me moving.)
• Limiting Caffeine – I drink two cups of coffee each morning.
• Fasting – I am eating one meal a day on Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday and two meals a day on Thursday & Friday. Additionally, I do not eat within three hours of bedtime to prevent indigestion.
• Reading – My current reading goal is 23 minutes each night, preferably from a biography, personal development, or history book.

Of all these habits, I am having the most success with exercise. I have thirty days in a row of accomplishing my exercise goal. The one that I currently struggle with is my meditation practice. I need to work up to at least ten minutes a day to enable the level of focus my life entails.

Fostering your community and keeping open the lines of communication go hand in hand. They should as they both have the same root word – commune. What does it mean to commune? Commune means to share. Your community is your shared experience. When you communicate, you are imparting or sharing with another. Often mental health is severely impaired when people feel alone. So, reach out to your community if you feel alone. If you suspect that someone else feels lonely, reach out to them!

Internally, working on healthy habits helps lead to better mental health outcomes. Externally, connecting with your community leads to better health outcomes for everyone. Remind yourself that you are not alone – especially in our SHRM community.

Best Regards,
Ben Houseman, CFP®
2021 President