Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post and now a leading work-life balance evangelist. Besides breathing deeply, she has many other tools for promoting wellness in our overwhelming world. Once she had built her media empire, she laid down never to rise again, succumbing to exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Today, she spends her life teaching about the value of prioritizing self-care. Her experiences have inspired her to push back against the widely held notion that chronic overwork equals success.
Huffington’s fall from grace in 2007 was a reawakening, encouraging Huffington to engage in the rigorous research of what exactly constitutes well-being. Instead, over the years she has forged a powerful conviction. She believes our country is under a “collective delusion” when it comes to the connection between effort and achievement. From her research — and her own experience — she stresses that compromising your health is not a requirement for success.
As she continues to crusade to change workplace culture, Huffington is fighting for the importance of self-care. She wants us to know that we can win without losing our souls. She practices what she preaches, focusing on getting eight hours of sleep, a balanced diet and regular exercise. In order to make sure she’s reaching her sleep goals, she actually tracks her sleep patterns with an Oura ring.
“Is it a successful life if you end up in a pool of blood on the floor of your office?” – Arianna Huffington
Wendy finds there’s been a huge shift in Silicon Valley. CEOs are no longer competing on how little sleep they had but rather how well they slept. She acknowledges that this cultural change would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
“We have Silicon Valley CEOs competing with each other about how much sleep they got, and how much deep sleep and how much REM sleep, and wearing their Oura rings, which I’m wearing. That would have been impossible to imagine in 2007, but despite that, especially for younger people starting in their career, there is still the fear that if they take time to recharge and take care of themselves, they’re going to be left behind.” – Arianna Huffington
Even with this progress, Huffington is still worried continuing about the pressure that young professionals are putting on themselves to work themselves to death. She says that’s because most people are scared to invest time in self-care for risk of falling behind in their careers. In return, she advocates for taking small “micro steps” to create new habits focused on better health. These simple daily practices can profoundly affect a person’s creativity, leadership skills and resilience.
“I’m going to get eight hours sleep or give up sugar or whatever. It’s very hard to keep these resolutions. But if you think of micro steps, which is at the heart of what we do at Thrive, small daily incremental steps that gradually become healthier habits and a healthier life, you begin to feel differently. You begin to see how you are more creative. You are a better leader. You are less reactive. You come up with better ideas. You face challenges better, so it’s impossible not to see the difference.” – Arianna Huffington
Huffington’s resolve to promote wellness travels further than her own fruits-and-veggies transformation. One of the many lessons she has learned, she shares on her new podcast, “Changemakers & Power Players.” In every episode, she explores the balance between prosperity and personal well-being.