JESS HINES, Chief Blogger

“Eat less junk.” “Drink more water.” “Meditate.” “Exercise…at least once.”

These are some of the most typical New Year’s resolutions we’re used to hearing as January 1 creeps around the corner—in 2018, NEARLY HALF OF AMERICANS set goals in the new year to lose weight or get in better shape (guilty…).

While taking care of ourselves physically is always an honorable resolution and something we should practice every day, sometimes we overlook aspects of our holistic wellness—the mental, emotional and spiritual parts of us that not only make us better people but also impact the people and the world around us.

This year, instead of resolving to attend that weekly fitness class or try to tame my sweet tooth, both at which I have a pretty solid track record of failing, I have vowed to simply be more intentional—with my words, my actions, my decisions, and with the way I connect with people.

My first action in practicing my new resolution was to reach out and connect with fellow Tyson Foods team members to learn about similar goals they set for themselves in 2019, and I was blown away with the goodness they plan to put into the world this year.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Sarah Kalagias, Associate HR Generalist

In 2019, I resolve to spend a minimum of one day a month with my family volunteering throughout the community. Instead of filling our weekends endlessly pursuing entertainment, I want my kids to be exposed to people of different ages, backgrounds and needs.

Our favorite way to give back to the community is to volunteer our time doing things like handing out food near Thanksgiving time, or service projects like raking leaves in a small neighborhood. I love doing projects where we can directly interact with people and not only alleviate hunger but also loneliness.

My hope is that not only will we be able to make a positive impact through volunteering, but my kids will also develop leadership skills, compassion and empathy. As a mother, it is extremely important to me to raise kids who are kind, giving and empathetic because not only does exhibiting these traits produce real joy, they can also help bring creative solutions to many problems we face in the world.

Kate Kalil, Customer Development Manager

Continuous improvement is something for which we all strive, and the start of a New Year is a perfect excuse to keep up the good work! This year, my foremost resolution is to dedicate greater focus to the world around me, which means: diminishing my exposure to social media, building quality relationships “in real life,” and staying more informed about my community and the world at large.

Chad Nicholson, Associate Director of Corporate Brand Creative and Design

In 2019, I resolve to take a complement or receive gratitude. No more “oh, it’s nothing,” or “no problem at all.” It might just be some sort of hard-to-shake-off Puritan work ethic or generations-old resistance to the idea of self-reliance. It doesn’t take any more time to simply say “you’re welcome” or share that “I’m happy to help.”

Maybe it’s a Southern thing, but when someone complements you, deflecting the complement is the ‘humble’ thing to do. In reality, though, you’re just acting like you have a Teflon® coating and refusing to accept it. If someone thanks you for doing something and you downplay the act by saying “it wasn’t a big deal to do” or something like it, you’re not allowing them to build you up or you’re not allowing them to give you something or be owed something.

So, when someone thanks me, I’m going to accept their appreciation and reply with “You’re welcome.”

Nick Jones, Pedigree Production Manager, Cobb-Vantress

My New Year’s resolution is to make a difference in more people’s lives and here is the short reason why.

This year my wife and I lost our daughter at 18 weeks into the pregnancy. When this was discovered on the ultrasound, the doctor said we need to go to the hospital and check-in to the labor and delivery department. My wife, Emily, was too far along to have a D&C. The doctors induced labor, gave Emily an epidural, and she gave birth to our little Embry Kate early in the morning on September 9th, 2018. Since then we have not been the same people. We have grown closer to each other than ever before. We were faithful and spiritual people prior to this experience. However, our faith and love for God has been tested to the limits, survived, and grown ever larger.

We have shared our story a couple of times, mainly on social media or just talking to friends. However, just by doing this, we have gotten so many messages and comments about how our story, our faith, and our love has shown people that there are more ways to not only get through a tough time, but how to pick up the pieces and go about everyday life afterwards.

We have received an outpouring from people we don’t even know telling us that because of our story, they now look for the good in every situation. A young couple reached out to us, crediting our story for bringing them closer to God and the church. People grieving the loss of a child or a miscarriage have contacted us, telling us how touched they were by our story and how it helped them through their own hard times. Hearing this from other people inspired me to be the change that others need in their life. I want to make a difference in others’ lives whether it is big or small—something as intimate as sharing my story as inspiration or motivation to help someone through a difficult situation, or something as simple as helping someone change a tire.

So this year I not only plan to share my story with more people hopefully on a larger scale, but I am also going to commit daily to making some sort of difference in someone’s life be it a coworker, my wife, my friends, or a complete stranger.

Caroline Ahn, Manager of Executive Communications for Sustainability

For 2019, my resolution is to be less wasteful in all aspects.

I often find myself throwing away food in the back of the fridge at the end of the week or tossing leftovers instead of saving them and incorporating them into other meals. I’m going to be more intentional about meal planning so that my husband and I only purchase the groceries we need and be more mindful about how I can refresh my leftovers and turn them into a new meal for the next day.

I’m also a HUGE fan of skincare and cosmetics, and I’m always trying new products. This means I’ve accumulated a ton of half-empty bottles, jars, and tubes that I’ll eventually just throw away—especially lipstick! This year, I will not be purchasing any lipstick (or other cosmetics, for that matter) until I’ve completely finished the ones I already have. Not only will I be reducing waste, I’ll also be saving money, which is just a perk to living more sustainably.

Logan Webster, Communication Specialist, Social Media Strategist

In 2019 I plan to buy second-hand clothes as much as possible. I’m hoping this resolution will result in me making the most of what I have and buying less clothing overall for the year, which will save me money while also decreasing my environmental footprint—Americans will throw away 35 billion pounds of textiles this year, most of which ends up in the landfill (this is double the amount compared to 20 years ago).

As someone who doesn’t necessarily like shopping, it has been a challenge for me to commit to the time it takes to save money while sacrificing convenience.

However, the most significant challenge so far is passing up on the surprisingly great deals to be found on hunting and hiking gear! Some of my favorite pieces of hiking and hunting gear are vintage hand-me-downs from my father. I drew some inspiration from this WASHINGTON POST ARTICLEprofiling brands for their upcycled clothing initiatives.

The e-commerce platforms DEPOP, POSHMARK, and MERCARI have been pretty easy to use.

Published January 4, 2019.

Author
Chief Blogger at

Storyteller. Ideator. Collaborator. Adamant ‘Yes And’-er.

ENFP. The Enthusiast and The Giver.

Jess is the Managing Editor and Chief Blogger for The Feed, and loves to unsolicitedly tell everyone she encounters that she has the coolest job on the planet.

In her spare time, she loves finding new shows to binge-watch on Netflix, doing improv and sketch comedy, and taking on the alias "Ginger Dungle" for Louisville Championship Arm Wrestling.

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