But the new wellness brandFrom the Get Gois intentionally a work in progress.
People have a lot of questions and curiosity about starting things up.
From the Get Go is an imperfect exercise, but we all are an imperfect exercise.
Rebecca Greenfield
It’s an ongoing process.
For Chang, the process started while taking a year off to be happy.
She then decided to launch a site to help other high-achieving women find their ownhappiness.
Sarah Kunst
After thinking what to call the site, it came to her one morning.
The name spoke to the idea of a fresh start.
If you start the day right, you end the day feeling good.
Sarah Kunst
I wanted the name to speak to the intention of what I was doing.
From the get go, this was about something purposeful to me that started with happiness.
The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
SELF: You write about taking a year off to find what makes you happy.
Chang:I didn’t take a year off to find what makes me happy.
I took time off to be happy.
You don’t need to go somewhere seeking happiness.
Sometimes we seek so hard, it becomes very goal-oriented.
That’s not the point of happiness.
Happiness is around us all the time.
The time I took was to be open to what was around me.
Being happy begets more happiness.
We underestimate what we can learn from happiness.
You don’t have to do a radical thing to access sustainable, continued happiness.
I was able to take time off so I could think about happiness differently.
With From the Get Go, I am the guinea pig and I share why it worked.
We live in this chaotic world and happiness feels more elusive than we want it to be.
But only when that’s combined with pragmatic, fact-based stuff.
The tried and true things that are common sense.
I was brought up in a very traditional Chinese household.
The things my grandma taught me and mom said, they have stood the test of time.
They are the foundation of who I am.
Being your authentic self is key to happiness.
SELF: Why did you feel it was important to create this brand for women?
Chang:We are not very nice to ourselves.
We are our own worst critics, we are so judgmental of ourselves.
We see things no one else sees.
We compare ourselves endlessly.
We are totally in our heads.
I get it too.
I’ve done it all my life.
I’ve been a perfectionist and overachiever all my life.
I think a lot of women relate to this idea of being a perfectionist and overachiever.
And they derive satisfaction from it, but actually it doesn’t make us happy.
And it’s a process.
There is no magic wand to make you not care what others think anymore.
I want to give a road map and tools and suggestions to incorporate into their own lives.
SELF: What have you learned about wellness from your experiences working in the industry for your entire career?
Chang:The most important thing I’ve learned is that a healthy mind is a healthy body.
And movement is so important, for the physical self but also in terms of creativity.
We are sostressed, so tight, we can become tight in our mindset as well.
I get some of my best ideas after yoga, without fail.
Something opens up and something comes to me.
When we don’t move, we hold on to all sorts of junk.
It gives us aches, pains, fatigue!
We should move more and overthink less.
Or if I run, I think about stuff but how it takes shape is different.
Our minds need a break.
During that time of movement, the brain gets a break.
SELF: How do you feel From the Get Go is different from other wellness brands?
Chang:It’s really personal.
I don’t think there’s anything as personal as what I’m doing.
I’ve seen and done a lot.
I’m a first generation of Asian American immigrantsI get what it’s like to feel other.
I’m confident my voice is my own.
There is so much in wellness that is trends.
My goal isn’t to surface every trend.
I’m about telling what’s true to me.
Everything I talk about is identifiably direct first experience.
I have done this, this is what happened, and this is my interpretation.
You know me and what I’ve done because I have this career you could Google.
There is no question about, Where does this come from, who is saying this?
My purpose is unique to what I think is a helpful experience.
It’s something I wish I’d had but couldn’t find.
Do you find it hard to write these kinds of personal posts?
For me, this is tapping into something I haven’t done in a long time.
I’ve always been able to do it.
And it’s a muscle you have or you don’t.
Or a personality, a talent, a gift you are able to do or not able to do.
And I’ve always been able to do it.
Generally digital isn’t about thoughtful reflection and reveal.
It’s supposed to be fast, we want these quick bites.
And some of the posts I write are much more service-oriented.
They’re a fast grab of happy.
I’m lucky to feel confident about what I have to say and I think it’s of value.
I understand why some people feel a reservation to write about personal things.
Because of the internet, it is so out there, anyone can see it.
But if someone got to know you, they would eventually know that too.
We want to present our best selves.
But presenting a more honest, well-rounded self is the more compelling self.
SELF: What is your goal for From the Get Go?
Chang:The goal is happiness.
I created a sustainable, happy lifestyle for myself.
You diet until you fall off the wagon, you work hard and play hard.
It’s a cycle of intense feelings all the time.
I want to reframe what success means to us and how we talk about it.
And more broadly, to help people tune into that idea for themselves.
We live in this moment of activism.
You should find happiness every day, because you deserve it.
Have more empathy for yourself and feel less pressure.
Sometimes we need the suggestion to think about things differently.
It’s not asking ourselves, Am I happy?
That’s not the point.
Happiness isn’t a minute-to-minute thing.
But at some point in the day, ask yourself, Do I feel good right now?
If I’m having a bad day, I try my own steps, and it works.
I’m reminded of it every day because that’s what the site is calledthat was intentional.
A lot of advice is wrong.
It’s what we need to re-program out.
They say, Hustle is the secret.
That’s why the motivational genre doesn’t work for me.
It’s why I feel another voice needs to be added to the mix.
I want to help people, especially women, do things differently.
I hear that women want to do things differently but we live in a world where that’s hard.
Things go slow until they go fast.
Be comfortable and find happiness and learning throughout the process.
That’s my own message to myself.
I think we need this.
I kept trying to improve and do things differently, but not in a way that made me happier.
It just gave me another task to do when I already had too many things to do.
