Hey Catered Fit Family,
A few blinks later and we are already in May! Time does fly, faster today than ever. Waking up and sprinting towards my goals has been the norm for me since I graduated college almost fifteen years ago. Recently the voice in my head that always moved me forward began asking a question… but let me press pause on that for a moment.
As you all may know from my last several notes to you, I have been focused on self-improvement, business improvement and overall being intune with myself and my surroundings. It has been this journey that lit a spark and spread like wildfire through my brain, and why my brain keeps asking that same question:
The question is, “WHY?”
Why do we all get up everyday and run through life as fast as we can? Why do we dedicate so much of our time on Earth to working as frantically as so many of us do nowadays? Why aren’t we focused on the joys in life? Why are we doing any of this?
This isn’t just about the individual, but about Catered Fit as well. Catered Fit’s WHY has never been clearer than it is today. We are not a healthy meal delivery service. Delivering the most nutritious and delicious meals on Earth is WHAT we do fifty two weeks a year. The question is WHY do we do it, and the answer is, to improve quality of life. We do what we do so that we can provide all of you, our family, with more health, happiness and a greater quality of life.
We don’t sell food, we don’t deliver meals, our product is TIME! It is the time to invest in your your passions and your people, THAT is what we provide. The food is just one of the many perks. I sit here today and think back to the days when I was our sole customer service rep. Many of your voices and your stories really resonated and helped center our focus. I can remember taking a call from a Dad who just watched his son’s baseball game for first time and he called in to thank us for giving him the freedom to reinvest his shopping, cooking, and cleaning time into family time and father and son time. I recall a young couple calling in years ago and insisting on speaking with the owner. After I had informed them that I was not only their customer service rep but I was also the owner, they thanked me for giving them peace. I replied by thanking them for the opportunity rather automatically and followed with the usual “so you must have enjoyed our food?” They explained that their Dad was a very stubborn man and he refused to live in an assisted care facility. Apparently he lived alone, had recently fallen, and could no longer cook for himself. They lived out of state and felt helpless until they had seen one of our ads on social media. I quickly understood that we didn’t sell them food, we sold them the peace of mind knowing their Dad was in good hands and would be well fed so they could rest easy.
It is these moments that move me forward. While I may not be the one answering the phones anymore, at least once a day my team brings me the beautiful stories from our members. Not just about what we have put on their plates, but more importantly what we have taken off. Mixed in between those deeper WHY’s there are thousands of members that really just appreciated being able take those few hours a day away from the kitchen and reinvest them into the gym, spin class, yoga, couples therapy, kite surfing, happy hour, the couch. The list goes on and on! Whatever it is you choose to do with all of that precious time you purchased from Catered Fit, just make sure you invest it in ways that make you appreciate what little time we really have on this journey.
The month of May is not only a month to over indulge in tacos and tequila (Happy Cinco de Mayo!) it is also Mental Health Month. The emotions that make us so beautifully human also can be our worst enemy, myself included! Like many of you, mental illness and depression run through my family tree.Those skeletons don’t belong in the closet anymore. It is important to embrace the differences we experience, and vocalize when we need help. Self love, awareness and familial support are the greatest assets we can have. I believe we could all benefit from a good therapy session, in fact, most of us should bring the family along too. The sooner we can tear down the barriers of self-acceptance and the stigma around mental health, the world will be a better place. My team knows that their mental health is just as important as their physical, and I am here to support them in any way I can. “Sick Days” at Catered Fit are not limited to a stomach flu, but a mental-health-day when needing a break. It might seem like a small thing, but for the Catered Fit team to know that they don’t have to be shy or hide those feelings, is a great first step towards acceptance.
While America doesn’t yet offer mental health insurance we can (and should) help each other. We all need to be able to vent and talk through our demons with someone. We need to be able to create safe environments for our friends, families and coworkers. Consider journaling! I recently began experimenting with journaling and at the very least it helped wind me down at days end and was effective at highlighting all of the really enjoyable little things I tend to run past everyday. Until next month.✌🏻
Health is Wealth,
Adam Friden/ CEO