An Interview With Sara Connell
Having a consistent morning routine helps me to not have to think so hard when it comes to planning my day. If I already know how my morning will go and have everything set up in the same way, I can focus more on my work and social activities.
Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jinan Banna.
Jinan Banna, PhD, RD is a registered dietitian and professor of nutrition at the University of Hawaii. She helps working women to lose weight so that they can feel confident and energetic and enjoy food without dieting. She offers free information on weight loss and plant-based eating on her blog, as well as individual and group nutrition coaching.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up with parents from two different cultures. Both my parents loved to travel, and I was exposed to different ways of living along with different foods from a young age. Exposure to diverse people in places such as Europe and Latin America from a young age shaped who I am today and led me to always be interested in meeting new people and trying new things. My parents were similarly interested in healthy eating, which also inspired my career journey.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
My mother is my biggest inspiration; she taught me to read food labels from a young age and was very involved as a parent. Despite overcoming many hardships, she was very attentive to my wellbeing and always had healthy food on the table.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
My sister has always been instrumental in my success. As a business owner herself and a wellness professional teaching the Alexander technique, she gave me lots of advice about how best to reach my audience and how to inspire others.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
One of the most interesting mistakes happened when I first became a professor. I had several men in my class who behaved inappropriately, asking questions that did not pertain to the subject matter of the day and continually interjecting. It was a “mistake” not to openly call out this behavior and make it known that respect is the foundation of interactions in the classroom. I hesitate to say it was a “mistake”, however, as the error was theirs, not mine.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I am very perseverant. This shines through in all my work. One of the most notable examples is in my job as a professor. Achieving tenure was a lot of work, and there were times when things felt like they were too much. I kept going, and my dedication led me to publish beyond the expectation and achieve lots of success.
I am social. I really enjoy meeting new people and also finding how I can help others. As a result of this, I interact with lots of different people in different circles regularly. This has resulted in lots of collaborations, both with regards to my work as a professor and in my consulting business. For example, some of the talks I do in the community resulted from networking.
I am giving. I offer lots of free advice, both through my consulting business and also to my network of family and friends. I am happy to chat with those I know when they have questions about nutrition, and also put out lots of free articles on my blog, as well as tips on social media.
I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
I enjoyed Michelle Obama’s book Becoming. It was inspiring to hear how she overcame challenges in her life to be such an incredible leader. It is always useful to be reminded that we can harness our strength to move forward in life and inspire others.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I am excited to offer individualized coaching via telehealth to working women looking to lose weight. I know that so many women are struggling to manage it all and need help when it comes to eating well. Recently I’ve helped lots of women better understand which “processed” foods might not be the best for health, as there’s a lot of confusion around this topic. I help people to gain knowledge to make better choices when purchasing food.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?
Having a consistent morning routine helps me to not have to think so hard when it comes to planning my day. If I already know how my morning will go and have everything set up in the same way, I can focus more on my work and social activities.
Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. If you can, please share some stories or examples.
I start my day with a tidy house. I like to have things tidied up the night before so I don’t wake up to any messes that need cleaning. I make sure my dishes are done and things are put away.
I also start my day with some stretching, which helps me feel energized and nimble.
One of the most important parts of my morning is a healthy breakfast. I make sure to have something with fiber, protein, healthy fat and vitamins and minerals. Oatmeal with soy milk and berries is one of my favorites. My mother definitely inspired me to eat this way, as she also loves her oatmeal in the morning.
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
I have found that doing something repeatedly helps me to get in the habit. To be able to remember to do it, I put it on my calendar with a reminder.
To stop bad habits, I try to understand what need the habit aims to fulfill. If I can understand what is underlying my behavior, I can seek to replace it with another more productive behavior that might meet the same need.
Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?
I get my motivation from my desire to thrive as well as my desire to inspire others to do the same. I often have moments in which I feel a great sense of purpose and accomplishment, as well as connection with others, and the desire to feel that often drives me. If we as a community can have that feeling more often, our world will be better.
What other resources would you suggest to our readers?
I have enjoyed numerous books by Buddhist authors, such as Pema Chodron. The ideas in her book help me to gain a greater understanding of our world and process difficult things that always arise in life.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would inspire a movement to transform our food system. Changes in our food system would mean justice for those who play key roles, as well as benefits for our environment and health.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
I am interested in having lunch with Emilie Hebert: Founder and Blogger at Emilie Eats (https://www.instagram.com/emilieeats/). Her philosophy of reducing waste really aligns with mine and I have really enjoyed her healthy recipes.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
They can subscribe to my email list at https://www.jinanbanna.com/ to be notified when I have a new blog post.
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Jinan Banna On The Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.