Life is so much better if you find a way to enjoy the journey to each career achievement, instead of just being focused on the end goal.
Today, more than ever, wellness is at the forefront of societal discussions. From mental health to physical well-being, women are making significant strides in bringing about change, introducing innovative solutions, and setting new standards. Despite facing unique challenges, they break barriers, inspire communities, and are reshaping the very definition of health and wellness. In this series called women in wellness we are talking to women doctors, nurses, nutritionists, therapists, fitness trainers, researchers, health experts, coaches, and other wellness professionals to share their stories and insights. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kelley Gullo Wight.
Kelley Gullo Wight, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Indiana University. She earned her Ph.D. from Duke University, with a focus on consumer psychology. In her research, Kelley seeks to understand the barriers people face in pursuing wellness.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Iinitially sought a Ph.D. in consumer psychology because I am fascinated by the “why” and “how” of human behavior and decision making. Why do we eat what we eat? How do we do choose to spend our time? I wanted a career in research and academia so I could answer such questions and, hopefully, uncover insights about human behavior that could help people. I was very fortunate to be accepted into a Ph.D. program at Duke University, where I studied for five years (2015–2020) under the supervision of Dr. Gavan Fitzsimons and Dr. James Bettman. After graduating with my Ph.D., I started my current research-track faculty position at Indiana University.
During my time in the Ph.D. program, I worked intensively on research. I ran experiments in the behavioral lab. I analyzed big data sets of consumer purchases. I partnered with non-profits and companies. And I loved it. I continue love that, in my job, I get to ask big questions about human behavior, and I love the rigorous process to answer them.
However, I quickly realized that I did not enjoy the process of research to answer just any question. It was important that I cared about the question and that the answer could help people. This realization led me to start asking questions about understanding and removing barriers to the pursuit of wellness, which is what I continue to study to do this day.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
I think that one interesting thing about researching wellness is that you are forced to confront your own bad habits. I know from my own research all kinds of tips and tricks to overcome barriers to pursuing self-care, yet I also find myself susceptible to letting these psychological barriers get in the way of my own self-care. I’ll catch myself thinking things like, “I just have to get this work done for a collaborator, I can exercise tomorrow.” But the problem is, there is always “tomorrow”! I do my best to correct those thoughts, and make exercise something to do “today”, for example, but I don’t always succeed in doing so.
What I learn from this is that, even with every tip and trick in our proverbial toolbelt, overcoming psychological barriers to the pursuit of wellness is difficult. A lot of the psychological barriers to pursuing wellness are formed by societal and cultural pressures, and we, as individuals, have to face those pressures every time we have the opportunity to pursue (or forgo) a wellness activity. We won’t always overcome those barriers, and that’s ok.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My biggest mistake when I first started in my career was thinking that I could work all the time, day and night. I felt guilty for any moment I wasn’t working. But, in reality, our bodies and our brains need rest and time away from work. After several years overworking myself — working 10+ hours a day, six or seven days a week — I reached a breaking point. I had to start setting boundaries. I scheduled exercise into my day. I stopped working in the evenings or on weekends. I made time to do things for fun.
To my great surprise, I became productive than ever after I set boundaries on my time. My brain had a chance to recharge, so I was producing more and higher quality work when I did sit down to do research. And more than improving my work, I was happier and less stressed. All other dimensions of my life improved: I had the mental bandwidth to be a more thoughtful friend and partner, and I rediscovered hobbies, like reading. I even discovered new hobbies, like water coloring.
Now, I am more careful to protect my non-work time, and it’s a practice I encourage everyone to do.
Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
In my work, I am trying to discover insights that can help shape public health policy and provide science-backed lifestyle tweaks that people use to overcome common barriers to pursuing wellness. I focus on areas of wellness at critical risk, such as finding ways to address the loneliness epidemic or wellness concerns for at-risk populations, such as parents. It is my hope that, through these insights, people more easily make their own wellness and self-care a priority in their lives.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
A common theme across my research is that, when people do not feel like they have enough time, they deprioritize their own well-being. For example, in a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research, my collaborators and I found that feeling time constraints leads people to think they will be too distracted to benefit from activities that will improve emotional well-being (e.g., activities that decrease stress or increase relaxation). Relatedly, in ongoing research (not yet published), my collaborators and I find that focusing on the current demands on one’s time (e.g., everything you have to get done that day) leads people to deprioritize their self-care because they feel they are being a bad person by putting their own needs over others, however people seem to always prioritize other people’s pursuit of self-care. Finally, in a paper published in the Journal of Marketing Research, my collaborators and I found that focusing too much on current problems (vs. future goals) leads parents to be more likely to choose unhealthy foods for themselves, to use as a backup meal in case their child does not eat the healthy food.
Based on these findings, I can recommend some science-backed “lifestyle tweaks” that can help support people’s journey towards better well-being:
- Keep the future in mind. Focusing on the future puts less emphasis on our current time demands, making self-care seem more feasible, and makes our overall well-being goals more top-of-mind.
- Think of yourself as a friend. We are more compassionate towards others and are less likely to deprioritize their self-care and wellness needs.
- Do something small for yourself every day. Maybe this is carving out ten minutes to sit down and enjoy your morning coffee, or maybe it’s taking a small walking break during the day. I find that this leads to an upward spiral in feeling like you are less time constrained, making everything else feel more manageable.
- For the parents out there, make your meal choices with yourself in mind instead of thinking of your own plate as an extension of your child’s. I find that this simple mental shift leads parents to be less likely to think of their plate as a backup meal for their child, and therefore they are more likely to choose healthful food options for both their child and themselves.
Based on some additional research of mine, I can also recommend a fifth “lifestyle tweak”:
5. Celebrate whenever you can! In research published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, my collaborators and I find that intentionally celebrating any positive life event, big or small, by sharing food with others leads to increases in key metrics of social connection that are known to be associated with decreased mortality and improved overall wellness.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I think a movement that normalizes pursuing wellness in the same way we normalize caring for others could bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Be kind to yourself, both in how you talk to yourself and how you treat your body.
- Get sleep!!
- Prioritize building a community of friends and family.
- Be flexible; the path to finding the answer in research is rarely what you thought it would be at the onset.
- Life is so much better if you find a way to enjoy the journey to each career achievement, instead of just being focused on the end goal.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
I think everything starts with mental health — we can’t take care of the environment or take care of others if we aren’t in a good place ourselves.
What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?
Kelleygullowight.com
www.linkedin.com/in/kelleywight
Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com .
