Female CEO, self-care, busy mom, woman owned business

Hi, friends!

Here we are, five months into our world shutting down around us in response to COVID-19. How are you, anyway?

I’ve noticed the waves most of us have been riding during these months; my family and friends happen to often be on the same wave as my clients at times. Collectively, we’ve been incredulous, grieving, angry, lost, confused, helpless, hopeless. Some of us have experienced periods of self-empowerment, during which we focus on tasks or projects or people to help distract us from our disbelief. And others, well…

I was talking to a girlfriend recently about how we are each managing ourselves, our families, and work. And, to be honest with you guys, most days I don’t think I’m doing that great a job. I often feel as though I am treading water in most areas of my life these days, trying to stay afloat and grasping at each breath I can. Nonetheless, here we were, engaged in this check-in.

I had several takeaways from our chat that have really had me thinking the past few days.

First of all, I acknowledge I have been pretty focused on work since the beginning of COVID-19. Not that this is all bad…I AM in the process of scaling two health and wellness businesses while simultaneously learning how to market in a variety of ways pretty much on my own (yes, trial and error are my friends), and maintaining a client caseload. And guess what – IT’S HARD! Any day that I allow myself to NOT think about work has been a secret, unexpected, guilt-ridden day!

It’s kind of like having two newborns as a first-time mother. Or so I would imagine. I sort of know what I’m doing, but mostly I don’t, so I learn along the way, beat myself up for making mistakes, have a minor nervous breakdown followed by the feeling that my heart is exploding with love and happiness and pride, and every moment is consumed with thoughts of my newborns no matter what I am doing.

Yeah, just like that.

So, I recognize I have been giving a bit much to this portion of my plate. The “plate” is a metaphor I use regularly in sessions with clients to assess what they are faced with or are taking responsibility for, help to identify priorities, and track areas of imbalance. Yes, I have been giving too much to work. If I were a client of mine, we would stay here for a while. We would do the work to explore what can be taken off of the plate. Can something be delegated? Can something be shelved? Can several things be broken down into smaller, achievable steps and set into an action plan for completion?

Unfortunately, I am not a client of mine. And it’s hard at times to heed my own advice.

We’ll pick THAT up another day.

I then went on to explore what my girlfriend took the time to compliment me on during our conversation. This was not expected and, to be frank, I get pretty uncomfortable with compliments. She shared her support in my recognition of the need to pivot quickly, step up to the plate rather than backing down in the face of fear and uncertainty, and evolve with the knowledge of what is working and what is not.

Of course, my mind went in several directions. While my first inclination was to downplay positive feedback (remember – discomfort!), I started to buy in. Yes, I have figured out a way to pivot when our world seems to be changing more quickly by the day. Yes, I do have insight into what is working and will likely continue to work under the circumstance we are under. YES, I WILL STEP UP!

And I came to the word “RESILIENT.”

I have the ability to be resilient. That’s it. Resilience is a skill that I have learned, probably early on, and have honed in on this skill throughout periods of stress or hardships in my life.

It was like an “AHA” moment recognizing this is why I am so focused on work and on establishing functional health and wellness programs for my clients. Resilience. This is the skill we are helping people to develop at REBOOT. I’ve just never called it this before! Everyone has the ability to be resilient and to take care of themselves despite challenges. Some people may have forgotten or have been out of practice, others may have never been taught by their role models. But guess what!? It’s OK. Resilience is a SKILL…therefore it can be learned, practiced, and mastered.

So, let me break down my philosophy on resilience. This is MY philosophy – yours may look different. I believe the foundation consists of a sense of control in any given situation. I recognize there are many situations in which we are NOT in control. And this is the point. In any given situation, our main control is our response. I believe by being proactive in taking care of myself, by practicing techniques that COULD help me if I were to be sick, stressed, or unsafe (i.e. being rested, hydrated, nourished, and prepared to run!...just kidding, unless I’m being chased by a tiger), I will be ready for most challenges that come my way. Further, I will have the mental toughness to respond in a manner that is mostly rational and helps me to problem-solve.

With this being MY philosophy, the challenges I have had to step up to likely look different than yours. For instance, the challenges involved with infertility and fertility treatments. Or, a relentless corporate job in which I felt undervalued and taken advantage of. Or, like many of us today – A GLOBAL PANDEMIC!

I’ve taught this philosophy to most of my clients over the years. For the most part, it has been pretty effective and helpful for them. Thankfully, my colleagues that work with me at REBOOT have a similar philosophy of proactive techniques to foster resilience.

Ultimately, our plan is that our clients will thrive long after their time with us. They will evolve into best versions of themselves and have the skills to recognize when and how to pivot. And we intend they know how to STEP UP when they need to, to show up and be present whenever the time comes.

I hope you are stepping up where you need to. And I hope you are taking care of yourself.