You can’t pour from an empty cup.. Wellness for CEO’s

To quote an inspirational Tik tok video (you know the ones!!) ‘to be a successful entrepreneur you need to get comfortable with high levels of pressure and stress and ultimately not be effected by it!’

Easier said than done my Tik tok guru, easier said than done!

With any business (I presume!) the aim is to grow, to achieve more than you did the last year and to evolve your company. Naturally that means more pressure, be that from more staff or more projects to juggle.

In the past few months, as my company Choose Leads is growing (which is so exciting) there has been extra pressure. I LOVE the pressure of hitting new targets, of giving the staff fulfilment from their jobs and everything else that goes with it… but to add to this I also had big extra external factors from personal challenges come into play, and this is when my Cola bottle fizzed over… (another analogy from the couch!)

I’m not sure I have completely ‘calmed down the fizz’ but I know I am on my way.

We all know the recipe, as we do it every time we get to this point but for some reason we don’t carry on doing what we ‘know’ keeps us calm and resilient as we then feel like we don’t need it!

My recipe consists of:

Meditating 🧘 

Headspace App is so good for this as you can keep track. Naturally, as a business owner I am competitive, even if it’s against myself.. there is a tracker page, and hundreds of different courses of meditation, all really easy to follow. Kevin Hart even narrates some of the Cardio Meditations! There are thousands on there… it’s so accessible!

It has been proven that meditating actually changes the make up of the brain.

For me it takes me out of ‘fight or flight’ and changes my reactions to situations. I found after 4 days of doing 10 minutes a day my outlook and response had changed. I am now 4 weeks in, no days missed!

Yes, I have meditated before, but this time it’s staying for good.

People who say ‘ I can’t meditate’ - everyone can, all mind’s wander off but it’s the ‘bringing your thoughts back’ to your breath or listening to the person talking which builds that muscle in your brain which means you can be ‘present’ in every day life rather than your mind thinking and worrying all the time.

Healthy Gut 🥒 🌽 🍎 🪴

Gut Health and microbiome is very much at the forefront of so many conversations as the link between your gut health and your mental health is undeniable.

Part of my routine is now to have 30 different plants or ‘foods from the ground’ to make sure I have a big mix of natural variation going into my body!! There are some cheeky little helping hands from the likes of MoJu shots to make gut health a little bit more exciting!

Exercise 🥋 🏃‍♂️

This is the hard part for me. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis about 3 years ago (an autoimmune condition which effect joints and tendons) so I am constantly injuring myself, and then my confused body then targets the injury and keeps it inflamed for too long.

Current issues are neck, rotator cuff and knees!

You do always need to ‘work with what you’ve got’ so depending on my varied condition I will change things up/down but always exercise. When I’m ‘good’ I can do Jiujitsu and running, and when I am having a ‘flare’ like right now, I do lots of walking and Pilates.

Exercise released happy chemicals, and we all need that in our lives!!

Being Selfish 💓 

We need to protect our minds. Burn out is so prevalent in today’s society, we need to be a bit more selfish!

That might mean phasing out certain friends who drain you rather than inspire you. It might mean spending more time alone, or making sure you have a whole day screen free. In overwhelming times, to keep a level head, sometimes we need to be selfish and that’s ok! The word ‘selfish’ gets bad press….  Bring ‘selfish’ back! That’s what I say.

We all know what we ‘should’ be doing but we tend to let good habits slide… so for all of those people reading who know they have ALOT going on… you know the drill, don’t let it get to the point where you fizz over!