Nowadays, it can get quite challenging to find time for yourself. Everyone is just trying to survive to live in a fast-paced world, where you have to keep meeting the world’s expectations of you. However, that does not necessarily mean that you should forget about yourself. In this fast-paced and demanding world, always learn the habit of looking after your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. You can be physically fit, but your mind could be so full of toxicity and negative thoughts. You could look so happy on the outside, but you might also be pouring out all your emotions every night with no one to talk to. In a world where mental health problems are a rising issue, don’t forget to take a break and meditate once in a while.
Valerie Jennings is an entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of Jennings Social Media and Martech in Overland Park, Kansas. Aside from her initial business, she has two other companies up and running until today. Besides doing business, Valerie Jennings is also fond of all things social media and digital [marketing]. In fact, she is an early adopter of social media, dating back to the year 2005. On her free days, she tries to squeeze in a friendly game of tennis, singing, painting, and playing the guitar. On top of all that, she is a mother to a beautiful girl named Alexa.
Operating a business (or businesses, for this matter) is definitely a challenging role. For someone who needs to balance her work and personal life, you must be thinking, how does someone like Valerie Jennings do all these things? How can she still have time for herself, her daughter, and her business considering that she has so much on her plate every single day? Getting curious about how she balances everything all together? Well, below are a few tips and tricks that Valerie Jennings do to balance her life:
Detoxing the Mind Before Breakfast
According to Valerie Jennings, it’s essential that we feed our minds with positivity every single day. The human mind is just like the human body. It needs food to generate energy. In this case, you can train your mind to think of all the positive thoughts and beliefs so you’ll also end up doing positive things for your mind, for your body, and yourself. Your mind is not a dumpster, so don’t fill it with unnecessary trash, like negative thinking.
Stay away from negative thoughts, messages, and actions. According to her, you have to think of things you want to do; things you want to achieve and accomplish; things that will make you believe more in yourself. While holding positive thoughts and expectations, also try to imagine doing these things with the people who will give or add [positive] value into your life. In her case, her daughter is one of the greatest blessings she has ever received. Which one’s yours?
Self-Care
Handling a business is no joke, and it’s not going to be a walk in the park! As an entrepreneur, you also have to look after yourself every once in a while. As for Valerie, she takes time to do self-care routines like going to the spa and having a me-time.
Making time for yourself and having the desire to relax and unwind a bit can never be considered vanity. Go on, spend one whole day at the salon, get your hair done, have your nails painted, avail a full body massage, a facial, anything! Oftentimes people forget to take care of themselves, that’s why many individuals experience several signs of aging fast because you tend to overlook your body or skin’s need for some rejuvenation. Do anything that will make you happy, buy skincare stuff, try on new makeup, the choice is all yours so long as you’re not aggravating anyone.
Be Active
Once you’ve detoxed your mind, cleared everything that doesn’t give positive meaning into your life, then your body will follow. Valerie Jennings makes it a point to spend a day or two practicing her favorite sport, which is tennis. According to her, she used to play tennis before she got pregnant with her daughter Alexa, and continued doing so until her second trimester. However, she had to stop playing because she had pregnancy complications. But now, after giving birth to her daughter, she’s gained enough courage and strength to go back to her go-to sport. In fact, she even competed in a tennis match in July last year.
The point is, it’s important that you do things that’ll make you happy every now and then. More so, do things that are good for your body. Enroll yourself in a gym, do yoga sessions, or it could be as simple as playing your favorite sport during your free time. It doesn’t have to be grand, as long as you’re taking good care of your mind and body, doing things that will benefit your physical, emotional, and mental health. Don’t be afraid to love yourself! Don’t be so hesitant to do things for yourself because everything follows once you learn how to love and take care of your whole being.
Spend Time with Family
What better way to find peace and comfort than to spend some quality time with your loved ones, right? As for Valerie Jennings, she chooses to include her daughter Alexa even in her business travel so she could simultaneously spend time with her while attending to the company’s needs. However, it’s not always that she does this. Sometimes, she also gives time for her daughter alone, without the unnecessary interruption of business emails, calls, inquiries, etc.
In life, it’s also essential that we spend time with people we love the most. Take a break for the daily hustle and bustle of life and spend some time with family and friends. Do a social media detox as you enjoy a trip to the beach, meditate, and a lot more! With self-care and self-love, you can never really have too much. It was never a bad thing to look after your physical needs, so much so your emotional and mental health!
Wrapping Up
In reality, it’s not going to be easy. For one, training your mind to think of nothing but positive thoughts and beliefs could be hard, especially for someone who’s used to overthinking and putting himself down. However, it’s all going to be worth it. It’s all a matter of time, healing, acceptance, and balance. While it’s important to build your career, it’s even more important to take care of yourself. Who’s going to manage your business (or career) then if you start falling into the dumps just because you neglected your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health? Lastly, no man is an island. It’s best to surround yourself with people who will bring out the best in you and will never make you forget how worthy you are as a person.