Jun 4, 2019
What do we mean when we say “personal and relational wellness,” and why are they important for you as a leader? And how can you develop habits and routines that will help you stay healthy personally and in your relationships?
We continue in our Wellness Series with this conversation about both personal and relational wellness. If you missed part 1, be sure to go back and listen to Episode 48.
Staying Healthy as a Leader: Personal Wellness
What do we mean by personal wellness?
- Our minds, our intellect
- Our emotions
- Our mental health
If I’m feeling overwhelmed, it’s often because I’m not taking good care of my personal wellness. Neglecting our personal wellness can lead to stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health concerns.
It’s important for you to know where your baseline is and be aware of this, especially when it comes to mental health so that you know when you may need additional support.
How we can take care of our personal wellness as leaders:
- Doing things that help you to de-stress on a regular basis.
- Managing our emotions.
- Self-awareness--recognizing your own baseline for emotional and mental health. It takes a lot of self-awareness to figure out what things actually rejuvenate you and what things don’t.
- Regular rhythms of rest; having a Sabbath and times when you do not have work or a to-do list. Episode 260 of the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast with Ruth Haley Barton addresses the issue of busyness and the need for rest as leaders.
- Taking our thoughts captive.
- Reaching out for additional support from professionals.
Holly and I both share some examples of how we stay healthy personally.
Staying Healthy as a Leader: Relational Wellness
Relational wellness means the health of your most important relationships. In Episode 15 - we talked about Healthy Relationships 101, and we really dove deep into our framework for how we see this topic. The health of our leadership is directly impacted by the health of our relationships.
How we can take care of our relational wellness as leaders:
- Invest in your most important relationships; make space for these people.
- Creating rhythms and routines for your closest people.
- Develop friendships and mutually support one another.
- Grow in relational skills and/or address specific concerns (communication/conflict, mentoring, step-parenting). See the list of episodes below for episodes that address these areas.
- Don’t live in unforgiveness. It is not easy to forgive, but it important to work towards that in all relationships.
We discuss some of the habits and routines we have created to keep our relationships healthy.
Conclusion:
As a reminder, all 4 areas of wellness are interconnected. We need to be intentional about our personal and relational wellness because things naturally deteriorate rather than improve. And finally, don’t try to focus on changing everything at once.
Want some help figuring out how you are doing with your wellness? We have a quiz for you!
Go to estherlittlefield.com/wellness to take the quiz!
Other Episodes Mentioned:
- Episode 5: Designing a Life You Love with Lilah Higgins
- Episode 15: Healthy Relationships 101 for Leaders
- Episode 16: Healthy Communication for Leaders with Carrie Sharpe
- Episode 19: The Value of Mentoring with Elisa Pulliam
- Episode 21: How To Develop Healthy Relationships with your Children and Stepchildren with Gayla Grace
- Episode 22: What To Do When Relationships are Hard
- Episode 33: My Favorite Tools for Goal Setting, Planning and Creating Habits
Key Quotes from the Episode:
- A routine is really important even if you don’t really love it.
- Living in unforgiveness in one relationship affects all of the others.
For the full show notes for this episode, visit estherlittlefield.com/episode50.
Episode Sponsor: Confident Leader Club
If you are looking for a way to connect with like-minded women who understand how lonely leadership can be, to grow and broaden your skills as a leader, and to have some accountability to take action on your big goals, I want to invite you to join the Confident Leader Club. The doors open a few times per year, and you can get on the waitlist (or join if we are open) at confidentleaderclub.com. You don’t have to lead alone, and the Confident Leader Club will provide you with the community you’ve been looking for.
Connect with Esther and Holly:
This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode50.