🐚 The Salty Shell: Your Personal Strategy
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When Geoff saw my newsletter teaser on X yesterday, he immediately said he wanted to weigh in, and I'm so happy he did. You know him as the Digital Content Manager at Skittles (and more) - here's his story and the best part is, he had no idea how I was approaching this topic (by decade):
\nIn my 20s, I was the epitome of hustle culture. I was a solo influencer with no agency, no team, just me and my content streams and a community who supported me. While this sounds like the dream, it was anything but, looking back. I had no time to focus on myself, my health (Physical or Mental) nor my relationship or family. It got to the point, as I neared my late 20s, where I had lost contact with my dad, lost my 6 year relationship, and eventually had to give up my content work in favor of a corporate role.
\nWe get so focused on numbers (engagements, income, etc) that we lose sight of the things that matter and how to balance these things. I started my 30s by developing cancer and battling that was honestly the catalyst to how I now balance my life in marketing vs. my real life.
\nIt taught me, very bluntly, that life is short and very fragile. If we only keep hustling we are doomed to suffer loneliness, and find rough ways to try and fill in those gaps.
\nMy life now consists of shutting my laptop when work hours are done, planning how to spend my money on things that truly make me feel joy or happiness, and making time for my family or friends because they matter more than an extra hour of work here and there.
\nTherapy has also helped a TON, and I’ve personally been going monthly for over 3 years now. The biggest thing we have to learn is how to prioritize what truly matters, know that getting help is important and not a sign of weakness, and we need to be gentle to ourselves when we do fall into bad habits.
\nAt the end of the day, work is work and if we have ways of tuning out when we are done we can more easily mitigate the signs and symptoms of hustle culture before they take root.
\nI also really love meditation and journaling and highly recommend any professional use those tools, and any others, to decompress.
\nI can’t speak on my 40’s as I have 7 years to go, but wanted to share some of my personal experiences in case it helps someone avoid losing everything and having to rebuild like I did. For the record, I’m very close with my mom and dad now, and they have been a huge help in getting me to where I am now after the fall I went through, so the story does have a happy ending for the most part!
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40s – Embracing Change and Resiliance
\nAs professionals, we are often faced with change and reinvention. It could be new career opportunities, an entire career change, focusing on personal priorities or confronting midlife milestones. Mental health is shaped by our adaptability and resilience and having a growth mindset, just like in business, is important. You may grapple with questions of legacy, fulfillment, and work-life interaction, but prioritizing your self-worth, self-reflection, purposeful living, and holistic well-being is your priority.
\nJust like in marketing, there is not a one size fits all approach. Each brand needs its own unique strategy and to be adaptable and have a strong commitment to authenticity. So, naturally, here’s a strategic framework, similar to those I create for social media strategies, but for you – your wellness strategy.
\nAudit:
\nTake a look at your personal and professional mental health wellness – what’s working? What’s not? What are the opportunities for improvement? What are the good, better best options for improvement or the easy, needs some work and needs a lot of work goals? Be honest with yourself.
\nMission:
\nWhat is your purpose for prioritizing your mental health? What does the outcome look like? It can be as simple as “I want to show up as my best self personally and professionally” or it can be incredibly deep and specific – it’s your mission.
\nGoals:
\nSet clear and achievable goals that align with your mission and can be measured. Some examples:
\nEasy: journal for 5 minutes every morning, set a daily time limit for social media
\nMedium: commit to working out for at least 30 minutes 3x a week, limit sugary snacks and processed foods, say no to commitments that will overwhelm you
\nHard: attend therapy regularly, seek support in a friend or family member and invest time in learning coping mechanisms for managing stress
\nAudience:
\nYour partner, friend, social media followers, work bestie – whomever you feel comfortable with because you shouldn’t be on this journey alone. Also, don’t forget who’s watching you and how you make them feel. While prioritizing your own mental health it’s essential to make sure you are not contributing to someone else’s downfall because it will stick with them. I still remember shit my friends said to me in elementary, I think about it often – I wish I didn’t.
\nTone:
\nThere should only be one answer here, really: to approach your mental health journey with compassion and understanding. Recognize it’s ok to experience setbacks and challenges along the way – it’s life, it’s going to happen.
\nContent Pillars:
\nYour content pillars are the key areas of focus for your mental health strategy. Example:
\n🏛️Self care: exercise, nutrition and relaxation techniques
\n🏛️Stress management: deep breathing exercises, yoga or spending time outside
\n🏛️Coping mechanisms: journaling, therapy, creative activities
\nContent:
\nYou don’t have to create content, but be mindful of the content you consume. From reading self-help books, listening to podcasts, using meditation apps and even searching the things you want to see and learn about on TikTok to modify your algorithm. I never know what’s trending on the clock app because I’ve trained mine to only show me the content that’s valuable to me – and that shit isn’t TrEnDy.
\nCommunity Management:
\nSurround yourself with supportive people digitally and IRL who lift you up and encourage you on your journey, and life in general.
\nReporting:
\nWhat’s a strategy and ongoing planning without a progress check? Reporting could be check-ins with your doctor, therapist or to look at your evolution of journaling and how your mindset has changed. You can use self-assessment tools like mood-tracking apps.
\nThere’s your strategic framework and I truly hope you stick to it. Know that people inside the computer can be ‘your people’ more than the ones you know on the outside – birds of a feather.
\nI could talk about mental health, approaches, and everything in between forever. I could write pages on what working with clients, and agencies have done to me, and maybe I will – on LinkedIn because that’s where the thought bro content goes. We have a whole month to talk about it. No, we have forever to talk about it because who gives a shit about “___ awareness month.”
\nTake care of yourself, check on others, and if you’re a leader, do more than tell your team to take care of themselves or to ask for an extension.
\nNamaste or something (obviously, yoga isn’t my coping mechanism),
\nChelsea
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