TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF, ���EVEN WHEN IT’S TOUGH.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Claudia Chan is the CEO and Founder of S.H.E. Globl Media Inc., the multi-platform women’s empowerment media company behind the renowned global women’s conference, S.H.E. Summit.

As a women’s empowerment expert and social entrepreneur, Claudia's life passion is to help women unlock their limitless potential in career and life, because she believes when women do better, the world does better.

MEET CLAUDIA CHAN!

Claudia recently answered questions about self-care from

members of Connect: Professional Women's Network.

Here's some of her most popular advice.

How do you hold yourself accountable to your self-care goals? Cultivating good habits doesn't happen overnight. Be easy on yourself if you don't follow through on all your commitments. Feeling bad about what we didn't follow through on is the opposite of self-care. The results of all your energy (work, family, to-do lists etc.) are reliant on your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. If you burn out or end up unhappy, it will undermine all that hard work.

“Start valuing yourself as a

strategic tactic to achieve your

dreams.”

SMALL STEPS�TOWARD SELF-CARE:�

�

•  A 5-min meditation in the morning, breathing in the huge value your health has to your life goals

•  Just moving more (desk breaks, anything that speeds up heart rate)

•  Be mindful that you are what you eat

•  Add calendar invites for morning rituals •  Journal your successes, gratitude or what you

discover that makes you feel good

How do you fit in a health routine while juggling multiple jobs, a commute and family? Give yourself credit where it's due. Write out your weekly schedule and look for crevices of 5 to 15 minutes where you can squeeze in fitness (even if it's just stretching) and connecting with your body. Meditation is great for your mindfulness, state of gratitude and sense of achievement in your commitment to making your entrepreneurial dream happen!

How can corporations include self-care as part of their culture? Companies are made up of individuals. The organization must implement better policies in line with their values and mission in order to grow and succeed. These include flex hours, working off site, workshops/speakers that teach topics that effect well-being, maternity/paternity leave and outings for social good. This is just some of what I see in a perfect world!

How can I take care of myself when I’m clashing with senior leadership over the new direction of the company? Practice the mantra obstacles create opportunities. This experience is exercising your resilience, patience and creativity! It’s a sign to either find a way to confront management or start looking for a new job where the leadership direction will be aligned with your values, passions and goals. Get clear on what you want and what action to take to get there.

How do you find time for self-care when travelling? If you want to add more to the diet/exercise routine, you can: •  Use your laptop to take an class in

your hotel room (try YogaGlo.com, Tracy Anderson or Physique57).

•  Opt in for greens, good proteins and fruits for earlier meals so you can splurge more at dinner (earlier the better).

•  For cocktails, opt for a glass of red wine or premium vodka with club soda + lime.

“The most successful

people repeatedly put themselves in uncomfortable

situations. Put all of that frustrated energy towards envisioning solutions and

new possibilities.”

Physical challenges are forcing me to go slow. How can I get rid of the guilt I feel for taking

time for myself? Physical challenges and injuries are the universe's way of forcing you to pause

and reflect on what needs to change. This is the only body you have and taking this time is a critical investment. Create the space to take

care of yourself and reflect on what you want and what matters most!

Remember that imperfection is perfection. Life is not a straight

line; we're meant to fall off routines and, as we experience dips and turns, we want to be mindful of what new things we

are learning about ourselves.

I've started a business with a friend. How can we balance our individual self-care and care for our start-up? If you’re less than a year into the startup, this is great time to evaluate how well you work together, roles, and the culture including work/life balance. Have a company 1-day retreat in a zen-like place to discuss the state of your partnership. I recommend all partnerships do this at least a few times/year. Together you can be creative about the schedule/resources needed to customize a work-week that serves both of your personal and business needs.

How can I maintain great self-care and high energy through a career transition? Write a personal mission statement on what you want for your future and allow it to evolve and edit it as you grow. It will ground you and get you clear on what you want/the woman you want to become more of in this beautiful life!

DAILY AFFIRMATIONS:��� �

"With risk comes reward.”

"Positive attitude creates positive results.”

"Every meeting is an opportunity to

teach and learn.”

"We can only become what we BELIEVE.”

Any advice for caring for myself during a frustrating job search?

Put all that stress/worry/negative energy towards

envisioning new ways to find a job. Leverage all relationships,

tools like LinkedIn and job sites like TheMuse.com, LevoLeague

and Indeed. Find firms you want to work for and outreach. Follow

job experts, bloggers and forums––but don't spend any

energy on that which does not serve your goals.

After all these years in my industry, I’m actually getting bored. Any suggestions for how I can bring back the excitement I used to feel? I would do some soul searching on what you're missing. Is it lack of purpose or passion? Could you be fulfilled by an outside project or activity? Work to understand what you want. Let your heart guide you here and dream BIG when you do it. If it’s time for a change, align your dream with your skills and network. Then create a plan to make the leap.

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PHOTO CREDITS: 6, 13: A.T. White/Getty Images 7: Steven Errico/Getty Images 9: dem10/Getty Images 10: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

12: GK Hart, Vikki Hart/Getty Images 14: Andrew Rich/Getty Images 17: Winston Davidian/Getty Images 18: Paul Bradbury/Getty Images

JOIN THE CONVERSATION! LinkedIn and Citi’s Connect: Professional Women’s Network is an online community with more than 400,000 members that helps women achieve the careers they want and discuss issues relevant to their success. Visit linkedin.com/womenconnect for more information and to join the group for free!

For more great insights on negotiation, check out Claudia Chan’s live discussion in Connect.

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