Why Does Mental Health Matter for Your Business?
Being mindful of the relationship between your job and life is essential for your success as a business owner.
It is worth taking the time to invest in yourself so you can be mentally prepared for any situation, while still mantaining a health balance between work and other areas of your life. Being consistent with this will allow you to grow, both personally and professionally, without sacrificing one for the other.
That begs the question, how do we create better overall mental and physical wellness as business owners? The answer is that you have to make it a priority and put in the work to heal.
My Mental Health Story
Creativity and design has always been a part of my life since I was a child. Eventually, when I got older I decided to turn it into an entrepreneurial activity—getting paid for what I loved to do and was naturally good at. My passion for the work I do resulted in me not setting limits or boundaries for myself or for my clients. I was not fully showing up for myself in business or in my personal life.
Then something happened that was so disruptive, it jarred me out of the cycle I was in. It forced me to take a step back and realize that there were some big changes I needed to make in my life, in order to heal and thrive.
I was in a severe car accident that left me significantly injured. This event forced me to reflect on the trauma cycle that brought me to a place where I was overworking and under-caring for myself. I knew that if I wanted to find long-term success within myself, and as a business owner, I need to take an introspective look at what was going on beneath the surface. I decided it was time to start investing into understanding myself so I could move forward toward advancing in every aspect.
Why Does This Make Me a Better Business Owner and a Good UX/UI Designer?
My personal journey has fostered a deep level of empathy and compassion for others. This attribute is essential in my role as a UX/UI designer and web developer. A key element of my job is to understand the problems users face and create solution. Empathy toward the user is an incredibly important skill.
My life experiences that I have overcome helped me develop a deeper level of empathy that great drives my ability to understand the user of any product I design.
I strongly believe that understanding how people think, feel and interact with a product is the key to creating intuitive tools for my clients. This hard-won skill of relating to others gives me a unique advantage in knowing how to effectively collaborate in teams, as well as understand what my clients need. Working together with stakeholders and developers to identify unique solutions for successful products is something I’m passionate about.
