Led by Natalie Persaud RPP, MCIP

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) Blog Series is designed to share key insights from our ELP program with the entirety of our membership. After each program session, we will share key highlights and resources for those interested in delving further into the topic.

During the second module session of ELP, Natalie Persaud RPP, MCIP, worked with participants to understand the importance of mindfulness and self-care in positions of leadership. Part one on mindful leadership can be found here.

Self-Care

Building from the previous discussion on mindfulness, Natalie advised participants, “a mindful leader’s role is to elevate and care for others, but that doesn’t mean to neglect yourself. Self-Care does not mean selfish.” She outlined the following steps towards practicing self-care:

How to take care of yourself

  1. Daily mindfulness practice. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, such as meditation, eat a meal without multi-tasking, or journaling.
  2. Sleep. Sleep is important to physiological and psychological well-being. We all sleep, but often not optimally. Improve sleep hygiene by doing such things like creating a pre-bed routine to signal to the body sleep is coming, tune away from screens or other mind stimulating activity before bed, and make your bed a pleasant place to be with things that make you comfortable.
  3. Positive Affirmations. Tell yourself good things, but most importantly cut the negative self-talk. It’s a waste of your energy. Have a mantra, a phrase that motivates, inspires,or grounds you when you may find yourself in a stressful situation.
  4. Relax! Take the time to do what you need to in order to rest and recharge.
  5. Breathe. Practice deep breathing and conscious breathing to calm the mind and de-stress.

“It is important to take care of yourself and keep your tank full so that you are able to best serve others,” concluded Natalie.

Please find resources that promote self-care below:

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

How to Sleep Better

Breathing Technique (box)

Calm – App for Meditation and Sleep

Our next EPL session will focus on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Please be on the lookout for our next blog post, where we will be recapping the session and sharing resources with you all.