“In the last three years I have begun to close the gap between what people see and what I feel,” said Nikkia Reveillac, Insights Leader, Inclusion Advocate and Podcast Host.
Are you entering a new professional space? In the wake of the great resignation, many people are. And new initiatives can be exhilarating. But they also take a lot of mental energy. So, how do you show up as yourself and honor your needs?
Nikkia recently started a new leadership position. And whether you?re in a different job or just ready to kickstart new habits, she shares smart strategies to care for yourself
Find Accountability Partners
“I will admit that it is difficult to maintain everything when you are starting off. So, one of the things that I have tried to do is to create accountability. And to bring others in to help me by saying what my aspirations are.”
There are several studies about the benefits of accountable structures. It works for everything from exercise to learning. Nikkia added, “I am trying to maintain certain habits that are sacred to me. It helps to have other people say, hey they did you take that walk? so that I am not stuck inside for the entire day.”
Get Outside
Time in nature is restorative. Particularly as we face another Covid surge. Yet, it can be a challenge to make room on the calendar for it. Nikkia said, “I like to walk around the neighborhood for 15 minutes after I drop my kids off to school. Because at work, it’s easy for me to move from back-to-back-to-back conversations, without having interacted with the sun.”
We?re more likely to succeed with new habits when they’re anchored to our existing routines. Nikia admits, “And there are times, like yesterday when I did not do it because I had a meeting to get to.” So, give yourself grace with self-care. It doesn?t have to be 100% of what you planned to be effective.
Create Rituals
“I also have a gratitude journal and I try to write in it every day. And it’s not like a ton of stuff. But simply waking up and writing about: what I’m grateful for today, what I will feel more of today and how I will make my day more amazing. And most days, I also write how I experienced my 5 senses when I woke up,” said Nikkia.
Journaling can feel intimidating. But as Nikkia describes, it can be quick. And it only needs to be meaningful to you. She explained how It fits into her routine. “As I’m settling in before my first call and coffee, I keep it in front of my desk. It’s like religion for me.” Beautiful!
Invest in Help
Nikkia said, “The other thing that I did, as part of my mission to honor myself, was to treat myself to a personal trainer who comes twice a week.” She shares the trainer with her partner. She added, “Because after buying running shoes, getting my little playlist and doing all the things they said to do, I recognized that I was never going to be a runner. And I needed a person.” Another powerful way to commit.
She explained, “I’m really a great student if I’m paired with a teacher. So, classes with somebody helping me is great. I’m not as great this being self-directed. So, the trainer has been a wonderful addition. I?m not trying to get ripped at my age but after she comes, it feels like I took care of myself. And this a special gift that I’m able to give myself that I couldn’t give myself at 25. I work so hard, if there’s one thing I should do, it?s to take care of myself.” Amen!
Find Your Creative Loves
How often do you feel creatively charged? It’s one of the first things to go between career and kids. Nikkia said, “The other thing is the podcast and being committed to those episodes. It takes work for sure. But I am determined to not let work consume me. It?s really important to me that the pie chart that defines who I am, and how I feel, is not 90% my job.”
Whether it’s a passion project or hobby, isn?t the point. It?s making time for your creative expression. She added, “So, if out of the blue at work, if something unforeseen happens and I start to feel affected, it is not 90% of my heart. I have other things going on.”
And Build in Boundaries
Nikkia said, “The other thing that I’ve done which is not huge self-care, but it does reduce that cognitive load, is to maintain a separation between my laptops.” Although few work cultures make taking breaks easy, having different interests and time away from work, is healthy. And better for your productivity.
She added, “And I know that it’s a privilege to have a work laptop and a home laptop. But being able to, makes me feel like I’m honoring what I just said. That I have this other thing going on, that allows me to be fully myself, and then I have work.”
Meditate
Nikkia said, “I have the Chopra meditation app and I was trying really hard to maintain a little bit of that practice in the morning. It’s hard when you have kids who you need to get out the door but I did it on the subway yesterday. And listened to a 15-minute episode where they introduced the concept of connecting the mind and body.” A powerful way to reduce stress and become more mindful.
She added, “So, in the episode they were taking me through it. How you breathe into it and feel how every emotion comes with the sensations in your body.” Many of us create distance between how we feel and act. Because we’re conditioned to ‘power through’ even when we’re tired or feeing unwell.
And Listen to What Your Body Tells You
Nikkia said, “It’s also helped me realize how high up my shoulders are during the course of the day. And it’s not even because I’m typing on a laptop it’s because I’m holding tension. But I mostly I want to develop that mind body connection for relationships.” Ah yes.
She explained, “I had talked to a friend earlier about how if you?re really in tune, your body knows before your mind, when something doesn’t sit right. Even on Zoom when it’s genuine you know.” Nikkia also had amazing insights to share about managing your work relationships.
Let’s rewrite the old story of proving ourselves in new jobs through overwork and burnout. Smart employers trust their people. And acknowledge that the future of work is flexible. So, a job change is the perfect time to commit to practices and new ways of being, that bring you better health and energy.
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Many thanks to the talented Nikkia Reveilliac!
Listen to her podcast, The Significance of Others. And follow her great adventure on her website, and Instagram.
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📚 Buy the new book, Repair with Self-Care: Your Guide to the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs.
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About Nikkia:
What happens when the career you worked so hard to build no longer feels like the life you want? That question sits at the heart of Nikkia’s work now.
For more than two decades, she built a career understanding people from inside organizations including Colgate-Palmolive, Twitter and Netflix. She led teams, shaped strategy, studied human behavior and became very good at work that opened extraordinary doors for her. Eventually, she became much more interested in another question: what happens when being good at something is no longer enough reason to keep doing it?
Today, through Birds Uncaged, her speaking, writing and conversations, she explores success, identity, purpose, the invisible cages that shape our choices, and the strange, sometimes disorienting moment when a life that looks successful from the outside stops feeling like your own.
She also hosts The Significance of Others, a podcast about friendship, connection and the people who shape who we become.
