Enhancing Well-Being and Mental Health: Navigating Leadership Through Self-awareness

Well-being, mental health, and leadership: three terms that hold significant weight in both our personal and professional lives. As leaders and as individuals, navigating the terrain of our own mental and emotional landscapes is pivotal. Here are three vital questions I believe we all must grapple with if we aim to enhance our overall well-being.

1. The Power of Authentic Connection: Do I Let People Truly See Me?

Let's talk authenticity.

Not everyone merits a backstage pass to your life's narrative. Yet, there's an undeniable significance to opening ourselves up, to being truly seen. Why, you may ask? Authenticity isn't merely a buzzword; it's the cornerstone of genuine well-being.

My journey has consistently shown that as we let others into our world, our connections deepen. And this isn’t just about the bond we share with them. It’s about understanding ourselves more and, by extension, feeling connected to the larger tapestry of life.

Connection isn’t just a feel-good term; it's soul food. It nourishes us in ways material achievements sometimes can't. It's about mental health, leadership, and well-being converging to foster an environment where we thrive.

2. Ambition or Shame: If I Never Achieved Another Thing, Would It Be Enough?

This was a challenging question for me as my past was filled with an insatiable need for more because it never felt like it was enough.

But, what I’ve come to realize is that this feeling of ‘not enough’ wasn’t the byproduct of not doing or achieving enough in life, but rather there was a part of me that was taught to believe that I’m not enough. And, ‘I’m not enough’ is the voice of shame.

When it comes to our well-being, it’s essential to differentiate healthy ambition and a deep-seated shame masked as ambition. For me, this question was the starting line to healing the shame.

3. The Leadership of Self-compassion: How Do I Respond to My Failures and Mistakes?

While this question is a more obvious question, it’s always been a challenging one since my normal response to failure or mistakes is self-criticism. Self-criticism is a great form of motivation—until it isn’t. Over time, self-criticism begins to chip away at the health of the relationship that you have with yourself. And, this is important because the relationship with yourself, in a lot of ways, defines your overall self-worth.

And, if there’s one thing that I’ve realized is that in a lot of ways, our ceiling in life is our self-worth. 

There’s no question about it, well-being, mental health, and leadership are intertwined in intricate ways. As we stride forward, let's keep these questions in mind. They aren’t mere reflections but guiding stars, leading us toward a healthier, more fulfilled version of ourselves.

As always, I’m rooting for you.