The Growth Mindset

Chapter 8Managing Yourself and Taking Responsibility

“The way we spend our days is the way we spend our lives.”

—Annie Dillard

Self‐Care Creates Energy

If you can't manage yourself well, how can you objectively manage others and clients? And managing yourself starts with self‐care. Great leaders take care of themselves and, thus, they build their careers and their lives on solid foundations. They pay attention to small, everyday things. In my experience, living a healthy lifestyle is a prerequisite to being an effective advisor and leader. Having balance is key. The successful leaders featured in this book follow a daily regime of eating well, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and practicing mindfulness and some form of meditation. They know these everyday self‐care activities are essential to managing stress, depression, and anxiety and enhancing positive energy, productivity, and concentration. Taking care of yourself means also knowing who you are. One of my favorite self‐care books is The Brain Warrior's Way by Daniel G. Amen, MD, and Tana Amen, BSN, RN. It focuses on the interrelationships of energy, focus, moods, memory, weight, relationships, work, and overall health. So many of us are our own worst enemy. We get in the way of ourselves and we get stuck at times and cannot see the light right in front of us. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it well: “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.” Positive everyday habits in your ...