Written by Anna Choi, Energy Master
Anna Choi is an Energy Master, Qigong Tai Chi Instructor, and Taekwondo Black Belt. After burning out from her wealth management and event consulting business, she hit rock bottom. She met her two enlightened energy masters transforming her life into a singer songwriter performance artist, 2x TEDx speaker, & Amazon No.1 International Best Selling Author as Founder of SolJoy with Anna Choi SPC.
Creating a culture of self-care within your organization is essential for fostering well-being, productivity, and resilience among employees. By prioritizing mental and physical health, you can build a supportive environment where individuals feel empowered to take care of themselves and each other.
“You need to give yourself some self-care,” my husband said soothingly as he hugged me.
I didn’t want to admit that my time of the month was impacting my hormone levels. Tears streaming down my face, I felt a big fat ugly cry coming on.
Crumpling into his body, I sobbed and boo-hooed “But I teach this stuff! What is the lesson to learn here? Why the emotional breakdown?”
The source wasn’t physical exhaustion from working long hours. Nothing dramatic was happening. Instead, it was something much more subtle.
What drives a lack of self-care?
Have you ever kept doing something you know you didn’t even want? You know it’s bad for you but still keep doing it? This is what I call a pattern or internal conflict. Deep ingrained patterns direct automatic, unconscious behaviors.
Consider patterns or internal conflicts that cause a lack of self-care.
When internal conflicts build up in our bodies, stress finds a way to surface in the most unexpected of ways, often through emotions or by triggering old patterns in the mind.
In this case, I was forcing my son to continue a sport he wasn’t interested in continuing. While I vowed I’d never do that to my kid, here I was and the incongruence was erupting into an emotionally fragile state.
While my pattern was to make things harder than they needed to be, my internal conflict was, on one hand, respecting my 12-year-old’s decision to quit and supporting that.
On the other hand, I wanted my son to:
“build character”
“not be a quitter or dabbler”
“persevere through challenges to build resilience”
“stay the course no matter what”
“all the best things worth having in life are hard”
As I went deeper, I asked, "Are these “values” mine? Are they in fact values or programs from society, my upbringing, or just my unrelenting ego trying to survive a threat?
Given my dad was a Korean war orphan in poverty the first 30 years of life, I have plenty of reprogramming from his trauma. When life felt too easy, I’d look for hardship to overcome so I could practice thriving in any adversity. Nothing like achieving in the face of struggle and I used to wear it like a badge of honor.
But that strategy doesn’t work in all situations, and certainly not with my son Eli.
Why self-care is hard
We know self-care habits of the mind, body, heart, and soul health are important. Yet why do my clients prioritize self-care after kids, family duties, business clients, or household chores?
Uncertainty. Mindful entrepreneurs face constant pressure to perform, innovate, and adapt to ever-changing circumstances. In such a demanding environment, it’s easy to neglect our well-being in favor of reacting to the demands of our business.
Busy being busy. Do you have multiple hat syndrome? (I just coined that term) How many roles do you juggle per day? Multitasking includes doing activities in rapid fire succession, besides doing two things at once. So again, we’re stuck in reacting to interruptions and disruptions.
Accomplishments = Self-Worth. Despite knowing we are worthy as we are, that’s not necessarily how we live. Do you measure success by how productive or how much you accomplish in a day? Does relaxation or personal activities occur as a luxury you cannot afford when there are deadlines to meet?
Self-care isn’t a one-time act you do in the morning—it’s a lifestyle.
Cultivating a culture of self-care requires taking breaks throughout the day, consistently, in a supportive environment that allows you that autonomy.
There are more reasons, infinite really, but the good news is that all the above can become conscious choices. When you have awareness, you now have a choice to opt in or opt-out.
Why self-care?
You matter. Full stop. You must take care of yourself first before you can effectively support others. By taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health, you enhance your ability to perform at our best and sustain our energy and motivation over the long haul.
Connect with your Soul. The only relationship that lasts through death is your Soul or life source energy. Self-care moments being present nurtures that relationship with the soul to inspire soul first.
Thrive in adversity. When you master emotional resilience by developing greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and coping mechanisms, you bounce back from setbacks more easily. You become unstoppable.
How to cultivate a culture of self-care
1. Replace the word productivity with being in a flow state instead. Flow state includes the natural ebbs and flow of performance like nature. Unlike a machine, humans sprint and then rest. The best world athletes know how to relax the best. Check out my TEDx talk (10:32) that gives the whole story here.
2. Develop microhabits. Discipline can be more organic if you break down a habit to its smallest element and integrate it into your day.
Try these:
Chewing slowly 30x before swallowing
Feeling your feet as you walk
Step outside and breathe in from the belly
Breathe slowly while brushing your teeth
Say I love you while wash your face tenderly
Look into your eyes in the mirror and genuinely say “I love you” from your heart (no head)
Carving out time for self-care doesn’t have to be time-consuming or complicated. It’s simply bringing consciousness or presence to unconscious, already-established routines.
3. Personal Retreats. Plan time off intentionally for the year. They can be at home or somewhere exotic—what’s key is creating space to go deeper.
During the pandemic, I took 10 days of silence, meditating for 100 hours, and created a new habit of daily meditating for an hour a day ever since. On days I miss meditation, I’m more reactive than on days that don’t pull for self-care. Days I meditate are grounded, and self-care arises naturally.
In our Alive course, students start blocking time off each year, on a quarterly or monthly basis, weekly basis, and daily basis. Family trips or vacations only count if you are more relaxed by the end (versus drained).
At least annually a year, I take a longer personal retreat into nature. I’ve recently been invited to facilitate at a women’s mastermind retreat in Tulum, Mexico that allows me time to take my mom hat off and give me a space to relax in soulful company.
I led somatic movement exercises and otherwise participated in soaking up what other wellness trainers have to offer in professional development.
Self-care isn’t selfish but essential. It’s required and necessary for our overall well-being and success. Self-care doesn’t have to be hard. By prioritizing well-being, you’ll optimize your energy reserves and tap into boundless energy within.
Comment on this post: What resonates for you from this article? What actions can you take to cultivate self-care?
Read more from Anna Choi
Anna Choi, Energy Master
Anna Choi is an Energy Master, Qigong Tai Chi Instructor, and Taekwondo Black Belt. After burning out from her wealth management and event consulting business, she hit rock bottom. She met her two enlightened energy masters transforming her life into a singer songwriter performance artist, 2x TEDx speaker, & Amazon No.1 International Best Selling Author as Founder of SolJoy with Anna Choi SPC.
SolJoy serves high-achieving, impact-driven, mindful community leaders, entrepreneurs and executives to shift from burnout to brilliance, unleashing their soul's joy. Serving thousands of students, SolJoy specializes in somatic mindfulness, moving meditations, and healing martial arts to tap into boundless energy for more health, happiness, and peace.
