You know those moments in life that make you reassess your decisions? The things that happen to make you want to change the way you do things, the way you live life? I had this happen to me, just recently.
I was rushed into hospital earlier this year, with extreme abdominal pain. My gut health was at an all time low, and I was bed-ridden for over 2 weeks (for someone who likes to get up and go, I can tell you first-hand, this was torture).
After being constantly prodded and poked, seeing numerous specialists and having more scans than I’ve ever had in my life, I decided that I needed to take back control over my life. I’d lost balance and needed to get it back so that I never had to feel this way again.
Now, as a woman in my thirties, I was faced with a harsh reality. The things that worked for me 10 years ago, just don’t work the same way anymore. Gone are the days where I could party for days on end, eat a tonne of fast food and do the bare minimum of exercise. I have to work so much harder now. Add a pandemic to the mix, and a serious lack of incidental exercise after working from home, well… you get the point.
I realised that I needed to change things in a big way. It wasn’t just about keeping off the weight anymore or looking good, but an entire lifestyle change. My new objective? To be as healthy and happy as possible.
I needed to become an expert in health and fitness. I leant on my gym trainers for advice, read countless research papers on fitness, nutrition and macro management. I started following health professionals on social media and downloaded some great apps to help support me with monitoring my food intake.
I also started seeing a naturopath (this was a game-changer) and have learnt how to look at my health in a holistic way. It’s not just exercise. It’s a balancing act of vitamins, nutrition, strength training, cardio, mindfulness, rest.
Fast forward to today. I’m consistently practicing balance. I meditate and exercise every day, I take herbal remedies that are designed specifically for my body and eat healthily, but I also allow myself a break – ensuring that I find time to do things I love and spend quality time with my favourite people.
As much as I could go on about my health journey, that’s not the point of this article. If you know me and my work, you’ll know I love an analogy! I started to see some alignment with the principles of balance and the world of marketing, so here are my key tips:
- What worked in your marketing in the past isn’t necessarily going to work forever. We need to constantly adapt and change our approach to be the best.
- We constantly need to be learning. Lean on experts, stay on track with trends, sign up to a course, follow thought leaders. In this world, things change – if you’re not keeping up to date, then you’re getting left behind.
- We need to stop looking at things in silos. You can’t just exercise and expect optimum health, just like we can’t just do short term sales tactics without a long-term focus on brand reputation. You need a holistic, consistent approach.
- Take a tailored approach. What works for me won’t necessarily work for another person. The same goes for your brand. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing – find a way that works for your business and your customer.
- Always stop and listen to your body (or your marketing). We can get so bogged down with delivery that we forget sometimes to take pause. It’s okay to rest. Test and reflect. If it’s not working, slow down and assess why.
- Treat yourself! If you’ve done a great job, celebrate it. Be proud of your work and give yourself a reward. Marketers produce some of the best work in the world – let’s acknowledge that!
- When you start to look at the bigger picture, it’s amazing how things start to fall in to place. If you look beyond what you already know and face everything with an open mind, your obstacles will soon turn in your passions.