As a woman entrepreneur, what is your most effective mental health practice for staying grounded, balanced, and resilient while building your business? Please explain why this practice is particularly helpful and how it impacts your leadership and decision-making.

As a woman entrepreneur in the mental health field, I've discovered that one of my most effective practices for staying grounded and balanced is spending time with my houseplants. They've become my little sanctuary amidst the hustle of running a business. I still remember those early days when I felt completely overwhelmed. One afternoon, after a particularly stressful week, I decided to take a break and tend to my collection of houseplants instead of burying myself in work. As I watered them and watched them thrive, I felt a wave of calm wash over me. It reminded me that growth takes time—not just for my plants, but also for my own journey and the business I'm building. Being in the mental health field, I know firsthand how essential nature can be for our well-being. Research, like a study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, shows that interacting with green spaces can significantly reduce stress and improve mood. I've felt this effect in my own life; caring for my houseplants sharpens my focus and sparks my creativity when I need it most. Houseplants also teach me about patience and resilience. Just like these plants need nurturing and time to flourish, I've learned that my business needs the same care. This perspective shapes my leadership style. When challenges arise, I draw inspiration from how my plants adapt to their environment, helping me approach decisions with a more resilient mindset. Integrating my love for houseplants into my daily routine has not only enhanced my mental health but also influenced how I lead. By creating a space for reflection and grow- both for myself and my team- I can lead with clarity and intention, ultimately creating a healthier work environment for everyone involved.

The practice that's saved my sanity? I block time on my calendar for personal activities at the start of each month and treat those appointments as non-negotiable as client meetings. Every month, I sit down and schedule horseback riding lessons twice a week, gym sessions, cooking nights with my husband, a rotating coffee date with other female entrepreneurs, and Saturday evenings with friends. It sounds simple, but it's been transformative. If it's not on my calendar, it simply doesn't happen. The business will always demand more time, more energy, more attention. Without these guardrails, work expands to fill every available hour. What makes this practice so effective isn't just the scheduling. It's the accountability system I've built around it. First, I make these calendar events public to the rest of my team, so they know where I am and what I'm doing. This helps set expectations that if someone needs an answer from me on Tuesday, they need to reach out before my standing 3:30-5pm gym session. They can manage their time, and therefore, my time better. Second, at the end of each month, I review how many of those personal commitments I actually kept. How many times did I cancel on friends or reschedule my riding lessons? Some months, the answer is brutal. I'll see weeks where I rescheduled everything for last-minute meetings. When that pattern emerges, I know I'm heading toward burnout. That review becomes my early warning system. The impact on my leadership has been significant. When I'm consistently showing up for myself, I make better decisions. I'm more creative in problem-solving, more patient with my team, and more strategic about which opportunities to pursue versus decline. The months when I've sacrificed personal time always correlate with reactive decision-making and stress. My advice? Start by blocking just one weekly activity that energizes you. Make it visible on your team's calendar. Then actually go. That consistency builds the muscle of prioritizing yourself, which ultimately makes you a more effective leader and demonstrates that it's okay to set boundaries between work and your personal life.

The Rhythm That Keeps Me Grounded as a Woman Entrepreneur As a woman entrepreneur leading an international business, I've learned that staying mentally balanced and resilient is not about doing less — it's about finding what keeps you fully alive. For me, that's dance. Dance has been my most effective mental health practice for years. It's more than a hobby — it's my moving meditation, my reset button, and my joy amplifier. Physically, it keeps me fit and sharp. Mentally, it clears my mind and helps me process the day's intensity without overthinking. When I dance, oxytocin floods my system, replacing stress with connection and joy. What makes dance so powerful is that it unites body, mind, and soul in motion. It demands presence, coordination, and awareness — skills that translate directly into leadership and decision-making. When I return to my business after a dance session, I'm more focused, creative, and calm. Challenges feel lighter, and I approach my team and clients with renewed energy and clarity. While I also love biking, hiking, and walking, dance holds a special place in my heart. The rhythms of ndombolo from Congo, sabar from Senegal, semba from Angola, and kompa from Haiti inspire me to move with freedom and joy. In the past, I've explored many other dances, inc. salsa, samba de gafieira, tango, and house — each one teaching me something different about flow, connection, and adaptability, but most importantly, all of them taking care of me in their own way. Dance reminds me that leadership, like rhythm, is about alignment. You can't force it — you feel it. When I dance, I reconnect with that inner rhythm that helps me lead from a place of authenticity and strength. It's how I stay grounded in movement, balanced in motion, and resilient through rhythm.

As a woman entrepreneur and health coach, my most effective mental health practice for staying grounded and resilient is scheduled "mind-emptying" time outdoors. This isn't about exercise; it's a deliberate act of using nature to reset my nervous system. I commit to spending 30-60 minutes outside every day where I focus on sensory details: the sound of the wind, the texture of a tree trunk, or the smell of the earth. This practice is particularly helpful because it immediately breaks the cycle of rumination, which is common when you have a business. When we are constantly working, our minds get stuck recycling problems, stress, and self-doubt. By forcing a dedicated period in nature, you give your brain a new, less complicated input. This quiet, sensory exposure is proven to lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and restore mental clarity far more effectively than zoning out inside. When I return from my time outside, my mental energy has been cleared, like wiping a whiteboard clean. This prevents decision fatigue and gives me renewed energy to get back to my tasks feeling mentally spacious, calmer, more resilient, and ultimately more effective leader.

As a woman entrepreneur, I've learned that my mental health is just as essential to my business as any strategy, system, or marketing plan. The two tools that have most profoundly supported my balance and resilience are boundaries and my network of fellow female entrepreneurs. For many women, the word boundary still feels uncomfortable. We've been conditioned to be self-sacrificing, to serve, to accommodate, to say yes even when we're running on empty. But that mindset doesn't sustain a business; it drains it. As women in leadership, boundaries are not barriers. They are lifelines. Setting them allows us to prioritize what truly matters, protect our energy, and lead from a grounded place. For me, this looks like defining clear expectations with clients, being transparent about communication windows, and giving myself permission to rest without guilt. With staff or contractors, it means having honest conversations about workloads and accountability while maintaining empathy and respect. These boundaries keep me steady; they ensure I can show up as the best version of myself for my team and my clients. Equally vital is the network of women entrepreneurs who walk this same path. No one understands the emotional, mental, and logistical challenges of running a business quite like another woman founder. This community is my safety net and my sounding board. We share not only our wins but also our worries. We offer empathy, perspective, and practical wisdom that comes from lived experience. When I hit a wall, this network reminds me I'm not alone. When self-doubt creeps in, they remind me of my strength. When decisions feel heavy, they offer clarity and reassurance. It's a space of mutual support that fuels both confidence and creativity. Together, these two practices, setting boundaries and cultivating a supportive sisterhood, form the foundation of my mental wellness as a female leader. They allow me to make decisions from a place of clarity rather than exhaustion, to lead with compassion rather than depletion, and to build a business that is not only successful but also sustainable. True resilience doesn't come from doing it all. It comes from knowing where to draw the line and who to lean on along the way.

One practice that has helped me stay grounded and balanced while managing my own private practice is setting clear emotional and physical boundaries around my workday. In my experience, when you run your own practice, it can feel like the work never ends. There are always emails to answer, client notes to finish, and business decisions waiting in the background. Learning to intentionally step away at the end of the day has been one of the most important ways to protect my mental health. I make it a priority to create a transition ritual between work and personal time. Sometimes that means taking a short walk after my last session or spending a few minutes in quiet reflection before heading home. This small practice helps my body and mind understand that the workday is done. It allows me to process any emotions that came up during sessions and reset before stepping back into my personal life. I think that this separation helps me return to work the next day more focused and emotionally available for my clients. Running a private practice requires constant decision-making, and I have found that being well-rested and emotionally centered improves the quality of those decisions. When I am grounded, I lead with intention rather than reaction. It also allows me to model the very practices I encourage my clients to develop balance, presence, and boundaries that support overall well-being. Resilience as a private practice owner does not come from doing more but from doing things with clarity. Maintaining those boundaries has allowed me to build a business that feels sustainable and aligned with my values, rather than one that drains the energy I need to truly serve my clients.

My most effective mental health practice is keeping a structured, non-negotiable morning routine that doesn't revolve around my to-do list. As a woman who run a business and wears a lot of hats, it's easy to wake up in reaction mode—answering emails, checking Slack, and getting pulled into client needs before I've even had my coffee. Instead, I've trained myself to start the day by checking in with myself first: a short journal entry, a walk without my phone, and sometimes just 15 minutes of silence before jumping into work mode. It sounds small, but protecting that space has given me clarity, calm, and the ability to respond, not react, throughout the day. This practice grounds me in my values rather than the chaos of a busy inbox. It helps me make smarter decisions, lead with patience, and stay connected to the bigger vision behind my work, especially on hard days. And while it's not always perfect, especially during launch seasons or client crunches, coming back to that routine is what keeps me mentally steady and emotionally resilient as a leader.

One of my most effective practices for staying grounded and resilient is intentional reflection. Each day, I dedicate time to pause, assess my emotions, and set priorities. This practice allows me to approach challenges with clarity rather than reacting impulsively. It also provides a consistent space to process stress and maintain perspective on both professional and personal responsibilities. Structured boundaries complement this reflection. I prioritize time for family, self-care, and personal interests while maintaining clear work hours. These boundaries prevent burnout and ensure that I show up fully engaged in all areas of my life. They also model balance for my team, reinforcing a culture of respect and accountability. Physical activity is another pillar of my mental health routine. Whether it's yoga, a run, or strength training, movement helps release tension and restore focus. Exercise improves energy, mental clarity, and emotional regulation, which directly influences decision-making and leadership presence. Finally, connection with peers and mentors provides perspective and support. Discussing challenges, sharing insights, and seeking guidance helps reduce isolation, increase resilience, and strengthen problem-solving. These relationships encourage strategic thinking and empathy, which are essential in guiding others effectively. Together, these practices, reflection, boundaries, movement, and mentorship, create a foundation for sustained balance and resilience. They allow me to lead with clarity, make informed decisions, and maintain focus on long-term goals while navigating the daily demands of building a business.

For me, meaningful work is a quiet luxury of the mind, a practice of purpose that nourishes clarity and focus. I find balance through purpose, clarity, and disciplined focus. When I am deeply engaged in creating impact, leading teams, and shaping new ideas, I feel most grounded. Purpose gives structure to my energy and depth to my leadership. I also invest in the alignment of mind, body, and soul through conscious self-care. Movement, reflection, and nourishment are integral to how I sustain focus and composure. This equilibrium strengthens my capacity to make clear decisions and lead with confidence in complex, high-pressure environments. True resilience, to me, is the art of staying aligned, purposeful, and present regardless of the pace.

My most effective mental-health practice is a five-minute morning reset. Before diving into meetings or messages, I take three deep breaths, jot down one thing I'm grateful for, and write a single intention for the day. I started doing this while writing Beyond the Ladder, when the pace felt impossible. That short pause reminds me that clarity is my greatest productivity tool. It grounds my leadership decisions in presence rather than pressure and helps me show up with empathy instead of urgency. It's simple, but it's the difference between reacting and responding — and that difference ripples through every conversation I have for the rest of the day.

Mental health is key to everything! My most effective practice is having a simple but high impact routine that includes a clean diet, quality electrolytes, lots of sunshine, rebounding for exercise, healthy boundaries, support systems and breaks when needed. I am a human and not a robot and rememebering to stop and reset allows me to juggle, make clear decisions and stay sharp!

The single most effective mental health practice is mindfulness, specifically the non-judgmental observation of your own thoughts and emotions. In a world of constant crisis—hostile prosecutors, devastating client stories, and the immense pressure of someone's liberty resting on your shoulders—it's easy to get swept away by reactive emotion. Mindfulness is the practice of creating a crucial pause. It's the ability to stand in the middle of a chaotic courtroom, feel the surge of anxiety or anger, and simply observe it without letting it dictate your next move. This practice is what keeps you grounded in the present reality of your case. It provides the balance to advocate fiercely for a client without absorbing their trauma. This practice directly translates to more effective leadership and decision-making. As a firm founder, my team feeds off my energy. A reactive, stressed-out leader creates a chaotic and unstable environment. A mindful leader is intentional, present, and a calming force, which is critical for retaining talent in a high-stress field. When it comes to decision-making, my job involves constant, high-stakes judgment calls: whether to advise a client to accept a plea or risk a trial, how to cross-examine a difficult witness, or how to manage the firm's finances. Mindfulness creates mental clarity. It quiets the noise and allows you to separate objective facts from emotional biases, leading to sharper, more strategic decisions. You stop operating from a place of fear and start leading from a place of focused, intentional strength.

How I Stay Grounded as a Woman Entrepreneur: Trusting the Unknown As an entrepreneur, the truth is — you never really know what's coming next. You can plan, forecast, and visualise, but running a business is like standing in the middle of the ocean: some days you ride the waves; other days, you're just trying to stay afloat. Early in my career, I thought I could control everything — outcomes, clients, growth, timelines. I thought success meant managing uncertainty out of existence. It took me years (and plenty of sleepless nights) to realise that approach is not only impossible — it's exhausting. My most effective mental health practice now is trusting the unknown. I don't mean blind optimism; I mean a deep understanding that the universe — and our own minds — are naturally self-correcting. When we stop overthinking, clarity emerges on its own. This shift began when I started studying subtractive psychology — the foundation of my company, Business Reimagined. The idea is simple but profound: we perform at our best when we remove mental clutter, not when we add more strategies, affirmations, or to-do lists. When my mind is quiet, I see opportunities I'd never notice in a state of mental noise. I make better decisions, communicate with more empathy, and lead from calm instead of control. This practice is especially powerful for women entrepreneurs. Many of us feel a constant pull to prove ourselves — to hold it all together, to show up flawlessly. But when you stop trying to force certainty, you create space for insight and creativity to flow. The best ideas I've had for my business came when I wasn't trying — on a walk, during meditation, even while making tea (and research supports this). Trusting the unknown doesn't mean inaction; it means knowing when to act from clarity instead of panic. It means recognising that resilience isn't built by fighting uncertainty but by learning to dance with it. So when things feel chaotic, I remind myself: you don't need to know what's next to be okay right now. That single thought anchors me. It's not about faith in some abstract sense — it's about confidence in the mind's natural capacity to reset, refocus, and find its way. For me, that's real resilience — and the quiet foundation beneath every decision I make.

My most effective mental health practice for staying grounded, balanced, and resilient while building my business is taking 15-30 minutes each weekday to walk on the treadmill while listening to my audio Bible. Research confirms that mediation has mental health benefits. For me, the Bible is full of practical business advice, to the extent that my devotions evolved into a book I wrote, titled "The Bible on Business." Many agnostics and believers of other faiths can at least see the Bible as a wisdom book, even if they do not embrace my faith. There are numerous Bible stories on leadership (think the Kings of Israel) and decision-making that I leave that experience, energized, guided, and ready to take on the world.

I integrates daily meditation into my routine as a way to stay grounded and intentional. This practice helps me release the need for control, connect with purpose, and cultivate the energy I want to bring to the team and wider community. Meditation also offers me a balanced perspective—embracing ambition while honouring the importance of small beginnings. It strengthens my ability to navigate uncertainty with clarity and reinforces my commitment to leading with authenticity and vision.

My established mental health practice is keeping individual therapy in my life as a non-negotiable, not just for crisis support. From my focus on therapy, which has intensified since transitioning into the Executive Director role, I realize that consistent therapy adds a lot to my ability to make decisions as a young exec and execute with emotional capacity for an organization. As a mental health leader, I experience vicarious trauma and cannot process stress otherwise; bias can take over when making decisions and running healthy teams. My therapy makes me more aware of my stress habits and better at controlling how I respond emotionally to organizational challenges. This helps me separate out true business concerns from anxiety-fuelled reactions so that my team and I don't inadvertently sacrifice staff relationships. Bringing up mental well-being culture in my team promoted a culture of reaching out for help, minimizing stigma and enabling staff to get support before they burned out. This strategy results in better strategic decisions, conflict resolution from emotional intelligence and leadership that is sustainable -- not worn out. And most importantly it enables me to lead with clarity rather than throwing the bodyslam cannon of stress at my organization.

One thing that's really helped me stay grounded is listening to solfeggio frequencies and doing meditations while I lay in Shavasana. When I'm dealing with chronic pain and burnout, it gives me a way to literally shut my brain off and reset. I've learned that if I don't take that time for myself, I end up paying for it later with even more downtime. Giving myself that space makes me more balanced and a lot sharper when I come back to the work.

Spending time alone each morning does a great deal for my mental health. I dedicate one hour every morning to silent thinking before I begin work. Being the CEO of Cafely, I have a lot on my plate that can impact my mental health. Getting that silent time every morning relaxes me and enables me to chart the way I want the day to go. I would often write in a journal when I sip on my favorite coffee at that time. It is such a simple habit that enables me to prepare mentally for a workday, keeping me level headed in decision-making and not easily provoked to anger. My team also observes these traits and values the way I manage stress when things get tough.

One of the most effective practices for staying grounded in cultivating mindfulness, which helps manage stress, anxiety, and the emotional swings commonly faced in entrepreneurial journeys. Meditation and intentional breathing exercises are effective strategies to assist leaders with self awareness, emotional regulation, and clarity. As an entrepreneur it's important to remain composed, cultivating mindfulness is valuable because it nurtures our capacity to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. This strategy aids in supporting better communication and stronger relationships within teams. Overall, integrating mindfulness fosters resilience, encourages authenticity and gives female entrepreneurs a foundation for well-being.

My spiritual foundation consists of two main elements which are prayer and structured reflection practices. I begin my day through prayer and deep breathing exercises which help me see the upcoming day with appreciation. The moment of silence brings back the reason I established Able To Change Recovery to provide peace to others. The experience taught me to stay humble while showing that true leadership develops through assisting others. The practice helps me maintain focus because it relates business problems to our company mission instead of my individual sense of accomplishment. The practice enables me to respond with greater care while maintaining focus on essential matters and making decisions based on moral principles instead of spontaneous reactions. My day begins with purpose which brings peaceful clarity to all my challenging choices. As a leader, it's improved my decision-making by making me less reactive and more empathetic. My peaceful personality creates a stable work environment which continues to function smoothly during periods of crisis and organizational change. Spiritual grounding establishes stability in my life and brings emotional intelligence to all people who meet me.