As entrepreneurs, it is important to take care of our mental health as it affects how we work, how we think, and how we feel. Furthermore, research shows the importance of managing stress and maintaining positive mental health for successful business outcomes.
𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵. 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗔. 𝗝𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 #𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗳𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.
Today, we introduce you to the CEO of the Vault Consulting Firm, KC Fox.
A time when I experienced Mental Health Challenges as an entrepreneur:
My work took me to a dark place back in 2018. I was working on a huge viral case that was riddled with things designed to hurt and destroy black women. It took me a while to recognize that my mental health began to suffer. Historically, it had been outsiders causing havoc for my clients and I. That part was manageable mentally, it wasn't until I realized that the internal workings of the case and all that came with it was taking me down day by day.
How I recognized I was slipping:
Angry, short patience and short sighted. Which is the opposite of who I am as a leader
sleepless
lack of motivation to continue
How I pulled myself up by the bootstraps:
Entrepreneurs often face high levels of stress, uncertainty, and pressure to succeed. My career field is heightened by 10k just due to the nature of the industry that I am in.
The first thing I did to recover was QUIT. Quitting and losing is normally associated with failure but I would argue perspective here. Quitting/taking a step back was definitely a winning strategy for me at this point in my professional life. I realized it was my own crisis I was managing at this point as opposed to a client. I went to work, hiatus for 8 months focusing on healing. Using practices such as self-care, seeking professional support, connecting with a supportive community, and being honest about the struggles. It's important to remember that seeking help is a sign of strength, and that mental health challenges are common and treatable. I went on to become Mental Health First Aid certified. Which is a service that has benefitted me and my clients, in fact it's now a service that we offer at the firm. In addition, I was inspired to do even more. I am the proud founder of the HBCU Mental Health Tour. See Something, Say Something, Do Something.
Answered by: KC Fox, CEO, The Vault Consulting Firm
𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 + 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗔. 𝗝𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟯𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗳𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼
