Chloe Dechow (00:00:00) –  There is this beauty in letting go. I do want to encourage you to think about ways that you could create some space for yourself. Maybe it’s a week, or a day, or even carving in an hour, or somewhere in your calendar during the week to create some space. 

Hi, I’m Chloe Dechow and with more than a decade of experience working with thought leaders, I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of conviction combined with purpose driven entrepreneurship. This podcast shows you how to authentically bring together leadership, equity, and marketing to build your authority so that you can grow your impact and scale your business. This is a space for elevating women’s voices and redefining what it means to be a thought leader. Together, we’ll unlock the potential of our bright voices and create a ripple effect of change that resonates far beyond the realms of business. This is the Bright Voices and Business podcast. Now let’s dive into today’s episode.

Welcome back to the Bright Voices in Business podcast. Today is my first ever solo episode, and the reason I’m doing a solo episode today is because I have been feeling very out of alignment with my business, and I’ve also had a lot of conversations with other women entrepreneurs who are feeling the same.

Chloe Dechow (00:01:28) –  And so I wanted to just talk about how easy it is to fall into the trap of listening to everybody else’s advice. There’s a lot of advice out there. A lot of it is conflicting, well intended, and yet can really drown out our own voices and our own intuition. And so I want to talk about creating some space so that when we are feeling unaligned or burned out or depressed or unmotivated or procrastinating or ruminating or really just running into, you know, analysis paralysis, like all of these things can be symptoms of really not focusing on our own inner voice. And so I want to talk about creating some space to gain clarity. So I might be doing something in July that feels incredibly radical both to myself and to other people. But I have decided that I am going to take July off of my business, and it’s scary, and I’m not totally sure how it’s going to go. But I do think that with some space for my business, I will be able to end this ruminating cycle and be able to get some clarity on some decisions that I need to make.

Chloe Dechow (00:02:53) –  And so there is this beauty in letting go. And I recognize that I’m coming from a place of privilege, and it might not be an option for everybody to take a month off of their business. However, I do want to encourage you to think about ways that you could create some space for yourself, and maybe this looks different for you. Maybe it’s a week or a day, or even carving in an hour somewhere in your calendar during the week to create some space. So here’s a couple of ways I plan to do it. And feel free to steal these ideas or make them your own. But one of the things I’m going to be doing is really limiting my content consumption. And I’m talking about podcasts, courses, even the TV. I’m going to have to put House of Dragons on hold for a little while. I’m also going to be unsubscribing or filtering my emails in my inbox, so I’m still going to be checking my inbox because that’s important. I want to make sure my clients are being answered any leads that come through or being answered, but ultimately, all the subscriptions that I’m on for other people’s marketing emails, I’m going to either unsubscribe if I no longer feel in alignment with what they are sharing, or I’m going to filter into an inbox so that when I return, I can take a look and see if there’s anything that might be supportive or helpful for me.

Chloe Dechow (00:04:16) –  I’m also going to limit social media, so I will sign on to do 1 or 2 posts during that time just because I will have some podcast episodes airing, but I’m not going to be scrolling on there or searching for things. So if of course somebody comments, I’ll respond to that, but I’m really going to limit my time on social media and my time on screens in general. I have found that, you know, I’m working from home, and so I’m on my laptop and then I’m on my cell phone, and then I’m looking at the big screen on the wall. And, you know, it’s great to have those technology available, but I’m also feel like I’m really missing my offline life and all the beautiful joy that comes with that. And so instead of spending time in front of screens, I’m really going to be focusing on maximizing the summers here in Madison. And if anyone lives in Madison, Wisconsin, or has been to. This part of the country. You know that the summers here are absolutely amazing and beautiful in the highlight of the year.

Chloe Dechow (00:05:26) –  You know, it’s where we all come out of the woodworks because the weather is tolerable and there’s a lot to do. And then for the rest of the year, we hibernate because it gets really cold here. And the summers are short and the winters are long. And so I really don’t want to be staring at my computer right now. So I’m going to try to do a couple of other things that really will help me get more connected with my community, will help me get more connected with myself and really just you’ll, you know, my passion and interests and things that I’m excited or interested in exploring. And so I’m going to spend more time in nature. I’m going to aim to get some more movement in my day going on walks. I signed up for Orange Theory recently and I’m really enjoying their program of workout. It’s working for me. This is not an endorsement of Orange Theory by any means, but I am enjoying getting this extra movement in my week. I’m also going to really prioritize connection.

Chloe Dechow (00:06:25) –  So if I am going to do work of any kind, or even like reading a book like can I go to a coffee shop or a bookstore or be around other people, you know, working from home full time as an extrovert, you know, I will say I’m a lower on the extrovert scale than most extroverts. So I do have a little bit of introverted me, but I do need to be around people. And so I’m going to prioritize getting out of the house more, being in connection with people, of course, prioritizing those who I love and enjoy spending time with, but also just being around other humans, even if I’m not engaging directly with them. And then I also, you know, it’s so obvious when you’re not in the thick of it. But one of the other things I’ve realized is that my mental health is so dependent on me making sure my basic needs are met. And it’s really easy for me, as somebody who has been driven and ambitious for all their career, to put aside and not prioritize the things that actually really fuel me and make me more successful.

Chloe Dechow (00:07:36) –  And so I want to use this time away from business to get some better habits in place. That includes nourishing my body, getting sunlight, getting good sleep. That’s a huge one for me, and really just creating this habit around nature and movement and connection and these key things, like I said, are so easy to forget and they seem so basic when you’re not in the thick of it, when you’re not struggling. But if you are struggling, it’s so easy to lose sight of these things. And so when I find myself feeling depressed or anxious or unmotivated or apathetic, I have to remind myself to come back to these basics. So this is your reminder if you’re in that place right now. And then the last thing I’m really going to be focusing on is cleaning and decluttering spaces. Again, it seems so basic, but the reality is, is that the spaces that we are in deeply affect how we feel. And I have been somebody who loves design. You know, one of my core values is beauty.

Chloe Dechow (00:08:52) –  And I don’t mean that in the sense of, you know, physical beauty, although that’s great if that’s yours. For me, it’s more about the environment that I’m in and how it makes me feel. And so I’ve loved interior design. I love graphic design. There are things that are just important to me that I need to make sure I prioritize. And right now, my workspace and my house is very cluttered. As you own a house, you accumulate a lot of things and moms out there will know there’s ridiculous amount of toys in my house. And so I really just need to go through, clean up my office, organize things, go through my house, and declutter and create that physical space that will allow me to have the mental space that I need. So as a recap, creating space helps you gain clarity. It’s okay. You don’t need permission to take space, but if you did feel like you still need it after this episode, this is your permission today. I am choosing to limit my content consumption.

Chloe Dechow (00:09:59) –  I am going to make sure my basic needs are met. So spending time in nature, movement, connection, sunshine, nutrition, sleep and art and then spending time cleaning and decluttering my physical spaces in order to create space in my mental spaces. I hope these are helpful for you. I know this was a short episode today. Let me know what you think. You can go ahead and shoot me an email at Hello at Westhaven coaching.com, or go ahead and find me on LinkedIn or Instagram at West Haven Coaching or Chloe Dechow deck h o w. I’m really excited to hear what you think. 

Chloe Dechow (00:11:00) – Thank you for joining me today. If you enjoyed this episode, invite your entrepreneur friends to tune in. Don’t forget to connect with me on Instagram at West Haven Coaching. I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on today’s episode and continue the conversation with you there. And before you go, be sure to download my free guide, Five Steps to Building Your Authentic Authority, which will walk you through how to grow your thought leadership in a way that’s true to who you are and what you stand for. You can find the guide at www.westhavencoaching.com/steps or follow the link in the show notes. Thanks again for tuning in. Together we are changing the faces and voices of thought leadership. Until next time, keep leading with authenticity and impact.