Welcome to the Staying Stable Series
Women entrepreneurs share their secrets for staying stable as they ride the emotional roller coaster of running a business.
I’m Maiko Sakai, a transplant from Japan living in NYC. I’m a business consultant to creative entrepreneurs.
I am a huge advocate for creating & building a Zen business, where multi-passionate creatives build a solid business foundation first before overextending themselves with multiple interests.
This is why some know me as a “niche specialist.”
My Mental Health Story
My go-to identity has been a go-getter who embraces the underdog mentality and is not afraid to hustle.
Naturally, this tendency causes a large amount of resistance every time I hear the term, “mental health.” This led me to deal with my emotional ups & downs by channeling my inner grit. Over time, I have learned this has to change so that I don’t drive myself to the ground continuously, consistently.
As a result, I have made a decision to shift my focus on truly caring for myself. Obviously, this was not accomplished by a snap of my fingers. Meditation & observing myself to spot my emotional patterns and trends have helped me to care for my well-being more without forcing myself to do so.
To me, mental health is one of the top priorities to communicate with all business owners I encounter.
It matters more than ever to prioritize our mental well being if we are to create a fulfilling life through our businesses.
Meditation & education are my two mental health tools. I continue to learn about different ways of meditating & read up on a wide variety of mental health books without judgment.
Generational & cultural beliefs played a big part in building my belief system. I specifically chose past tense because once I recognized this to be a fact, I was able to analyze what they are from a place of neutrality.
The main mental wellness tip I have found useful is: Own & back myself as a whole person, including every flaw and every goodness about who I am.
The one thing I would share about mental wellness with women entrepreneurs: Free yourself from all the “shoulds” that you make up in your mind.
Instead of putting blame on external circumstances, work on owning & backing yourself as a whole person. It’s liberating!
Own and back yourself as a whole person. It’s liberating!
