Self-Care Strategies for Diverse STEM Leaders During Social Change
“I have to go after every opportunity that is available to me or create my opportunity because I owe it to my family, my parents, my grandparents, everything that they went through to help me get to this point.”
Is this something you’re carrying too? The thing though is that we still have some baggage in terms of what is possible for us.
Manage Your Roles and Spaces
One of the things that are really important is to think about how you right now have to navigate multiple roles and multiple spaces. Oftentimes, we, it ends up being us that we sacrifice our sleep or health or our mental well being.
What we want to do is be in prevention mode rather than remediation mode or intervention mode. It’s a lot easier, less stressful, to avoid something, prevent something from happening than to deal with it.
CLARITY
Get really clear on your vision, your values, who you are, how you want to show up, where you’re putting your time, effort, and energy into where you see yourself next year. Ask yourself, Is this helping or hurting?
Getting crystal clarity on what you want, what matters most, what your vision is for yourself, for your profession, personally, is important so that you’re able to allow your whole self to show up fully without having to sacrifice your identity, energy, productivity, sanity, and your family.
- ALIGNED STRATEGY
How are you going to get from where you are to where you want to be in a way that works for you?
Don’t compare your chapter one to somebody’s chapter 10, especially if their book is a different color if they have a different set of circumstances.
Think about this:
What do I need to do to get to where I want to be?
What strategies are available to me?
What are the different options?
What are the resources that I need to make this a reality?
Be very strategic creating a plan to help you get to where you want to be.
MENTALITY
“The goal is not to be fearless. The goal is to fear less.”
If you internalize those kinds of messages that you’ve received from society, and it’s going to take an additional toll on you.
Ask yourself:
What’s the worst that can happen here?
What is the outcome that I am looking for by being in this space right now that is making me a little bit uncomfortable?
What do I need to do before entering that space meditation, listening to some music that’s going to amplify my energy?
You have to be aware of your thoughts. Are they positive or negative? Remember that you have control over your thoughts and it starts with that.
Self Care Tip: Really think about what is your area of strength, your zone of brilliance. Think about something you do that you’re really good and amazing at. Think about it every day.
What that’s going to do is that’s going to help you amplify other areas that maybe you aren’t as aware of that are within your zone of genius.
Dr. Lizette Ojeda
Dr. Lizette Ojeda is an award-winning Diversity Psychology expert and authority on Career Development. She is a Tenured Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, where she teaches Multicultural Counseling & Career Counseling.
Her diversity scholarship has been recognized by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She has presented and published her research in numerous outlets, including the American Psychological Association journal Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology.
She is the founder of WorkLife Lab, where she and her research team are currently analyzing data on 1200 diverse parents in STEM. As a child of Mexican immigrants who did not even attend high school, she is passionate about helping diverse leaders unlock their highest selves at work without having to burn out, opt out, or “sell out.” She is also the proud mother of 3 trilingual black-brown boys.
Michele Heyward
Michele Heyward is founder and CEO of PositiveHire, a tech company engineered to bridge the gap between enterprises and underrepresented women in STEM professions. Michele is a civil engineer who is an experienced project manager in the energy sector armed with technical sales and technology transfer experience.
Michele’s vision is to not only help black, Latina and indigenous women find inclusive workplaces, but to prepare enterprises to receive them, and help those enterprises recruit them. This approach makes PositiveHire the premiere recruiting platform for black, Latina and indigenous women professionals.
Michele has a B.S. degree in civil engineering and a M.S. degree in industrial management, both from Clemson University. A South Carolina native, Michele enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, Toastmasters, and making connections personally and professionally. Michele has a passion for engaging with others on social media.
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