Over the years, many leaders who succeed professionally find that their success comes with an unexpected cost to their health and energy. Strategies that carried them through years of achievement by pushing harder, sleeping less, and managing everything. These strategies often stop working in the same way over time. Energy becomes less predictable. Sleep cycles change. Metabolism shifts. Chronic pressure can begin to show up as chronic health concerns.
With awareness, high performers often discover that their bodies require a different kind of leadership. This is leadership that includes leading their own health and energy as intentionally as they lead their organizations.
Once on the journey of what I call self-care leadership, high performers begin building new habits and growing confidence in their ability to sustain them. Yet along the way, obstacles and resistance often appear. Fear can become a roadblock to progress, and confidence in sustaining new habits may begin to waver.
Setbacks to new habits can appear in many forms. We may avoid or resist what we know we need to do because it triggers feelings of anxiety or uncertainty. When we step into unfamiliar territory, questions arise: What if I fail? What if this doesn’t work?
At that point, we have a choice. We can continue applying self-care leadership by taking small actions that build confidence over time. Or we may step back and revert to familiar patterns of coping. These older patterns can feel comfortable and safe because they once worked for us, sometimes as far back as childhood. Even when they no longer serve us well, they can still feel like the safest option.
Where Do These Fears Come From?
The fears that emerge when creating new habits often stem from different sources:
- Fear of failure (concern about the future)
- Old patterns (influences from the past)
- Feeling unsafe with unfamiliar change (in the present)
One powerful way to move beyond these fears is to build confidence through action and to reconnect with what truly matters, that is having the stamina, clarity, and resilience to lead well and live fully.
You may notice that many of these patterns appear not only in personal health journeys but also in leadership life. Over time, I have observed that sustained professional pressure creates predictable barriers to maintaining health and energy. These patterns form the basis of a framework I call Thrive-Ability™, which identifies the common obstacles that prevent even highly capable people from sustaining their wellbeing over the long term. Understanding these barriers helps leaders develop the stamina and resilience required to lead well and live fully.
What Kind of Fears Do Leaders Experience?
In an interview for my book Happy Life at a Healthy Weight: Creating a Shame-Free, Healthy Relationship with Food and Life, Jack Canfield, renowned author, corporate trainer, and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series who shared an insightful example of how early experiences can influence our relationship with food, weight, and identity.
He described a time when he lost a significant amount of weight following surgery. Unexpectedly, the experience made him uncomfortable. Without realizing it, he had associated being physically larger with feeling strong and substantial. This idea was reinforced during his years at an all-boys military school where athleticism and physical size were emphasized.
As he reflected on this experience, he realized that part of his resistance to losing weight came from a deeper belief about what it meant to feel powerful and secure. Once he recognized that belief, he was able to address it.
His story highlights something important: many influences on our health behaviors operate below our awareness. Until we bring them into the open, they can quietly shape our choices.
Three Keys to Growing Confidence
How can leaders confidently practice self-care leadership?
Confidence grows through action, much like building any muscle. The process I use to help people develop new habits is a three-step framework called the ACT Change Process, which begins with awareness.
Step 1: Awareness
Increase awareness of what is happening now.
- Clarify your current mindset and beliefs
- Assess what is working and what is not
- Identify what you truly want for your health and life
Step 2: Creative Discovery
Allow yourself to explore possibilities.
- Acknowledge and accept your feelings
- Reconnect with what you value most
Step 3: Transformation Through Action
Translate insight into new choices.
- Focus on what you want to change
- Experiment with new options
- Take consistent action that builds sustainable confidence over time
The ACT Change Process in Brief
- Increase awareness and focus on what you can change
- Allow and accept feelings, release fears, and reconnect with your values
- Take action to build confidence and new habits
Confidence does not appear before action. It grows because of action.
Another Way to Practice Self-Care Leadership
Interested in understanding how nutrition supports sustainable health and energy?
Look at our recent blog post on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans if you’re interested in exploring how healthy eating patterns can support long-term wellbeing and leadership capacity.
Source
Loughrey, K. Happy Life at a Healthy Weight: Creating a Shame-Free, Healthy Relationship with Food and Life. Authentic Wellness Publishing Company, LLC, 2024.
Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian
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Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN is a licensed Nutritionist-Dietitian and a weight loss coach with 30+ years of experience in helping people lose weight and develop healthier relationships with food. She coaches her clients nationwide providing weight loss planning, video check-ins, and more. Schedule your free consultation.