Finding Flow: Lessons in Wellness for Entrepreneurs

If you are breathing heavy and you cannot catch your breath right now, you are going too fast. And this hit me. It's like, this is what I do when I am running. I'm going, I'm going, I'm going. And I can't catch my breath and I can't get in the right rhythm and I can't get in a flow here because I can't catch my breath. And then I'm in this cycle and in this loop. So this idea that if you can't catch your breath right now, you may be going too fast really struck me and I adjusted my movement and my running routine and I got really consistent because of this encouragement and this idea that it's okay to start slow, it's okay to be able to find your rhythm and ramp up over time versus going all into the deep end of the pool without your floaties. So super fast when you may not be ready and you may still be finding your way. Hello. Amber McHugh here. It is so great to be here with you in a an episode where you and I are going to have a conversation and I'm going to share a little bit about the wellness journey that I have been on. And I haven't actually done a solo right on time podcast episode in quite some time, namely because I have so been loving and enjoying the conversations with other people and the learning and the expertise and the brilliance. You know, it is one of my favorite things to watch and observe and have the privilege to be in a space where other people are sharing their brilliance or demonstrating their brilliance. So I have really loved having so many interviews this year. And I have been thinking about and considering doing this particular solo episode for quite a while. And so right on time, as we think about new beginnings and we think about where we want to be going, I think about the wellness and more specifically the movement journey that I have been on the last several years because there are a lot of lessons in this journey that really relate to our journey of building a business, being an entrepreneur, and going after and setting and reaching new goals. So tis the season for some goal conversation as we're wrapping up one year and moving into the next. And one of the top goals that people set is often around wellness. But like I said, there's a lot here that overlaps to the journey we're on as entrepreneurs. So I'm going to share with you the journey that I have been on around my health and wellness and movement and also share some of the findings and how that translates over. So it's interesting because I am not shy and have very openly shared over all of the years of running my business that migraines are something that comes up for me and something I have to manage and monitor, just keep track of, and something I've lived with, but they haven't been terrible. I'd say in the last, oh, two, three years, I've gotten some solutions and some structures and some strategies in place that have helped me with those migraines. But there was a point where migraines, allergies, you know, that why? What causes my migraines, my triggers, etc. Is a whole nother story and something that we could get into at another point. But they really held me back from getting movement in and being feeling well on a consistent, regular basis. And it was interesting. When we moved to Ethiopia, my migraines really eased up a good bit. And location I observed is something that absolutely impacts my migraines and my health. When I lived in California, I felt very good, very fine, was able to do all of the things I wanted to do. Moved back to Maryland, did not feel fine, moved to Ethiopia. Okay, I'm feeling good again. So there may be some allergy, environmental factors coming up. Because then we went back to Chicago in March 2020, so y' all know what was happening. Then we unexpectedly went back to Chicago and ended up staying for a period of time. And those migraines and my allergies came roaring back. So I had to navigate again. And I actually started working with some really great specialists on migraines. That helped me get to some great solutions for me. But also in that season, as I was navigating migraines and as we were inside much more than we would typically or usually be because we went back in a Chicago winter, I was very much used to being outside regularly in Ethiopia, where they have 13 months of sunshine a year. We went back and I was thinking, you know, I've got to feel better. Okay, I'm starting to feel better. I want to get some regular movement in because I've been curious what you would say about this. So let me know whether it's in reply to an email or whether you let me know on Instagram. But I realized that, hey, I work from home and I have a lot of control over my schedule. And why am I not regularly getting in movement? Why am I not in the best fitness, shape, health, wellness of my life? Because I eat at home, so I have a lot of control over the food that I eat. I have. I can structure my day so that I can get movement in whenever I want, slash, whenever fits in my schedule. Whether it's a walking pad, which I did try for a while in Covid, or whether it's biking, which I did do on the peloton for a period of time. I didn't get a peloton. I actually used an old bike that I had. Like, I've got this bike, let me use it. I love me some Ali love and. But none of those things actually suck. I like variety in my movement routine. And so I really worked over the season that we were back in Chicago for two years before we came back to Africa. Very specifically, we are in West Africa, in Cote d', Ivoire, the Ivory Coast, Abidjan right now. And so I really worked in that season that we were in Chicago to get some routine routines in place. And I tested things, I explored things, I worked with a nutritionist. I'm going to share with you what I found and how I finally got back into a solid wellness routine because we've got control over this. So why are we not, you know, as entrepreneurs, I find that so many of us look holistically at our lives, go into entrepreneurship because we see an opportunity to do business different to and to live our lives different. So why wasn't I consistently doing this and gifting this and working on this for myself? And you may have noticed something already that I have stated and I'm going to just call very specific attention to it, and that is I'm not using the word exercise, I'm using the word movement. There is something in my being, something in my mindset that when I'm talking about exercise, it absolutely feels like work and it feels like I don't want to do that. I gotta make time for it. It feels hard. So I found that when I think about movement, that really helps me and it helped me especially get started down redesigning my journey around my health and wellness and my fitness. And so I'm using the word movement very intentionally. In addition, fast forward to some of the end results of this journey that we are absolutely diving into next. People said to me, as I was moving, going on this journey and as I was making shifts in my, in my, my physical well being, people very specifically said, amber, what have you been doing? Because you've changed? And it's so funny. One person very specifically said, every time I see you, you look different. I know how to receive that, but I feel it too. I see it, I feel it too. I'm like, sometimes I wake up. Actually, we were on vacation in Morocco months ago and I looked at myself in the mirror, I'm like, I look different, I feel puffy, I feel stuffy. Some of that is location impacts me. My body recalibrates as I shared, but also the foods I eat. I'm very aware when I have a lot of dessert, which I was doing on ve vacation, I get a little stuffy. Histamines, sugar, different, different nutrients impact my body differently. So that'll even impact my face. I feel I felt very puffy. And I even said to my husband, I'm like, I look different. I don't feel like myself, I don't look like myself. Maybe I haven't been eating the right things. So this became very much a thing for me. And you know, even now, if at home, I will eat the wrong thing, I'll have too many tomatoes, too much garlic, they react to my body and I feel different. Right now. You're hearing a stuffiness that is not necessarily allergies or a reaction or response to any foods. I just have a cold, I'm getting over and through a cold. But, but so these changes have been noticed by people. People have asked me, people, guests on the podcast have said, okay, you're doing something different. And I right now know and I look back and there are very specific things that I have done and I'm going to share some of those things with you. So I mentioned as I was Moving through this March 2020 to March 2021 window, it's like I got to try and do some different things. And it was in the summer of 2021, so I was trying different things, I was doing different things. And summer 2021, like, this is not working, this is not sticking. And we went on a road trip out to out west. We went from Chicago to California, stopped at incredible locations along the way to camp in a roof nest. We had a camp, a tent on top of our car. So we were camping along the way, all the way to California. When we got to California, we grounded there for a bit and stayed in an Airbnb with my daughter who was living there at the time. And then we road tripped down to Scottsdale, Phoenix to see some family and then back up a different route back home to Chicago. And this was about a three week road trip. So it was a long time. And so there was a lot of time sitting in the car and I was evaluating and had a lot of time to think and a lot of time to really feel my butt on the seat of the car. Like, you know, this Is a lot of time sitting. In fact, I do a lot of time sitting when I am at home, working from home. And why aren't you getting more movement in, in your life? And I took time to evaluate that. I took time to think about my health and wellness. You know, I think there are some times where we have excuses and there are sometimes where life is just happening. This is an excuse, this is real. Not making an excuse. This is happening. But I really determined that, I don't know that I was making an excuse specifically, but I really got conscious on this three week road trip that I have no excuse to not get some movement in on a regular basis. Even if migraines kick in, take it easy, go slow, just get some movement in. That's what I realize. Very much like entrepreneurship, when we're launching new product lines, when we're making transitions, when we are in startup mode, which I've been in more than once in my life, on this entrepreneurial journey, we can start slow. We want things to happen quickly. Speaking for myself here, speaking for myself, I want things to happen quickly. But things take time. So I thought, okay, I am committed. Are you committed? This is one of the first things because I've also found on this entrepreneurial journey, if I'm not committed, even if I say I want it to happen, it's not really going to happen. I have to acknowledge and determine and think through am I really committed to this? And if I am really committed, that looks very different for me than something, an idea I have. Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. But I don't know. I don't know. I'm not committed to that yet. So I decided in this road trip, particularly the last half of it, on our way back to Chicago from California, down and up, like, okay, you are committed to movement, so let's evaluate what that's going to look like for you. And I decided to go slow. It doesn't have to be fast. I'm not expecting overnight results in terms of how I feel. But I was going to go slow on this journey. And I've always wanted to keep it easy. I like to keep the movement easy. And I thought, what can be easy? I've got the bike. I love hanging out with Ally Love and getting that burst of motivation. I've got the walking pad. I do that periodically, but it's a little, it was a little hard for me in the walking pad to actually be productive and walk and think. I like to stand up and think when I'm visioning. I'm strategizing and looking that way at the flip chart and the craft paper on the wall. But I was missing something. And I've always actually, in our photography business, it was very noticeable when people were runners, we could identify, oh, you run, don't you? And I would always think, that's so impressive. I wish I could be the person who would just put on shoes and go. It's very simple. Exercise, active activity. I like to listen to a podcast. I was listening to French training. Didn't get very far with that. I got to circle back to French training. Have not been committed yet, but I have a new commitment for 2024 coming up on the French. So more to come on that. But okay, okay, so shoes. I was like, okay, running, running, running. But I, I can't be fast. If I go too fast, too hard when I'm running, I don't do it. I won't stay committed to it. And it actually impacts me. My, I was going too much, too fast for my body. So it would trigger other things. Migraines, resistance, not feeling good after. So I thought, you know, I wonder if I could just run slow. Maybe slow running is a thing. So sure enough, if you have an idea, if you have an in claim and something new you want to step into and you're like, I don't know where to start. I sure as heck didn't know where to start either. But I knew I wanted it to be slow. And I thought, you know, running would be kind of easy because I could just put on my shoes and go, and it'd be so great to put a podcast in. But I had resistance to running. So this idea of slow and running came in and sure enough, when I looked up and followed that idea, that inkling, slow running, it's a thing. It is a very cheesy thing. In fact, there is an audio series on Apple music. I didn't even have to order anything. I didn't have to look very far. Slow running tracks where you can put in how much you want to run at a time. 2 minutes, then a break, 3 minutes, then a break, 5 minutes and a break. So I started with the 2 minute run walk, 2 minute run walk. And I think it's like, I think it might have been two minute run, two minute walk, alternating, or maybe it was two minutes in a minute, something like this. But you can look it up. Slow running is a thing and it is not modern. It was very dated music. It was very dated audio. Jeff is the name. I will link up the exact slow running track that I started with in the show notes, in case you're like, tell me more. I think I want to try this slow running thing. So I tried this. But one of the things that the coach Jeff says in the slow running track is if you are breathing heavy and you cannot catch your breath right now you are going too fast. And this hit me. This is what I do when I am running. I'm going, I'm going, I'm going, and I can't catch my breath and I can't get in the right rhythm and I can't get in a flow here because I can't catch my breath. And then I'm in this cycle and in this loop. So this idea that if you can't catch your breath right now, you may be going too fast really struck me and I adjusted my movement and my running routine and I got really consistent because of this encouragement in this idea that it's okay to start, start slow. It's okay to be able to find your rhythm and ramp up over time versus going all into the deep end of the pool without your floaties super fast when you may not be ready and you may still be finding your way. So this commitment started on the road trip when I realized you don't really have any good excuses here and you are committed to this. So what's it going to be? I followed the breadcrumb to slow running, and I continued with slow running from August when we got back from this road trip through the winter into into the spring, I stayed very consistent with it. This is where I would listen to my French Paul Noble on audible guiding me through French. And I stayed consistent with it all the way to the time we moved to Abidjan in the summer of 20. I got a little bit out of routine when we were in between the move. There were six weeks when we didn't have a consistent, steady place to live. We were hopping all around. We'd moved out of the house we were in and we were transitioning. So there was some airbnb hopping and some staying with family and friends, and I got out of sync. But as soon as we got back to Abidjan, I was in it again and I arrived here. Oh. Actually, something else that happened over the summer while we were moving to Abidjan is that my sister introduced me to an eating routine. I don't necessarily recommend this. This is not something that I would say I would do long term over time. For me personally, because of the structure, it's a very processed diet. But I My sister introduced me to ideal protein and I had been working with a nutritionist throughout that year when I committed to the movement. Like, I'm also going to engage a nutritionist who started teaching me about my need, what I was eating, how it might be impacting my body. She would coach me, she would quiz me almost weekly to say, all right, what did you eat? How did you feel? Okay, this is where you are. Here are the adjustments I want you to make. Are you sleeping? Do you have enough energy? She would ask me all of the questions and we would make those adjustments. And she brought to light that I likely wasn't getting enough protein and I wasn't getting enough protein at the right times of day. And I think she was really spot on because now I notice if I don't get enough protein in my energy drops, I don't have enough energy to sustain and do all the things I'd really like to do and that I've committed to. The other thing I realized over the last six months or so, six to nine months, is that I like to get a lot of sleep, sleep. And I would resist that in the past. I would get enough sleep. I wasn't, you know, I wasn't like a four to five hour sleep nighter, but I was a little bit lax with it. I was a little bit. I was very relaxed with it and I would ebb and flow. Oh, you know, I've got to work late tonight because I do calls at awkward times sometimes here in Kotobar and like, okay, tonight I'll stay up late. I'll be able to go to bed early tomorrow. But just because I was staying up late didn't mean that I didn't have commitments I needed to wake up up for. So. And that would throw my day off. I was tired and groggy in the morning. That would make me feel not great. That might trigger a migraine. So I got really consistent with my sleep, which my nutritionist, Elena, was really one of those things that she would come back to, are you getting enough sleep? When are you sleeping? When are you eating? Like the entire routine she would look at with me, what's the movement look like? And we wove it all together. But biggest takeaway from that was protein. And we also layered in and looked at sleep. Another more recent takeaway. But in that summer between our move to Abidjan, I, my sister introduced me to something called ideal protein. And there was a big emphasis on protein. Certainly there's an emphasis on reducing carbs, which again, this is me Personally, you've got to know how foods and movement and wellness and all of these variables impact you all personally. But these are some of the things that I found really impacted me. So I did ideal protein for a few weeks that summer, and that brought my energy levels up. So while my working out wasn't consistent, I was focused again on protein and what I was eating and increasing vegetables. And that really helped me keep momentum and keep focus over the summer, even though my movement routines got a little bit off. So then we get to Abidjan, and it was hot here. It was. It's very hot here, and it's very humid here. And I struggled with getting in a running routine because I couldn't find my breath again. So I was working on that. But we also have access to an incredible pool. You may have seen me share that on my Instagram. I'm at Amber McHugh, if you would love to connect on Instagram. I certainly would love to. And I started a swimming routine. I am not a swimmer. I did have swimming lessons when I was a kid and we lived in Saudi Arabia and it was hot and we had access to a pool there. So I did have lessons and I knew some things about swimming, but I'm not a swimmer. And I thought, I'm gonna. I'm gonna be a swimmer. So I started doing regular laps in the pool and I got in water headphones so I could listen to audiobooks and inspirational music and podcasts and training while I was in the pool. And I found heaven. It was Thanksgiving last year when we're sharing what we were grateful for. I so grateful for my quiet morning routines where I am getting in meditation and my movement in the pool, or I'm also getting in personal development. So I shifted from a movement routine largely of very slow running, to a movement routine of getting laps in. In the pool. And I was very happy. And I started to notice a shift in my being, my presence, my. My internal wellness and happiness was 10, tick, tick, ticking up. I was also very emerged in some of that personal development, was looking at happiness and positive psychology and research around that and productivity. So I was in the zone. And there was a trainer here who hosted complimentary free workout classes with 100% money back guarantee. That was his joke, not mine. I just wanted to share that with you because it came to my mind. So free class, 100 money back guarantee. And he offered those classes that a good number of people from our community went to on Wednesday morning and Sunday morning. And I was nervous. I was nervous because it's hot and humid here. The workout classes were a little bit intense, hit crossfit weights, integrated, and they didn't do a lot of running, thank goodness, because that made me nervous to have to keep up with someone else's running routine. When I confidently go slow. And it took me about three months before I decided to consistently commit and start going to those classes that this trainer was hosting, even though they were free. Even though I'm sure you've done this before, right. Even though I wanted to do something like this, my commitment wasn't there yet and I wanted to ease into it. So I started going to those classes and they really challenged me. However, the trainer reminded us we're all at different levels here. Go at your own pace. The old way of working out where if there's no pain, no gain does not apply at these sessions. And again, just like the slow running coach who said, if you can't breathe right now, slow it down, you need to be able to breathe and sustain. And just like him, when this trainer said no pain, no gain doesn't apply here, we're all at different levels, I felt like I was in the right place. Okay, I got this. I can show up. I'm going to go at my level. He's going to coach me, he's going to guide me. And I'm getting a little bit emotional as I go through this because the training turned into training with him privately as well. Just once a week. And then we moved to twice a week. So I scaled this up also. Plus I didn't want to give up my lapse time because I was really enjoying that. I, I would layer in these things and because we scaled and we adjusted things for where I was and my comfort levels and my confidence levels and, you know, if you can't tell, I know my limits. I know it's going to trigger a migraine. I know if I don't get enough sleep right. Okay, this may trigger something else. I like to pace myself. I don't like to get stuck in the hamster wheel or in just a space of hustling. And not, by the way, definition of hustle is to be in a straight state of grace. Activity. Hustle dictionary. To be in a state of great activity, it doesn't say to be in a space where you are moving forward, where you are being productive, where you're working towards your goals, where you're in action on the right things. It's just a state of activity, maybe working, maybe not working. So I don't want to be in that space in my life, in my business, in my movement or health and wellness routines. I want to be grounded and I want to know that we, what we are doing is productive and I want to have space to evaluate that and reflect on that so we can make adjustments if something isn't working in an aligned way. So I felt so much relief when this trainer was saying this and it encouraged me to come back. Okay, I'm going to come back for another. I. My push ups aren't perfect yet. Probably still not yet, but I'm going to keep showing up. I'm going to keep showing up and I can only do one pushup. Okay. But now I could probably do 2050. I could do a lot of push ups now, a lot of burpees also, but it didn't start that way. But the other thing is that being in this routine I found was also helping my migraines. So there were some days I'm like, I feel a little bit tired and usually I would say, okay, pace myself. But I had reached a new level where I didn't have to not get movement in because I felt the hint of a migraine. I. In most cases, every migraine is a little bit different for me even. And for anyone who experiences migraine, I'm sure, you know, different things help my migraines on different days. So there are some days when I'm like, I, I cannot train today. And my trainer was understanding of that. Other days, like, how you feeling? I could see you're. You're being a little bit cautious. Is something happening? Like, actually, yeah, there's this. I've got a hint of a migraine. It's like, all right, we're going to adjust the routine today. So that also encouraged me to show up even when I wasn't feeling 100% because I had the support and I had the understanding and there was compassion for what I was experiencing. And that is not always the case in all spaces or with all coaches, trainers. So I found a space and a routine that worked for what I was going through. And my ceiling got raised and my ceiling raised and my ceiling raised and my ceiling raised. And so I worked with a nutritionist. I made a commitment. I worked with a nutritionist. I adapted my movement routines to the scenarios and the location and my nutrition routines to the scenarios that we were present with. And I continued and stayed in it. And to this day now, the movement routines that I have are integral and it's a part of how I show up. For example, a few weeks Back. The girls were not home. They were with friends. They were out doing things. And I kind of had a day to myself. Matt had some stuff going on that he was doing, and I really wanted to get the house organized. And old Amber, right, Be in a state of activity. Keep going, keep going. You're feeling it. Go organize, organize, organize. Nice. But I made a commitment to regularly get movement in. And I felt great. There was nothing keeping me from getting movement in that day. But I questioned, oh, man, I really want to get the house organized. You've got all day. Get the house organized, then work out. And I realized that, okay, if I what's the priority? For me, getting movement in was my priority. I can organize the house anytime, when the kids come home, etc. So in that moment, I made a decision to get my movement in first and then shower. And because it's Abidjan and we sweat a lot here, just when we're standing outside, but definitely when I'm in a workout routine. So, okay, get my workout routine in. Then I'm going to shower and get ready, and then I'm going to get things organized in the house. And I went through it in that routine. And as I was getting my movement and your entire being has changed. How you show up, changed. People are noticing and acknowledging and recognizing, wait, you look different. Even your face looks different. That's going to happen forever. But day to day, moment to moment, that will continue to happen. And I. I feel different because I make different decisions and I show up differently. And my health and my wellness because of these decisions I've made has shifted. So I made that decision to prioritize what I was committed to. And that was a commitment to getting consistent, regular movement in. And while I questioned it and I felt that pull to go organize and do these other things, it was one of the first times that I could say in a very long time that I prioritized movement and my health and my wellness over this other thing. So I wanted to share this with you because people have been asking me about what I have been doing. And this is the routine and this is the journey that I have been on around upping my commitment to movement and to my wellness. So I will link up some of those resources in the chat, I hope, in the show notes. I'm so sorry. And in the chat, if you chat me, I'm totally open for conversation around this. If something struck you, if you have questions around something, I'll absolutely share. But this was something that was a journey and it's been a work in progress and as I look back I can see very specific decisions that I made that are impacting how I show up in so many different ways. So if this helped you, if this encouraged you, if this prompted a question for you, I would love to hear from you. Or even if you enjoyed the conversation and you appreciated the solo conversation that we are having here, I would love to hear from you. And I just want to thank you for being here and for listening and for being a part of this community. It means a lot to be on this journey with you and I want to remind you, wherever you are on this journey, it is right on time. It is personal. We are all at a different stage of our wellness and our personal development and our personal growth as well as our entrepreneurial growth. But man, there is something we can learn from each other. So thanks for being here. I can't wait to hear from you and learn from you as well. Tag me. Reach out. Leave a comment wherever you are listening to this episode or watching and I will be back with another solo episode soon. It has been such a gift to connect with you right on time.