Amplify Your Business

AMPLIFY YOUR BUSINESS

EPISODE 40: Tackling Mental Health Head On

Featuring Jessica Derksen of True to You Health Coaching

Today, Lance talks with Jessica Derksen, a health and life coach, and owner of True To You Lifestyle. The pandemic has brought on mental challenges to many and it can be a hard thing to navigate on top of managing a business. In this episode, Jessica offers actionable mental health advice for entrepreneurs that they can start using today. After all, the health of a business depends on the health of its owners and employees.

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What do you do and how do you revitalize everybody’s lives? [1:37]

Jessica is a certified life and health coach. She believes that in order to create change in your life, it starts with making small, but consistent changes in your daily habits. 

To do this, she focuses first on self-awareness and the importance of identifying goals. As kids, we were oftentimes asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, but rarely what we actually wanted in life. So, what do you really love in life? Where are you today and where do you want to go? How do you want to grow and change? 

Jessica then helps her clients create a plan to meet these goals. This planning step focuses on internal work - tackling limiting beliefs, and re-shifting mindsets. 

 

Have you noticed any marked differences between working with entrepreneurs versus non-entrepreneurs? [3:21]

The main difference she’s noticed between both groups of clients is the type of stress they feel. Entrepreneur clients seem to feel a lot of added pressure from maintaining a business while taking care of their family, as well as other aspects of life. Clients that are non-entrepreneurs feel stress that often stems from other areas. 

 

When working with entrepreneurs, how do you break through this facade that many put up? [4:34]

It all comes down to asking the right questions. Jessica says that when you’ve done this work for a long time, it’s easier to tell when someone isn’t being 100% real and genuine because they tend to hold back. 

Being a life coach involves encouraging your clients to open up and be vulnerable, probably at a higher level than they’re used to. You have to instill trust in your clients, letting them know that you offer a safe and confidential space for them. Before working with any client, Jessica makes it a point to say that she is here to help, not make judgments or assumptions. 

 

What’s a typical exercise that you would have an entrepreneur do to expand their mindset? [5:38]

Here’s an exercise Jessica does to help her clients re-focus on goals and keep motivated. 

The question “why” often evokes a lot of raw emotion for many people.

During the goal-setting stage, she’ll often ask her clients to expand on them. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to look good in a bikini? Why do you think looking good in a bikini will help you develop a stronger bond with your husband? What would happen if your plan fell through? 

Chipping away at superficial answers, Jessica strives to uncover what she calls the “big motivating factor”. 

Then she helps her client “create an anchor”. This involves helping her client find a sign in their environment, whether it’s an object, a certain smell, or a song, and associating this sign with their big motivating factor.. Whenever her client sees, hears, smells, tastes, or touches this object, it’ll serve as a reminder of their big motivating factor, and encourage following through with their plan that day. 

 

What’s the next step you take in expanding your mental capacity and mindset? [7:31]

After clients have successfully identified their goals and created anchors, the next step is working on “blockers” aka their limiting beliefs and internal thoughts. If we want better actions and results in our lives, we have to also change our thinking patterns.  

In order to challenge our limiting beliefs, Jessica suggests we “create a character” or an alter ego. Limiting beliefs exist to protect us from perceived fear. But oftentimes this fear is irrational or doesn’t come from a place that sparks growth within ourselves. By personifying our limiting beliefs this way, we treat them as separate from ourselves and push us to realign ourselves with our plan, our goals, and our purpose. 

 

Do you coach on attracting abundance as well? [15:43]

Yes, absolutely. This is actually something Jessica has worked on and invested in personally with the help of another coach and now she helps entrepreneurs with this too. 

She finds that many entrepreneurs tend to tighten up their mindset and return back to a mode of scarcity right when an opportunity comes or they’ve upgraded to a new level in business. While it does take hard work to tweak our thinking to frame opportunities from an abundance point of view, it’s definitely possible and worth the investment. 

 

How long have you been in business? What was it like pre-pandemic versus now?

 [20:17]

At the time of filming, Jessica is celebrating three years of running True To Your Lifestyle!

Jessica has been fortunate enough to run her business online. The majority of her client interactions have taken place over the phone. 

Since the pandemic started, her business has been steadily growing. The not-so-nice part of the business is that it can be emotionally discouraging to see more and more clients appear stressed during such an unpredictable time. Clients seem more open and willing to open up and talk about the mental challenges brought up by the pandemic, after we’ve all experienced it for a year, more or less.

 

Is there any guidance you give to entrepreneurs who want to help with their staff’s mental health?  [24:46]

With the increased work-from-home arrangements and fewer face-to-face interactions, it’s important to do regular, intentional check-ins with your staff. Open up the video meeting by asking your staff the right questions: Are you ok? What can I do to help? How can we support each other? Reserve these check-ins to be just about them, not business. 

It’s equally important to respect your staffs’ time the same way you did pre-pandemic. Due to today’s blurred line between work and home, it can be easy to override staff schedules by asking them to work past business hours or expect them to be “on-call” all the time, but Jessica cautions against this. You should, instead, maintain the same expectations as you did before while encouraging staff to take frequent breaks to step away from the computer and get active. 

For anyone watching who feels they’d benefit from a life revitalization specialist, reach out to Jessica. 

 

 

How can viewers connect with you?

Website: Fill out the Contact form at truetoyoulifestyle.com 

Email: jessica@truetoyouhelpcoaching.com

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