How To Manage Your Personal Brand from the Inside Out

During this pandemic, it is so important that we manage our personal brands from the inside out. If we don’t feel great, we can’t do great work or support others. To help you with this, we’ve recently interviewed entrepreneur, brand builder and self-care advocate, Taylor Elyse Morrison. She is changing the way people practice self-care as the founder of Inner Workout and the host of the Be School podcast. Taylor is a certified 200 hour yoga teacher and a certified group fitness instructor.

Tell us about Inner Workout?

Inner Workout is a company that helps people build the skill of self-care. We define self-care as listening within and responding in the most loving way possible. All of our offerings are rooted in the five dimensions of wellbeing, which stem from yogic philosophy.

Our namesake class blends movement, breathwork, journaling, and meditation. Our Take Care assessment measures people across the five dimensions of wellbeing and provides customized self-care recommendations. We also offer workshops, workbooks, and online courses.

How does practicing self-care contribute to your personal brand's reputation, behavior and general brand management?

Self-care is critical for people who want to be intentional about building their personal brand. It’s hard to grow your brand when you’re stressed, anxious, and overworked. When you practice self-care, you’re able to show up as the best version of yourself. You’re protecting the brand that you’ve worked so hard to develop. You’re also creating cognitive capacity for you to make brand-aligned decisions.

What are three tips that you can give to leaders and entrepreneurs during this time of high stress and anxiety to help manage their mental health well-being?

When everything feels like it’s spinning out of control, the best thing that we can do is ground ourselves. Here are a few ways we can do that.

Define a point of focus. Get clear on what you’re doing at any given moment, whether that’s drafting an email or reading a book to your kid. If you find yourself getting distracted, lovingly guide yourself back to your point of focus.
Breathe. Make your exhales longer than your inhales. Visualize sending your breath into your feet.
Choose curiosity. Be observant about what your mind and body are telling you. Then, instead of judging or making assumptions about where you should be, get curious about how you can best practice self-care given your observations.

What can friends, families, and brand advocates do to support entrepreneurs and leaders’ mental well-being during this time?

I think one of the best ways you can support entrepreneurs and leaders is to give them space with their thoughts. Their brains are being pulled in so many different directions in their personal and professional lives. Time for introspection is incredibly valuable.

Another way to support is to remind leaders that they are more than their job title. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you are only loved for what you do. You can dispel that belief with a few encouraging words.

What are simple acts that leaders and entrepreneurs do to support their teams' and customers' mental health during this time?

Acknowledge that we’re in an unprecedented situation. Lead with grace and empathy. Encourage others to prioritize their mental health and model what that looks like.