MADE Magazine #MADEBlueprint | Page 14

MADE TO LEAD SELF CARE FOR THE C R E AT I V E E N T R E P R E N E U R with Andrea Lewis MADE BY ASHLEY WHITE We’ve heard the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” and for creative entrepreneurs this is certainly true. Creativity can’t flow freely if you’re always on the go and you don’t take the time to relax and refocus. Enter self-care. Self- care allows us to step back and just breathe. It’s allows us to pause and be grateful for where we’re at and where we’re going. MADE caught up with self- love guru Andrea Lewis to discuss the importance of taking time for yourself so that your cup runneth over… MADE: Why do you think creatives forget the importance of slowing down and taking care of themselves? AL: I think we forget because we were fed this myth that hustle and grind requires “no sleep” and “no days off,” so when you are taking a break, people tend to feel a lot of guilt for it versus think- ing of it as self-care and self-maintenance. We wouldn’t drive our cars into the ground. We bring our phone charger with us because we recognize that it has to have a moment to sit and charge. Peo- ple are perfectly fine with putting their phone on airplane mode to let it charge up, so if you were to think about yourself in that same way, then you would recognize that even in the midst of go, go, go, there’s still has to be a moment for yourself—even if that’s just 10 minutes of meditation. That’s why a power nap is important and is actually a real thing. These things are important throughout your day and throughout your week to have to recharge. You should have a day within your week that’s just for you. The plan for that day is to do anything and not look at it as being selfish, lazy or not doing enough. Look at it as, “I am recharging myself,” and “I’m letting ideas come and flow to me and I am just taking the time I need in order for me to be on my full-time hustle”. MADE: How has self-care helped fuel your creativity? AL: When I started self-care and self-love and I consciously started to think about it and add it into my life is when I became free. I was finally able to be myself and create for myself and to stand in a position of life that I wanted to be in. Guilt free. That only came to made-magazine.com | 14