The Wellness Poet
By Krissy Regan The Wellness Poet
Our day-to-day life is generally not managed with as much rigour and structure as we apply to a business or our paid employment. But there are some aspects of business that can provide some really important foundations for making decisions in our life, and I enjoy discovering these little nuggets of wisdom.
- For starters we often don’t schedule our personal life as much as we do our business life. Leaving things, a bit looser and taking things as they come.
- Second, we often don’t consider all the costs associated with life and the decisions we make in it.
- We don’t necessarily look at ways to streamline, innovate and evolve in our personal life as much as we would in business.
- We certainly don’t apply Cater’s 10 C’s, or the 5 Rights of Procurement to our everyday living.
- We don’t consider that our health is our biggest asset, and in order to thrive in business and in life, it’s imperative to have good health; mental, physical as well as spiritual.
I’ve always been a fairly curious but practical person. I like to understand things from a very basic level and then I apply knowledge and understanding in many different ways. I think this skill has been one of my biggest assets in life so far.
- As a child I was never given a cake – I was shown a pantry of ingredients and a recipe book.
- I was never presented with a menu of steaks – I was presented with a cow and I got to watch how certain cuts of meat were made, participating in the process.
- I did not have a normal classroom until I was 11-years old, but by the age of 18 I had been working and earning money for 14-years.
- I joke that by the time I completed my Sports Science Degree at 21, I had 17-years’ experience in Catering.
So why is it then that at the age of 46, and a mother to two young children do I now apply basic business principals to make sense of my life? After I became a Mum, I decided to give up a jet-set career and get a safe, secure and less stressful “Mum job”!!! And I realised in my 40’s that if I did not evolve and learn new skills, I would be left behind in my 50’s and I could not afford for that to happen. So, I took myself back to university, and did a Business Diploma in Procurement and Supply Chain Management. I decided that my days of travelling around the world negotiating contracts with suppliers and managing projects for clients was over, and I needed to be in one place within easy access to home, and I would use all my skills in a new way.
What I didn’t expect was that the diploma was transferable across all areas of my life, not just my professional life. 2 key examples are the application of Carter’s 10’Cs and the 5 Rights of Procurement.
- I want a Clean, safe home and clean environment!
- I want open and clear Communication with my family!
- I desire to be a Competent mother, colleague, wife and friend!
- My Capacity keeps expanding as my role in life changes and the needs of myself and my children change!
- I have 2 huge Commitments in my life and I don’t want to let them down.
- I know that I can’t Control everything but I want to feel that I have control of myself.
- I need Cash to take care of my family, however there is more to life than money.
- The Cost of living is high, but the Cost of ignoring our well-being is even higher.
- I embrace Consistency to ensure I balance everyone’s needs and expectations with my own.
- I’m conscious of the role that our Cultural up-bringing impacts our values and choices, and I want to demonstrate as much diversity as I can to myself and my children.
Carter’s 10c’s have helped guide me in my life, and the way in which I want to show up for my children as a working parent. I’ve always been fairly successful in my work. I think I’ve only been fired twice in my life…. Everyone gets fired at least once! I can’t be fired from being a Mum and I would never want to have that taken away from me. So, if I can lean into some guiding principles which are not necessarily aligned with a particular faith, but offer a similar foundation, I can function more efficiently. I can innovate and evolve as life changes, and I can remind myself of what is truly important as I navigate uncertainty and challenges.
Then we have a little tool called; The 5 Rights of Procurement. Again, it’s a guiding principle for attaining things in life;
Do I desire Quality over Quantity in my life and what is the right amount of People and Stuff for me?
Am I at the right Place in my life personally and professionally?
Do I give the right amount of Time for things that are most important to me and my family?
What is the right Price to pay for the things I value most; safety, security, health and wellbeing?
In gaining this business knowledge which I have now applied to my everyday life, I’m clearer in my decision making, I’m happier, healthier and better equipped to deal with challenges that come my way. I’m learning to navigate my ever-expanding capacity as a working mother, but I’m also comfortable that I have a strong foundation to lean on. I can get support from a whole variety of diverse people, who can help guide my choices, and give me encouragement and support.
I like surprises and I like doing things spontaneously, but I also like to have solid foundation which bends, flexes and adapts as little curve balls come my way.
One of my favourite quotes is; If you Don’t Bend, You Break…
What’s funny about all of this, and shows how evolving is such a crucial word in our life today, is that I now work from home, managing contracts for clients all over the world. I negotiate contracts with suppliers and manage projects with people I’ve never met. I’ve traded my jet-set life for a life of Zoom calls in my PJ’s interrupted for snacks and potty training. My life has evolved so much and my new skills have helped me thrive in these uncertain times.
When my youngest child finishes high school, I will be 60-years old. I’m quite sure I will continue working for many years after that by choice, and I’m pretty certain that as long as I continue to apply sound business principles to my everyday life, I will be healthy, and able to evolve into whatever I choose to be. I hope you will too!
Krissy Regan is The Wellness Poet and Founder of Mindful Mums Queensland. She is author of 3 new books;
Broken to Unbreakable, 12 Steps to an Unbreakable Mind, Body & Spirit.
The Koala who Lost his Heart.
Bobby, a Horse who teaches a young girl how to Love.
Krissy wrote these books whilst working part-time at home, raising 2 small children and juggling the demands of her household.
Krissy offer’s workshops, retreats and 1-1 coaching and launched her global online wellness school at the start of 2021. You can register right here; https://krissy-regans-wellness-movement-mindful-mums-3.teachable.com/
You can contact Krissy Regan at mindfulmumsqld@gmail.com or follow Mindful Mums Qld on Facebook and Instagram @mindfulmumsqld and view Krissy’s work here: https://www.thewellnesspoet.com/
