As a leader, how do you measure success? Success is something you need to define yourself. It can change any given day as to the mood and mindset you are in.  

To be a successful leader, we need to take control of our mindset by cultivating good mental resilience through self-care. 

The happiness pie was something we learnt on our Leading Well program day, from our guest speaker Dr. Jodie Fleming, psychologist and author.  

The happiness pie suggests there are three factors that determine our level of happiness: 50% is genetics, 40% is the choices that we make and only 10% is our life circumstances.  

What happens in our lives only makes up a small part of our happiness. It is the choices, the mindset and how we choose to react to the situation that will determine the outcome.  

“Prevention is better than a cure, self-care matters”, is another saying that Jodie reinforced.  

Jodie encouraged us all to take 10 minutes of our day to meditate and reminded us to be more present and to make better choices that are in line with our mind, body and soul.  

We meditated with Jodie for 10 minutes and were surprised at how fast the time went. Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation, can eliminate stress and help with sleep.  

Taking time to implement self-care strategies will help us all to lead well.  

I would like to thank our speakers from the Leading Well program day Dr Jodie Fleming, psychologist and author, and Kate Ferris, Advisor, Human Research Ethics, Deakin University.  

Michaela Meade, 2023 Program Participant