Gina Koay is a Pharmacist and IIN Health Coach. She is the founder of City Wellness Pharmacy and Better.Me Wellness Hub. She is passionate about creating healthy and happy communities in Malaysia.
Many of us are juggling heavy workloads, managing family responsibilities and balancing personal and professional relationships with others.
It is no surprise that according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015, there are 29 percent of Malaysians having depression and anxiety disorder, due to “super-stressed” conditions, compared to 2011 with only 12 percent and that is not balanced.
When rushing to “get it all done” at the office and at home, it is easy to forget that our stress levels spike and our productivity may drop. While we all need some level of stress to spur us on and help us to perform at our best, the key to managing stress only lie in one magic word: balance.
Here I would like to share an inspiring story on how to loosen the grip that stress has on us and win back the balance and other values in our lives. This is a story by a successful young entrepreneur, Lee Wei Qing, who is one of the top three winners of the 2018 JCI Creative Young Entrepreneur Award.
Lee Wei Qing is the founder of WELL Healthcare Group in Malaysia. Being a busy entrepreneur himself, he initially found it difficult to achieve work-life balance. The reason is, in order to build a successful company; work inevitably becomes the largest part of life itself. If one defines success as making enough money to support the family, then work-life balance is deemed possible. However, if one wants to make more money in this rat-race world, it is difficult to achieve work-life balance physically and mentally and that, can lead to serious impact on the quality of life. Hence, he felt that “balance” should not be the only aim, but “focus” is just as important. He learnt to get comfortable being off balance at times so that he creates space to juggle between his work and family. He still remains focused and mindful on his goals. In being so, he can also achieve a balanced, active and healthy lifestyle.
Lee describes himself as an “exercise and diet freak” at times. Though with a packed schedule, he sleeps an average of six to seven hours daily, and stays active by going to the gym to workout three to four times weekly. It is rather tough to eat a balanced diet all the time because his schedule can be extremely hectic and he cannot choose the right food. So self-discipline and preparing ahead are the keys to having a balanced diet. He will allocate time to prepare and cook the food which he plans to bring to work the next day.
Lee Wei Qing, Founder of WELL Healthcare Group
There are times when Lee is burnt out too. Living under great stress is part and parcel of being an entrepreneur; he chose to adapt it with his own coping mechanism by reaching out. To cope with stressful conditions, he communicates effectively by having open conversations with like-minded peers, or people whom he trusts.
In order to manage his commitments to stay focused, he will begin his commitments with the end in mind. He sets manageable goals daily so he is realistic with his workloads and deadlines.
Lee describes himself as a low-key person, as no one stays relevant forever no matter how good he can be. Learn, unlearn and relearn are what he practices to be able to stay ahead of the game, in order to manage his personal strengths and weaknesses to stay humble. The future is not for him to predict as life can be fragile and change is the only constant. In terms of business, Lee designs five-year plans, a blueprint for company growth and succession planning with his team. He believes change is the way to go when it comes to leaving a legacy of greatness.
In conclusion, being mindful, having self-discipline, active communication and humbleness are some key elements to have better control of our essential health. Furthermore, while busy at work or business, we need to also find spiritual and human values which are the fundamentals to a healthy, vibrant and viable career or business.
