Welcome to STANDOUT From The Crowd.
I'm Darine, and if you are anything like me, you have probably been through a few unexpected twists on your journey.
My plan “A” was to be a diplomat, but life had other plans leading me to become an impact entrepreneur and champion for women's leadership.
Sometimes life has a funny way of throwing us curveballs. Right?
I have always wondered why fit in when you were born to stand out.
In this podcast, I sit down with remarkable women leaders who have embraced their unique path, defied expectations, and created lasting impact.
We dive into their stories, explore their mindset, their resilience, and the strategies that help them succeed even when left through stones in their path.
Whether it's insights on personal growth, strategies to amplify your visibility, or tips to boost your well-being and overall productivity, you will find the inspiration you need to unlock your full potential.
Join me for conversations that will empower you to stand out in your career, in your life, and in everything that you do.
Because, listen, here, we don't just follow the crowd. We STANDOUT.
What has 2025 taught you so far, and how can you use those lessons to finish the year aligned, energized, and on your own terms?
This is the question we are going to answer in today's episode of stand out from the crowd. Welcome back.
Welcome back.
This episode 101 is part two of our summer reset series.
We have already talked about using summer as a strategic time to pause.
And today, we are going to take a data heart driven approach to look at your year so far. Because listen.
According to a Harvard Business Review, people who pause to reflect regularly are 23% more likely to hit their goals, not because they work harder, but because they make smarter, more aligned choices.
And for ambitious women, especially those of us juggling leadership roles, caregiving, and personal ambitions, this reflection is more than a productivity hack.
It is an act of self preservation.
Do you understand how powerful it is?
So let's take a look at the cost of being on autopilot.
Many of us start January on fire.
Vision boards, strategic plans, an inbox full of intentions, and we hustle hard.
We are motivated. New year, new you, new year, new objectives, new year, new me.
We know that.
We say yes more than we should.
And somehow, consciously or unconsciously, we tell ourselves that exhaustion is just part of the deal. It's part of the success.
It's part of the career.
It's just part of the climb.
But by midyear, the cracks start to show.
You are tired.
You are unsure, but you are afraid to slow down because you don't wanna lose the momentum. And here is the risk.
McKinsey and linen.org's twenty twenty four women in the workplace report found that sixty seven percent of women leaders report feeling burned out, and that's before Q4 pressures kick in.
67% of women leaders are burned out even before the end of the year.
So now do you understand the importance of this summer reset series where we discuss how to leverage summer to strategically make a pause?
And today, I'm recording this episode for you to assess how your year has been so far, what are the lessons that you have learned so you don't end the year on your knees.
Basically, that's what it is about.
And so without this strategic summer pause, the second half of the year becomes survival, not success.
I repeat, without a strategic summer pause for you to reflect, assess, realign, and avoid burning yourself out.
The second half of the year is survival.
It's not a success.
And there is a simple yet very effective framework that I like to use, which is the WINS lessons and shifts framework.
This is my go to mid year reflection tool.
You know me.
I like things simple but effective, and this tool is simple but incredibly powerful.
So let's start with the wins.
Take a notepad, a piece of paper, a pen, and start listing what has worked.
Wins are not just revenue, promotions, or metrics.
It can be something that you decided to stop doing because it was draining you.
It can be a boundary that you decided to set up.
It can be that you are taking more time for yourself.
A major win for myself this year, since I'm a new mom now, is to have been able to create a new routine where I'm a leader in the morning.
I'm a consultant.
I'm the leader, the international consultant, the podcaster in the morning, but the rest of the day, I'm a mom, and I have dedicated quality time with my baby.
For me, this is a major win where I don't have to juggle between work and mom's duty.
I have created a lifestyle and built that balance that works well for me.
It can also be rebuilding the relationship with your partner, spending more time with your family. So list down all your wins so far.
Then look at the lessons.
Create another column or another, you know, section with the lessons learned.
I'm not talking about failures.
I'm reframing it into lessons.
What have you learned?
What have you done that has not worked?
What have you done that didn't take you or didn't move you towards your objectives?
Those are important data that inform you on what you need to double down on and what you need to get rid of, which brings us to the next in the last section of this framework, the shifts. Based on your lessons learned, based on what you have learned so far, what needs to change? What are the changes that you need to put in place in order to preserve yourself, build the success you are looking for, the career you are working hard for, and still enjoy life.
Live a life that deserves to be lived.
So the wins, lessons, and shifts framework, it's quite simple, very powerful.
Be honest with your answer because at the end of the day, these exercises help you progress and succeed without burning out.
Another big topic when it comes to women, ambitions, leadership, success, you know, setting boundaries, preserving ourselves, protecting our energy is being able to do things and let things go without guilt.
That was a big challenge for me.
I would feel guilty. I think if guilt had a persona, that would be me.
Like, literally, I would feel guilty for almost everything, for almost anything.
Like, saying no to people or, you know, yes.
I'm sure, like, if I shifted my calendar, if I would, like, reorganize myself, I could have said yes to this person.
For setting boundaries, oh my god.
Setting boundaries for me was such a challenge.
You know?
But once I was able to do it, the shift that happened in my life and within me from within was just incredible.
And, surprisingly, it built up my self confidence.
It really boosted the fact that I was able to say no, that I was able to set boundaries, that I was able to prioritize myself.
Why let's pause a moment here.
Why are we doing this to ourselves?
We are the ones, crazy women, like, exhausting ourselves and feeling guilty about prioritizing ourselves.
How crazy is that?
Like, it's nonsense.
It's literally nonsense.
And once we understand that and once we learn how to make that shift happen and put ourselves first on our list of priorities, trust me, it's a game changer.
It's a life changing experience.
And as for me, it has surprisingly boosted my self confidence, made me feel more empowered, more powerful because I am simply aligned with who I am, with what I want to achieve.
And the last burnout I went through was two years ago, and I literally collapsed.
I crashed down at the hospital.
And one of the positive aspects of it is that once my body it wasn't me.
It's just my body decided.
It was like, girl, you are stubborn.
You are stubborn.
I told you many times.
I showed you the signs.
You decided to ignore me.
Okay.
Now I'm taking over.
I'm taking control, and my body just crushed down.
And when it happened, it opened up.
What I'm going to share with you is so weird, but this is what I went through.
Maybe some of you will relate.
It opened up my chest and created space for positive things to happen.
And since then, I have forced myself to set boundaries, to prioritize myself, and to do all the yada yada yada.
And since then, opportunities have come my way without even chasing them, without even searching for them.
And this is what's happening right now.
Because when my body decided to stop that nonsense, it reset.
It's like it was a reset or a reboot of my body of the system, and it created that space that was missing for me to welcome opportunities.
So my goal with those episodes, with this summer reset series is really for you to avoid going to that extreme because going through a burnout is not fun.
But, you know, to implement some strategies, like short, little, simple, effective exercises that you can use and leverage so you create that space for yourself to be aligned, to be at peace, and to live your life in the way that makes sense to you and that allows you to attract opportunities.
So, girl, you are successful in your own term.
That's what matters.
That's really what matters to me, and this is really something I wanna share with you.
So the guilt, whatever you do, whatever you put in the extra energy, it's something that is not serving you, that is not serving your purpose, that is not serving your goal, there is an energy price tag attached to it.
Whether you like it or not, whether you are conscious or unconscious about it, there is an energy price tag to everything that we do.
So you better choose wisely where you wanna focus your energy.
And, ultimately, if you put your energy into things that are not that are draining you, it's not helping you moving forward.
It's quite the opposite, actually.
It's slowing you down.
So now that we have seen that the first part of the year is really about hustling, being ambitious. We wanna hit the goals.
We are leveraging summer for strategic pause and reset.
How can you protect your energy for the second half of the year?
It's quite simple.
You cannot finish strong without fuel.
You cannot drive your car without fuel.
You cannot drive your personal engine without fuel.
And that's where anchor habits come in, small and repeatable rituals that protect your energy. For me, my anchor habits are quite simple.
No meetings in the afternoon.
No meetings on Friday.
Afternoons are for quality time with my baby, and Fridays are for me to, you know, focus, relax, do deep work, whatever I have to do that Friday, this is a day for me to focus.
So no meetings in the afternoon, no meetings on Friday.
Another ritual that I have is my twenty minute walk.
It can be in the morning, in the afternoon.
No matter the time of the day, I will ensure that I go outside and walk for twenty minutes.
And, actually, I document it on my Instagram.
So if you can follow me on Instagram, I will put my personal account in the episode description. And so you can see that I practice what I preach.
There is nothing on this podcast that I tell you that I don't do, and I document it all on my personal Instagram.
So on my personal Instagram, every day, you see snapshots of my twenty minute walk.
And last but not least, I have implemented an evening wind down that tells my body and my brain that the day is over, that I'm finished with work, I'm finished with the day, and I'm going into rest mode.
And my favorite evening ritual is the Afro Beauty two step ritual.
After I shower then everything else, I put serum on my face, massage my face with Afroa all in one serum, and then step two, I apply the Baobab face oil.
This ritual makes me feel good, helps me put my body and my brain in rest mode.
And then by doing so, I know that the following morning when I will wake up, my skin will look good, will look smooth, will look plumped, and, you know, it makes me happy.
It is that simple.
So it's really about nourishing my skin, giving my skin what's best.
And I will work overnight during my sleep so I wake up confident and happy.
It's a quick, luxurious, and perfect routine for busy women leaders who wanna protect their skin but also their peace of mind.
So, literally, it is that simple.
I have three nonnegotiable anchor habits.
No meetings in the afternoon.
No meetings on Fridays.
A daily twenty minute walk and an evening wind down skin care routine.
And, actually, when you look at it, reflection is not a pause in your progress.
It is the compass that keeps you on the right path, the true path.
So now I have a challenge for you this week.
Take back your notebook and your pen.
And I really want to encourage you to take on this challenge this week.
This week, take the time to go through the wins, lessons, and shift framework.
Then once it's done, choose three simple activities that you will implement for the next half of the year.
Start something that will energize you.
Stop something that is draining you, and continue something that is working beautifully for you. Write it down and share it with me.
Reach out to me on social media, in my DMs, via email.
All the information to connect with me is available in the episode description.
Let me know your progress.
I wanna support you.
I wanna help you.
I wanna congratulate you.
I wanna support you.
So reach out to me.
Let me know what you are doing, what you are starting, what you are stopping, and what you are keeping.
And I would like to end this episode by telling you something that it took me way too long to understand.
You don't need to do more.
It is true.
You don't need to do more.
You need to focus on what matters most.
If this episode spoke to you, share it with another ambitious woman, another woman leader who deserves to finish twenty twenty five aligned, energized, and unapologetically herself.
Until next time, you take care and you stay safe.
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Until next time. Bye.
