We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Bukovac a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
It can be really difficult to keep creativity alive when you’re working full time and especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed or burned out. Not to mention even more so with social media and being able to view other people’s creativity 24/7. I have gone through many periods of time and phases where I feel my creativity diminishing or slowing down but, there are about 3 major things I have found that really help me to start feeling creative again. One of the most helpful actions I can take to start feeling more creative is getting out of my routine and everyday environment. It is easy to stay in our routine in order to stay productive and get a heavy workload done but, it actually works against us if we aren’t taking proper breaks to get out of our “bubble,” go to new (exciting) environments, and see new things/people/places. Just the excitement of something new can help you feel more creative and mentally stimulated. I really enjoy going to new coffee shops, new restaurants, or new places in my city that I have never been to before because it always seems to give me a fresh perspective. Another helpful action is to take a break from social media and viewing other people’s creative ideas. This helps to prevent me from comparing myself or my creative ideas to others if I am already feeling kind of drained. This is a tricky one though because I also find that at times, it helps me to look at other people’s creative ideas, posts, reels, etc. because they may inspire me to have a new, unique idea as well. (It is important to find a healthy balance with social media in general). A third helpful action is to make sure you are participating in the things that you love. Making time for your hobbies, friends, family, and self-care is essential to keeping your mental health right which will keep your creativity high. I love to plan girl’s nights out with friends, have family dinners, book a massage for myself, and try to stay consistent with my workouts to stay active. I also love to travel and bake sweet treats in the kitchen. When I participate in these things/events/actions I love, I feel so much more energized and refreshed after to be able to get creative again.
Another helpful way to stay creative is to collaborate with others. Merge your ideas with theirs or reach out with questions to see if they spark a new idea for you based on their responses. Especially if you are able to collaborate with someone who has a different perspective than you.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a certified personal trainer and certified nutritionist. I have been going back to school for the past 4 years to complete my dietetics degree to become a dietitian as well. (I am set to complete all my requirements and sit for the RD exam by end of 2023) This is actually my second career as I originally went to college for my business degree in which I have worked in the government, corporate, and now legal world over the past 10 years. At about the 3 year mark of being in the 9-5 world, I knew I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. I knew I was passionate about nutrition and fitness but, I let self-doubt get into my head and told myself I just needed to keep doing what I was doing. Luckily, I have always made really great money at my positions but, I never felt fulfilled. In 2017 (another 4 years later) I went through some traumatic life events that made me realize it was time to make a change. I had already become a certified personal trainer and nutritionist on the side but, I knew that wasn’t enough. I had actually competed in fitness competitions as well but, none of that fulfilled me enough. I decided I was going to start my own business ‘FitandWellwithKel’ to start helping others reach their health goals through fitness and nutrition. Another year after that (2019) on my 30th birthday, I decided to officially go back to school to pursue my dream of becoming a registered dietitian. I am currently working as a project manager in the legal world, completing my requirements to become a registered dietitian, and running my online business for clients on the side. I plan to take my business full time after passing the RD exam so I can help people reach their health goals through fitness, nutrition, medical nutrition therapy, and alternative therapies. I am really excited to keep expanding because I know there are so many people out there who don’t feel their best and could absolutely feel better each day through small changes.
My main goal is to help people feel better while still being able to live their normal lives, eat their favorite foods, drink their favorite drinks, socialize, and find their own healthy balance without feeling restricted or overwhelmed about making major changes.
I specialize in helping women feel better through hormonal balance, gut health optimization, and fixing micronutrient deficiencies. My plan for the future is to be able to not only grow my client base but, also grow my collaboration base and work team. The more we expand, the more people we can help!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that have been most impactful in my journey are definitely my dedication/work ethic, optimistic outlook/perspective, and my deep caring for how others feel. When you are starting a business, you are going to deal with a lot of people who are doubting your abilities so you have to stay dedicated, consistent and keep your work alive no matter what. You also have to keep an optimistic outlook because you will have setbacks, failures, and challenges that pop up along the way but, it will work out if you keep going and never give up. And of course, I believe you have to find your true passion in order to really be successful in your work and all aspects of your life. I have always made plenty of money at all my jobs but, not feeling fulfilled always left me feeling unsuccessful despite the numerous accolades, kudos, raises, or bonuses I received. To be able to work a job you are truly passionate about, feels good and so much easier/worth it than working a job you aren’t excited for which will burn you out. My advice to someone else who is just starting is to keep going, follow your dreams, and never let anyone discourage you. Even if your family, close friends, and acquaintances don’t support your goals, keep going. They don’t have to understand your purpose for you to succeed and be happy in the long run.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for other people, businesses, events for future collaborations. I love meeting new people and hearing new ideas. I would love to collaborate with other people or businesses in the fitness, nutrition, restaurant or wellness scene but, I would also love to collaborate with people or businesses outside of that to keep my perspective fresh. My only requirements for collaboration is that the person/people, business, or event have a positive impact on others, provide help or education, or be fun to bring others joy!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fitandwellwithkel.com/
- Instagram: @fitandwellwithkel
- Facebook: Kelly Bukovac
- Youtube: fitandwellwithkel
- Other: TikTok: @fitandwellwithkel
