Meet Alexis Higginson

We were lucky to catch up with Alexis Higginson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexis, so happy to have you on the platform and I think our readers are in for a treat because you’ve got such an interesting story and so much insight and wisdom. So, let’s start with a topic that is relevant to everyone, regardless of industry etc. What do you do for self-care and how has it impacted you?
My self-care relies on awareness of my body and mind and working with myself, not against. This is something that I’ve learned to do because of becoming a yoga teacher. I do what feels right in the moment. If I lack energy, I’ll meditate and do a restorative yoga session. If I’m feeling super creative and inspired, jewelry making will be my priority instead of other things that I may need to do because a time will come when I feel less inspired to create and more inspired to do other kinds of work. Also, I’m naturally a late-night person and don’t force myself to get up super early anymore, I just designed my lifestyle around my sleep schedule. This allows me to work during the times of the day I have the most energy and have time to do yoga and meditation in the morning. I’ve noticed that what I do when I first wake up sets the tone for the rest of the day, so starting with yoga and breathing and meditation instead of going on my phone first thing makes me spend less time on my phone throughout the day which makes my time management much better.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
When deciding what I wanted to do when I “grew up” the only thing that made sense to me was to do art. I feel good when I spend a lot of time being creative, and I knew I had to make it an integral part of my life for my mental health. I learned silversmithing in 2020 and started Silver Age Jewelry in 2021. Since then I’ve traveled the world making jewelry and learning yoga, taking inspiration from time in nature, spirituality and festivals that I vend.

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?
I would like it to be:
“Be adaptable, take care of yourself, and do it, especially if you’re afraid. I definitely feel the pressure to be competitive and can get overwhelmed. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself and I have to remind myself that if I’m burnt out, I won’t be able to do much of anything. Mental and physical health should be first priority. The better you’re doing, the better job you’ll do. Learning to take good care of myself has been the best thing for my life and my creativity.
Being adaptable is key if you start a business. Things do not always go as planned and you’re going to need to roll with the punches. This also means knowing when things aren’t working and using some of your other skills or opportunities to your advantage. You may have a specific idea of how you’re going to do things that isn’t actually the best way to do it, so it’s better to be less attached to it and always keep learning.
Oftentimes I find that what I am afraid of doing, what makes me think “I can’t do this” or “I’m not the type of person that does x” is actually the next thing that will help further me in life. For example, I used to get really frustrated working on my website or doing any work on the computer, often getting enraged and giving up. I decided to face the challenge and learn as much as I could about web design and related things. Now I feel very comfortable working on my website and building websites for others and have been working online and traveling for a year. Another example is with mantras. I felt so silly chanting and I refused to do it because I was scared of other people judging me. I came around to it during my yoga teacher training and now mantras are an important part of my practice. It helps with my social anxiety and helps me get into a meditative state.”

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I am so grateful for my parents and all that they’ve done, but the thing that they did that had the most impact on me was encourage me to forge my own path in life instead of tell me that my life had to look a certain way. They understand that a happy life can look different for everybody. I was a good student in high school, but my mental health made it really hard. My mom supported me getting my GED and finding the path that worked for me before moving out as an adult. This allowed me to not get stuck in a career that wasn’t for me, instead finding work and a lifestyle that supported my mental health and worked with me instead of against me and set me up for success.

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Image Credits
Tyson Kennemer

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