We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Desiree Portillo-Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Desiree below.
Hi Desiree, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
I believe that confidence and self-esteem are qualities that can be developed over time through a combination of personal experiences, learning, and self-reflection. For me, it has been a journey of self-discovery and growth, where I have learned to appreciate my strengths, accept my limitations, and work on areas where I can improve and overall, just try to become the best version of myself.
I have also received support and encouragement from my Husband, family & friends which has helped me but I also need to point out that confidence really does come from within as well, I truly believe in myself and try not to let anything get me down, I avoid trying to be a perfectionist, I try not to let other opinions affect me as much as they did when I was younger and I really believe that everyone is running their own race, so I just stay in my lane, keep looking forward and focus on myself.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I have a full-time job as a merchandise/marketing manager for a video game company which is super fun!
I also pursue other passions on the side, I make soap, so I turned that into a small online business called, HAUTBath in which I also consider that my creative outlet and it’s something I don’t see myself ever quitting as it is one of those things that bring me joy and fulfillment.
In addition to HAUTBath, I recently decided that I want to not only make a product that helps people on the outside, but I also want to share my knowledge with others on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and give them the tools to be the best version of themselves. I am in no way perfect in this area, but I do spend a lot of time creating healthy habits and recipes that I like to share.
I feel like a lot of people are generally lost on how to eat better and feel better and I take the time to research that kind of stuff, so I want to share what has helped me along the way with others by creating content as maybe a guide to eating better.
As an extension of HAUTBath, I recently started a blog that focuses on motivation and helping people improve their lifestyles. The blog includes easy and healthy recipes, as well as other motivational content that reflects my personal style. Although it’s still in its early stages, I think im going to name it “DuJour Glow – Your Daily Dose of Chic Wellness.” For now, you can find me under the name DuJour Des while I work on finalizing the details.
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 that I feel are most impactful in my journey are confidence, resilience, and gratitude.
Again, I feel that confidence is built over time and with personal and professional experiences, but I also strongly feel that having gratitude is important for anyone to have because when you are grateful for what you have no matter how big or small, I think it can help cultivate a more positive mindset and reduce feelings of pessimism or dissatisfaction. By acknowledging the good things in my life and expressing gratitude for them, I feel like it has helped increase my overall sense of well-being and resilience. Because nothing is a smooth road for anyone, we are all just out here trying to do the best we can.
My advice to someone who is early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop these qualities are to keep pushing forward even when faced with challenges or setbacks, and to be able to adapt to changing circumstances while focusing on gratitude.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed, I clean and get back to basics. I am a firm believer on having your foundation in check before moving on to anything else. My personal relationships with the people I care about the most, my environment, my physical and mental health always come first.
For instance, cleaning my house is important to me because I work from home so my space needs to be neat and organized daily – I can’t even really sit down at the computer if I know dishes are in the sink just to give an example. I know this may sound silly but it’s what works for me.
Also, walking is something that I absolutely need to do every day not just for physical health but mental. It really helps me get ready for the day when I wake up, drink my coffee and go for a 45-minute walk to clear my head and assess what I need to do for that day. Building this simple routine has been super helpful on keeping my sanity. In my opinion, walking is a sustainable habit to build. Also, no, it never gets boring because the trick is to listen to something like a podcast for instance on a topic that you care about or anything that you really enjoy – and only do that when you do your walk, so you have something to look forward to. So, for instance, I am obsessed with true crime, so I only allow myself to watch those true crime videos (if I’m on a treadmill) when I’m doing my walk – it’s something I look forward to and it can only be done while I’m walking, so I naturally look forward to my walks. Or you could listen to a podcast you really like or music etc… I don’t know it’s something that works for me so maybe this will help someone else who struggles to stay consistent with some form of exercise.
But the big picture answer is to just take a step back and assess the situation. So, one other thing I do that helps me every year is write down 3-5 high level (personal or professional) goals. Then I fill out a calendar which I like to call a “Brain Dump Calendar” on a monthly basis with my monthly goals and those high level goals in mind. Then I break those down into action steps or tasks on a weekly basis and this has really helped me stay on track with the big picture.
Basically, just take a step back and really think about what you want- then break it down into smaller steps and stay consistent with what you need to do to accomplish them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hautbath.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dujourglow/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrPZV1S2D_JhAMA7tSzlsrA
