We were lucky to catch up with Sydnye White recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sydnye, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
Being a full-time mother and wife, working full-time as the Vice President of Content and Storytelling at Special Olympics international and working on getting my first novel published requires being intentional about my self-care in order to staying focused on life’s demands.
For me, that means waking up at 4:45am each morning to meditate and exercise in the pre-dawn silence. There is something about taking time to be a human “being,” rather than a human “doing,” that sets my day off right. Meditation helps me set intentions, focus on the moment or get lost in dreams of manifestations. Exercising is the absolute best way to practice mindfulness in the moment. It is hard to think about anything else while finishing the last half of a run or pushing through the final sets of strength training. Once I have gifted myself nurturing morning time, I can concentrate on whatever else day requires.
I sprinkle self-care routines throughout the day to stay motivated, creative and collaborative. If I get stuck on laying out tactics in a creative brief, a dance break gets my body and ideas flowing. If I allow my ego to get distracted by what someone else said, writing a list of my favorite vacation destinations will pump up my mood. I walk the dog if I’m working from home or go for a stroll if I’m in the office every day for 25 minutes during my lunch break. Lunch is the perfect time to get some fresh air, take a mental break and reset for the second half of the day. Even menial tasks like folding clothes or washing a few dishes while listening music to music can help me recharge for the next hour.
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?
Being creative in everything I do is extremely important for my mental self-care. I try to make decisions that I know will lead to feeling good about life. I’m really excited about getting my debut fiction novel out into the world. My characters use some of the same self-care routines that I do such as meditation and making all-natural bath and body products. Making products from shea butter allows me to feel a sense of accomplishment. Participating in writing communities feeds my soul. I am volunteering as the BIPOC Scholarship lead for the 2024 Washington Writers Conference. As a member of last year’s first-ever scholarship cohort, it is important to me to support creatives who are on the same journey.
I am lucky to be able to bring my passion for television production (I’m an Emmy nominated producer/writer) and book writing together as one of the Executive Producers of the forthcoming show America’s Next Great Author. The originators of this reality show about writing and publishing are publishing industry experts who appreciate and understand the role that books, and storytelling in general, play in the self-care of almost everyone on earth!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My self-care journey is ever evolving. I am constantly looking at ways I can have more fun or integrate self-care into my work and personal life. Once I realized that I could insert self-care into the “gaps” of my life, my experiences in self-care opened up even wider. For example, I’m going to take a shower in the morning anyway, so why not add a fragrant shower-steamer to start my day.?
One of the Special Olympics ambassador relationships that I manage is with Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to become an IRONMAN. Chris gives speeches around the world about his 1% Better strategy. If you just try to get 1% better at something everyday, overtime, you can reach your dreams. Self-care is no different. When I wanted to change my eating habits, I did not cut out wheat and sugar overnight. I made small adjustments along the way until I formed the habit of limiting my wheat and sugar intake to once a week, or sometimes even once a month. The point is, even with self-care you can start small.
I am a firm believer that everyone needs to explore what works best for them. Take all advice with a grain of salt but also stay open to new experiences. Just because someone does or doesn’t like yoga, for instance, should not inform whether or not you try it. Lots of people enjoy relaxing with a glass of wine but, I don’t like the taste or the way it makes me feel. Wine is not something that will ever be part of my self-care toolkit, just like waking up at 4:45am, which works for me, will not work for many others.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
As a creative, Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, had the biggest impact on me. Her concept of Artist Dates opened up my world in so many ways. Taking myself out weekly to explore something fun and interesting boosted creativity, joy and productivity in all areas of my life. I read the book years ago, before I had a family, but I still try to go on Artist Dates as mush as possible. Cameron also helped me realize that the most successful people are often not the most talented or hardest working. They are the most resilient.
Contact Info:
- Website: sydnyewhite.com
- Instagram: @sydnyewhite
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sydnyewhite
- Twitter: @sydnyewhite
- Youtube: @Sydnye_White
Image Credits
Headshots by @Reese.bland. Presenting photos by Special Olympics Africa.
