We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angelica Chavez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Angelica, 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?
Developing confidence and self-esteem involves spending a lot of time with ourselves. For many people this can be difficult because sometimes we are afraid of feeling uncomfortable. Before I dig more into these two different terms, I want to explain the difference between the two. Confidence focuses on our abilities and judgment whereas self-esteem focuses on feelings of worth and value we have towards ourselves. For some time, I thought of these two interchangeably. Some of the things I do to help me with developing confidence and self-esteem are taking care of myself mentally and physically. When it comes to mental health, I seek therapy when necessary and read books of personal development along with listening to podcasts. I also follow social media accounts that align with the importance of building confidence and self-esteem. In terms of physical health, the last two years I have been more conscious of what I eat and incorporated attending the gym or running at least 3-4 times a week. This boosts my energy and with time it creates a healthy habit which then leads to a better image of myself, furthermore, developing more confidence and self-esteem.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
One of my passions has always been to help people. Two of the side initiatives I work on after my full-time job is recommending naturally based products that assist with different concerns. I give a free consultation and base on what the person shares, I personalize a routine catered to their needs which can result in a better image if followed as directed and hence can boost our natural beauty. My second initiative is to brainstorm, collaborate and hosts events to assist kids of underprivileged communities through Becoming a Pearl Nonprofit organization, an organization that I started two years ago. We recently delivered about 100 toys for Christmas in Acapulco Guerrero, Mexico, where hurricane Ottis made landfall in October 2023 leaving many without basic needs. We also host events in Houston to assist kids with school supplies and other basic resources. Always looking to partner with businesses and sponsors to join efforts and make a greater impact and expand our vision.
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?
Some of the skills that were impactful to me were effective communication, time management and collaboration. My best advice for improving on these three would be to either take courses, read books or listen to podcasts. For communication a good way to measure how you are improving is to record yourself and see how with time your vocabulary and method of communication improves. As we meet new people this can take time and we must continue to learn ways to effectively communicate. When it comes to time management, the best investment you can make is in a planner. This planner can assist in breaking up activities that you do on a daily or weekly basis, instead of having a mental list which sometimes can increase stress levels and may lead to unproductive days. Finally, collaboration, to me this had been one of the hardest ones because I am the type of person who likes to be involved in all aspects of any idea
that arises. I have learned that when you have a team it is okay to trust that the work will be done. Collaboration brings people together and more ideas, sometimes compromising is the best alternative than doing everything myself. For example, as part of finding ways to help others through my non-profit I must collaborate with others to fulfill our mission, without this everything we have done would have been impossible. Everyone’s journey is different and taking initiative to start can be hard but without trying you will never know what you’re capable of accomplishing.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think that it’s good to have strengths but also find ways to improve weaknesses. Investing time in weaknesses is room for growth, which at times can be uncomfortable but necessary to reach full potential. I say this because, for example, I was finding myself in a difficult situation because I didn’t like to delegate tasks. A few years ago, I had a role where I was a lead team member and as part of my role and responsibilities, I was to ensure that when the store closed, and all tasks were done. Most times I would do the list of tasks to complete instead of delegating them to the rest of the team. Taking over these tasks took time away for me to concentrate on writing my daily notes to then use when coaching my team. Improving on weaknesses must come from yourself, in time it will help with becoming the best version of you. Being aware of our weaknesses and improving them can be a door to so many opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://becoming-a-pearl-inc.square.site/
- Instagram: becomingapearl_ and glowingwithangelica
