Summer brings with it promises of outdoor events, trips, well-deserved rest, and quality time with friends and family. Many of us plan vacations to exciting or relaxing spots, taking a break from our normal routines, and refreshing ourselves and our relationships. Afterward, we can return to our regular responsibilities with new perspectives, ideas, and excitement. Your personal brand can benefit from a vacation, too! When is it time to take a break, and how can you tell if your brand needs one?
Boredom. When we commit over time to building our personal brand, we engage in (often daily) work building that brand on social media channels and in our occupational and interest communities. Even the most passionate and devoted among us may start to get tired of creating content. We may find that we are posting just to post or engaging without contributing meaningfully. Perhaps we just aren’t as excited to do the small daily actions as we once were. It’s good to allow ourselves a social media/personal branding vacation. Take a month to read inspiring books like Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, an All You Branding recommended choice; sign up for a course that interests you; or meet with a mentor and see if new ideas refresh your excitement.
Your plan is a mess. You’ve done the work of defining your personal brand, but you haven’t created a sustainable, long-term plan for your branding activities. As a result, your actions aren’t organized or well-timed, and always feel like a rush or an afterthought. You wonder why your content isn’t hitting, but you have no coordinated timeline or overarching goals. Take a break! Use your downtime to refine your goals and to map out your content and networking plans for the next 6-12 months. Take advantage of calendar and productivity apps to help you set actionable steps and reasonable deadlines. Return to your activities full of purpose and confidence. Feel overwhelmed? All You Branding offers personal branding consultations and can assist you in creating a workable action plan!
You’ve changed. Maybe you’re not enjoying your work around your personal brand because it just doesn’t fit the person you’re becoming. As living, evolving human beings, we have fluctuating interests and goals. It can be scary to acknowledge that facets of ourselves that once were character-defining may not speak to who we are anymore. If we continue to tread down well-worn paths just because they are there, we may miss our true callings and deepest desires. Taking a break from our personal brand and doing deep soul-searching about how our goals and skills have changed may help us redefine and recommit to new goals and identities that reflect who we really are, now. If your personal brand needs a refresh and you’re not sure where to start, book a consultation with us today!
Use the summertime to your personal brand’s advantage: give yourself permission to step away, reconnect with yourself, and return ready to take on the exciting challenges that await the rest of your year! Cheers!
