Individualism vs Collectivism in Wellness
Originally shared via IGTV, this Tea Talk Tuesday series breaks down various topics relating to the wellness industry — for practitioners, aspiring entrepreneurs and allies alike. Watch this episode on IGTV.
Today I want to talk about something that I got inspired to chat about because of the Michelle Obama podcast. So I want to talk a little bit today about individualism versus collectivism. So there are pros and cons to both of these, especially as they relate to entrepreneurship in the wellness industry and really in any field, but we're going to break down a little bit of each.
INDIVIDUALISM
As an individual, particularly someone who is running a business and someone who is doing something of service for the community, we do have to preserve ourselves. We have to think about ourselves and we know that an empty cup ain't filling nobody's nothing. We know that we have to fill ourselves up. We have to take time doing the things that replenish us. For me, that's solo trips, going into nature, eating well. Sometimes it's spending time with people not talking about business, just enjoying myself. So we have to be able to decipher and determine what are the things that fill our cup so that we can give back.
When individualism gets out of balance is when we are only thinking about ourselves. Sometimes what I see is that people are focused on or have glamorized this idea of let's just say the influencer. They become really fixated on them; what they're wearing, what they're doing, where they're going. So their community then becomes really focused on, well, “how can I be more like this person?” or feel like they’re “life goals”. Remember when #goals was a thing? I hated that. This idea that there is a specific person that we should try to emulate or be like, means we lose our individualism.
I know that not that all influencers have built communities like this, but I do think that there is rarely an emphasis on the collective, and rather the emphasis is on me, me, me. Given that a lot of these people have become successful, it unfortunately leads people to think that in order to be successful that you have to model or emulate that behavior and make it about yourself.
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So on the other side from this influencer standpoint, is the approach of using your individualism and your individual story as a vehicle to build community. You all know I'm big on community. Community and collaboration are pillars of Afro Yoga. So for me, that influencer approach may work well in some areas, but I don't think that it really contributes meaningfully when we talk about legacy building.
I’m more interested in creating something that our kids and grandkids can benefit from in the future, something that we can leave behind and that's something that we can all enjoy as a collective experience and feel that we are a part of something.
To me, that is more important. So I think that when we focus too much on ourselves as the individual in front of the platform, some of that meaning can be missing. I am the head of the platform, but it's really about us. This doesn't mean that I don't share my story, that doesn't mean that I don't express myself, my individuality and who I am.
What I really want you to take away from the perspective of individualism is one, yes, be your own person, yes, express your individuality and who you are, but also keep in mind that you want to bring people together. Our goal is to bring people together and to serve our communities. So we want to ensure that we're good, that our cup is full, that we are able to connect with people through sharing our stories. But we need to know at the end of the day, that it's bigger than us and that it's bigger than I.
Our goal as wellness entrepreneurs is to ensure that when coming into contact with our platform, people feel seen, feel heard, feel identified and that they feel welcomed, loved, and supported in that space.
COLLECTIVISM
So, now to talk about collectivism. This is really leaning into the fact that as a collective, we are moving towards something. When you're looking at someone who is a wellness entrepreneur, who has a community of people that they're serving, collectivism in balance looks like people feeling genuinely a part of something, people feeling included, people feeling like they have access to the offerings or to the platform, conversations, open dialogue, feeling like there is a safe space to be oneself within the collective, that there is respect for the individual within the collective. So that there's a beautiful fusion of those two elements together.
So our goal as wellness entrepreneurs when we're building these platforms is to ensure and to do the best that we can to make sure that people feel this way when they're coming into contact with our platform, that they feel seen, that they feel heard, that they feel identified and that they feel welcomed, loved, and supported in that space.
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Now, collectivism out of balance - at least for me personally - comes about when I haven’t taken the time to withdraw to recharge. We talked about that earlier with regard to individualism and it's so important for us to be able to pull out, recharge our energy so that we can come back with new, fresh energy. So collectivism out of balance can look like being too tapped in. You need to tap out a little bit sometimes. You know what I'm saying? You're getting too deep in there and you're picking up everybody's energies. You need to be able to step back, discern, decide what's yours, what's someone else's and then do you to build yourself back up. So it goes back to some of those practices that help us recharge.
Another way that collectivism can look out of balance is when you are too concerned or worried about what other people think, and that is distracting you or deterring you from executing your vision. Don’t allow people from the outside to have such a heavy influence that they deter you or make you start questioning yourself or move you away from your path.
Be okay with the fact that not everybody is going to see things the way you see them, not everybody is going to share your vision. Keep a strong hold on what you want to build for your community and stay ten toes down.
You need to be able to have that individualist aspect where you are focused on your vision, on your goals, where you're taking care of you to ensure that you can take care of others, but you're not so deep in that you're making it all about you. You're not so deep in that it's just me, me, me, me, me. What am I going to gain? How much money am I going to make, etc. You need to shift that conversation to more of a we thing.
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The first thing on your mind is to provide value to your community, always. You have to live with that. You have to breathe that and just know it's about more than me. How can I take care of my community and trust that your community will take care of you. A lot of us are out here in this scarcity mindset that we think if we give too much or we've given a lot and we've been burned, we have to continue to be willing to give in order to receive, because to give is truly to receive.
I'm out here, kicking down doors for us. Yes, I get paid in the process. Yes, I get my coins in the process, but guess who's always at the forefront of my mind? The collective. In the moments that I feel off balance or that I need to rest, I make sure that I take care of myself so I can continue to do this work. So I encourage you to do the same.
If you want to tap into more convos like this, check out the Afro Yoga Podcast.