The Bad
Hi, my name is Antonia and I am a work-a-holic. I wake up in the morning and check work e-mail and social media while I am still in bed. Sometimes I even have a cup-of-joe to help ease my nerves. Ironic. I really do not want to get out of bed. I consider calling in sick. I cannot go 10 minutes without worrying about something work-related. Marketing ideas. Payroll. Taxes. My family and friends cannot be around me without hearing about something related to work. That is, if I get to see them. I spend days off running numbers, errands, and paying bills. I feel guilty when I want to take free time for myself, like that would ever happen anyway. My job runs my life. Some days I come home so exhausted that I just sit on the couch and fall asleep, wake up in the morning, and repeat it all over again. I am a slave to my job.

The Good
Hi, my name is Antonia and I am a spa-a-holic. I am a licensed massage therapist, aesthetics science specialist, and electrologist. I own and operate a boutique spa for men and women and I love what I do! When I wake up, I am excited to go to work! I love my staff, my clients, and my job! Every day I try to learn something new. I feel a little silly sometimes because I can talk about work all day long. Sometimes I snuggle up on the couch after work with a trade magazine. I will confess, I am obsessed... but true love for what you do knows no boundaries. On my days off, I like to go to other spas to relax and recoup, or I go for a hike or run. I try to eat well and stay hydrated, but life is about balance. Every girl is entitled to chocolate or a glass of wine, right? Right! I am the luckiest entrepreneur ever. I find balance by taking time for myself when I need it. Yeah, of course there are a couple bad days here and there, but nothing I cannot overcome. That is what personal days are for. If I respect my time outside of work and make my needs a priority, it pays off. How can I take care of others, if I do not take care of myself? It took a lot of discipline to get here, but the hard work is paying off! I am the master of my life, my job, and my world.

The Truth
One of the ironies of the aesthetics industry is that skin care professionals encourage our clients to slow down and take time for themselves, but how often do they practice what they preach? I am only human, so naturally some days I feel like “the bad” work-a-holic. The truth is that most days I feel like “the good” spa-a-holic. I remember one of the first things we learned in massage school was that the average American massage therapist’s career life-span was seven years. That number alarmed me. I remember thinking to myself, “I am sitting through all this schooling, a state board, and spending a ton of money for the potential of seven years. I want this to be a part of my life, however small or large, forever.”

In a world where cell phones are glued to hips and people always have somewhere to run, stress and burnout is at an all-time high. We are not exempt. We are the people to whom others turn when they need reprieve. That means that skin care professionals, the super-human service providers, must put themselves first. Whether that means getting a massage weekly, going to bed earlier, or committing one hour a day, three to four days a week to yoga, kickboxing, or the weight room, it must be done! Just a walk can be a vacation – without a cell phone! If Facebook, Instagram, and web-surfing time is cut back, professionals will have a window for a workout, or a meal with their best friend, or a facial. Rest. Relax. Revitalize. This industry lives and breathes by those words. Let skin care professionals start living by them, too.