Living in a digital world 24 hours a day can be overwhelming.
But when you live and work in a digital world, like fashion designer and social media influencer Emel Gloss, it can start to take its toll.
Gloss, who has been a digital influencer since 2013 and launched her first clothing line in 2019, said it’s important to find that balance between working hard to reach success and taking care of yourself so that you don’t reach a level of burnout.
“Sometimes it feels like you need to be online and available all the time,” said Gloss, who can be found on Instagram @emelgloss_official. “Everything looks and seems very simple, but there is so much work behind every post.”
In addition to working as a digital influencer, Gloss also runs a successful fashion line company under her same name, www.emelgloss.com.
Gloss said not allowing yourself to get that rejuvenation that is crucial for physical and mental well-being can have a negative impact, both personally and professionally. Some of the ways Gloss practices self-care for herself is to travel every chance she gets, especially to Istanbul where she said she enjoys the culture, people and landscape immensely, as well as spending time with family there.
Gloss is dedicated to inspiring others to follow their dreams, leading by her example to take care of herself physically, mentally and emotionally.
“On occasion, I take a day off from social media to deal with other things and to take some time for myself,” she said.
Another way Gloss handles the stress of business ownership and growing a social media channel is by keeping herself very organized. Putting in the effort ahead of time to make sure everything is in place and she is set up for success makes a big difference in her mental and emotion health.
“To-do lists are really important in my daily life to not lose track of everything,” she said. “On days where you must get a lot of things done, including meetings, it’s crucial not to lose perspective.”
She said dwelling on past mistakes or hardships while building a brand and a social media following can get in the way of staying focused on the future.
“At the beginning of my career, I wish I would have been more aware and more forgiving to myself that mistakes are part of human nature and that we are all human,” she said. “We all make mistakes.”
Gloss said viewing mistakes as the natural part of the process can be a factor in whether or not someone is successful. She said it’s important not to get caught up in the mistakes from your past to the point that it holds you back from moving forward and being the best that you can be.
“Mistakes are a necessity to learn and grow as a person,” she said. “It’s always important to get back up and to carry on and learn from what happened.”
