 Strength of a woman, welcome back to why in the morning as I just said in this particular segment we look at strength of a woman. My name is Michelle Ashira and in this particular session we definitely celebrate women who are doing impactful things in the society. So women have played important roles and community building since the dawn of time. We are known as naturals and when it comes to people who are outspoken leaders such as a member of national assembly, we have the president of Tanzania, so many more. So we ask in ways to strike that balance, the almighty work life balance. I'm joined by, listen to this, Pastor Helen Anjero. She is a business lady, she is a mother, she is a wife, yes, so the list goes on and on. Have I missed out on anything? I feel those are different roles that you're playing. Yes. Have I missed out on anything? Yeah. I'm fostering a new church, a young church that is coming up well and we thank God for everything. Amazing. You look fabulous. Wow, we thank God, it's by the grace of God. So what came first for you? Was it ministry or the business aspect of it? Or family? Family came first and it is the will of God for the family to come first. Business matters, you want to venture in other areas in life, your family comes first. So my family came first and after that I got into business and now the ministry came in. But currently I take my family as the first priority, then ministry, then business. Alright, when you speak about business, what sort of business are you into? When you speak about business, what sort of business are you into? Oh wow. I'm in lending industry and we deal with financing. Maybe if someone can be having an emergency, we always sort it out. Fantastic. So even after this, we're going to talk about business. You have to come here on Tuesday. Oh yes. Tuesday is entrepreneurship Tuesday. We celebrate startups as well, businesses that have been there for a long period of time, so you have to come on Tuesday as well so that we can look into what you actually do in business in details. Alright, so for how long have you been in operation? I've been in business for six years now, but as an employee, trusting gone for my own company. Fantastic. Yeah, that's what I've been going for. What does work-life balance mean to you? Right. As a pastor, as a mother, as a wife, as a pastor to someone, sometimes it can be overwhelming, but the grace of God keeps us moving. On how to balance the numerous activities that go, it takes a courage of a woman. It needs strength of a woman, a woman who understands her tomorrow. No one knows at the end of the day where do I want to be, otherwise it doesn't just happen. It needs someone to take responsibilities, and right now this morning I'm talking to a woman who is just overwhelmed, who is feeling that, oh, this is too much, can you stop complaining? Just take responsibility. It is doable. I've done it, and I'm still in it. Hey. Yeah. We have already started on a very high note. Thank God. Okay. You've seen something that is quite interesting, you've seen it's possible, but someone who's watching this, they wonder, how do we do it? Right? How do we do it? How do we strike that balance? You just need to do something we call prioritizing, you know, what you need. At the end of the day, your goal will make you remain focused. Of course, some things will be happening along the way, destructors will be there, but your goal should keep you focused, and that tells you how to maneuver through the things, how to do things, how to handle everything in your life, because your family needs you, believers needs you, they will call you, pastor, I'm going through this, pastor, come for the fellowship, pastor, help me. You need to make them feel that they have a pastor. Your kids needs to feel that they have a mother. Your husband needs to feel I have a wife. At the same time, your boss needs you. He needs to feel that he or she needs to feel that I have a responsible employee. Yeah. All right. And okay, I get what you're saying, but let me tell you something, I have a friend here, she's a workaholic, call her Monday to Friday, it's the weekend, she's still trying to just, you know, still a deal here and there, meeting with a client, so there's a lot that goes on, we have to even actually even try to drag her out of the office. So for someone who's watching this and they are wondering, but my life is okay, you know, a workaholic don't even see this, there's an issue going on, so how important is it to strike that balance, yeah? How important is it? It is very important because you also need to be mentally okay, because when you don't, when one balance weighs you down, actually you cannot perform to the maximum, therefore there is that need to work out your balance right, so that you know when to work, you can be at work maybe the whole day, maybe the whole week, but at some point, maybe after two or three months, one or two months, actually maximum two months, take a vacation, spend with your family so that they may feel that they, you are who you are, you are who they want you to be, yeah, it's very important. So last, it's last year when COVID-19, global pandemic actually hit and we went on a recession and most people who are laid off, people right now are really trying to work hard, probably you are working hard for your duties of like two people, because they're trying to secure this job, so let's look at key and like detailed steps to take, we have looked at the aspect of creating time for leisure, let's look at other steps that we can make, even in the space of chaos trying to make ends meet, you know, workaholics out there, so let's look at other steps apart from leisure that we can take just to make sure that we stay sane. Some of the steps that we can make is by creating sacrificial time, that is if you were to report to work at 8, just create some more time, be there, maybe at 7, by 7 or even 6.30, that way you'll have a room to do something extra, because sure, life is not that easy and it was not easy, it's not becoming easy anytime soon, any woman must get stronger, you've got to be stronger than yesterday, that's all I can tell them, because sacrificing means that umenji ni makitu, umenji ni makitu ndi wo party, and this is what is all about. And I feel like that's even how you value more what you get, because you know, you're putting the work of sacrifice. Yeah, so those things must be put into place, but you can't just get extraordinary results by doing extra things, extraordinary things, you need to surpass the expectation for you to get supernatural results. Ah, passi. Yes. But passi kuna situi ni ini ni. That's the idea. Kuna boundaries, kuna tem, you know, there is work and then there is your personal life. So how do you even communicate boundaries? Do you probably your supervisor or your co-worker? Because sometimes they can even send emails at we hours and tell you reply, or they can start, you know, sending you to impromptu business travels, and you have your own life. So how do you communicate those boundaries? You just need to, I believe the backbone of every successful life is communication. Communication is the backbone. And now what happens, even my boss knows that I'm here, in fact I've told them I'm here. And there was a shielded meeting by it, but I had to abscond with the reason I communicated. So communication is very important. Our bosses, I think they have family people, they know when you go to interview, they will they ask you, or even you, you have that bio that tells us who you are. It talks more about you. So we know that you're married, you do this and that. And therefore they have to take care of that. Or even if they go to Waki Sahauna or Kumbusha, just communicate. Yeah, you communicate. So I may be single out here and they know it. So if you have the obligations and duties, they'll be looking out for, you know, like if it's Michelle, they'll be looking out for Michelle. Michelle can do this because, you know, she has no responsibilities. So you communicate regardless. You communicate in advance. Okay. So there has been a phrase that has been thrown out there from day kids to day kids, which is works matter not hard, works much not hard. What does that entail for you? Oh, to me, working smarter and not harder means that I, to me, I only need to do my simple part that is to be there, doing the right thing. Because I believe what God told Jeremiah, Jeremiah 1 verse 5, that he knew him before he was formed in his mother's womb. He had appointed him to be a prophet to the nations. And therefore everything that we do, my dear, it is directly wired to our destiny. So any time I wake up in the morning, God knows who is mine. So I only need to position myself right to receive it. You don't need to work harder. You only need to be where God wants you to be. Come and be there. The Lord is going to take care of the rest. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I understand you, but how do you position yourself? Positioning yourself is being at the right place at the right time. How do you know it is the right time and it's the right place? That's how I will be watching this. And then I'll be like, how do I know that I am supposed to be at a particular point A, B, C and D so that my success can happen so that I can get that job, even I can get that promotion? To me, I think it works differently. Anytime that I feel, anytime that anything is about to happen to my life, it doesn't catch me off. I always have that feeling. Oh, the intuition? Yeah. So the Holy Spirit of God helps us to do this, the listening spirit. The Lord should direct you to where a viable client is. Not just throwing the fists all over the ear. No. Because you can be all over, but not to be anywhere at the end of the day. Ah, it's more quality than quantity or being more productive. Yeah. And just making sure that things are getting done. Yes. So apart from just the supernatural aspect of it, whereby God is very much involved, I believe he's always involved, about what kind of measures can people take when it comes to probably if you're looking for a together promotion at workplace, or if you're looking forward to you know, seeking out for a job or starting your own business. What are those generic things that they can do and steps they can make? In my life, I've learned something which is currently helping me in every field of my life. I'm looking to a certain person or certain people who have made it ahead of me. So I don't just go and begin anything. I don't just go and seek for a fact or even begin a business without enough information. So the best thing one can do is seeking information from the people who are ahead of you in that area. That one will help a lot. But in your life, has there been a time where you felt I can't do this anymore? It's too much. There is ministry. There is family. There is the aspect of you running a business. So have you ever felt like I can do it? And what happened? Yeah. In fact, severally, you just find yourself in those situations. This one is too much. You can't handle it anymore. You can't even move an inch. They happens. But the best thing about it is that you've got faith in God. You only need to tell God, strengthen me once again. Yes, renew my strength. Because at times, you don't need to do much for your strength to fail. You only need to do what you are supposed to do for you to get tired. And therefore, when you do what you are supposed to do, you feel that your strength is failing you. At that moment, and that juncture, tell the Lord, renew my strength to keep on moving. Because at the end of the day, through what you do, you mentor somebody. Through what you do, your children are learning. So you've got to keep moving. You must keep moving. Yeah. You have to keep moving. Yes. All right. Let's look at chronic stress and the superwoman syndrome. I'm telling you, I'll still refer to my friends. I hope you'll still be friends after this. There's the superwoman syndrome whereby you want to take over everything. You're overworking yourself. You're doing over and above. Because probably you love your job and that is a good thing. But it gets to a point whereby you'll be exhausted. There's the issue of stress now. You bring stress from work to back to home. And then there's trouble in paradise when relationship is involved. What particular time do you ask for help? Oh my. Many of the times you need to seek for help. And I began by saying you need to have people who have gone ahead of you around your life. Because the people who have gone ahead of you have been at some point where you are, but you've never gone there. Sure. Even in relationships, even in that business, even in that ministry, you need somebody like Ambaia Ametangulia. He or she can help. He or she can help. And therefore these people, all in directly, want to help. They do help. And therefore doing a lot doesn't necessarily mean success. You should have a limit. You can't be everywhere, every time, and expect to have something. But you need to be a superwoman in your line of calling. There is that something, one thing, that the Lord has ordained for you. In fact, God has not called you to be everywhere. He has called you to be somewhere. And you can only progress in that field, not in every field. Leave the rest to the others. But be in that line. Run your own race, and the Lord is going to promote you in that line. Not every line. You cannot be everywhere. You'll get exhausted. Yeah, you'll get exhausted, and everything will go away. Then we take you down six feet down. And we'll be sad. And we'll be sad as well. We'll simply try and get everything done. We'll just try to move on. People will still talk, and life will continue. Be somebody, not everybody. I like that. What are the other ways that guys can manage stress? Stress management. Communication. Communication is very important. And learning to have rest. In fact, instead of quitting, even in that marriage, instead of quitting, take a break. Am I communicating? Take a break. In that business, instead of quitting and causing mayhem here and there, just run to take rest. Rest is very important. Communication is very important. In that relationship, maybe you're feeling that, oh my, if you don't care, maybe I can only kill somebody. Just take a break. Yeah, just take a break. Out of that house, go. Out of this country, just fly. And then you will come back. I like what you said, which is take a break. Because when you listen to these stories from prison of women or men who did something out of anger, that just happened. It's not worth it. Oh yes. And if you listen to them give the story, they're saying that they just don't know how it happened. They don't. Because they reacted on an emotion. But they didn't take a laid back seat and just think things through, be logic. Is it worth it? I like what you said. I literally like that. So in your case, how do you manage being a minister, be at the forefront, being a business lady? Is your partner supportive in all this? Because I feel like at the end of the day, you cannot do this on your own. Very true. So is your partner supportive and what other ways are you doing just to stay afloat and balanced? All right. To begin with, I have a very supportive partner and I thank God for him. He's watching Anthony Motahi. May the Lord bless you so much. You've been very supportive to my life. After coming in behind the curtain, you've been doing it perfectly and I thank God for you. For you to, maybe, to achieve to your maximum in any field. You need support in all those fields. Right now, any time I talk and say, I'm a child, I'm a child, my children cannot go to sleep. Until mommy comes. At the time, I'm not going to sleep. Because Mondays, Wednesdays, I go to church. And I talk on Wednesdays, Saturdays. So I'm getting at home is past nine. But they are there. I go home, but they hug me. Mom, welcome. You know, I feel the weight is down. It has been lifted off my shoulders. So you need those supportive elements in all the fields. When it comes to work, my bosses have just replaced who I am. I have a service for the staff every Friday. And they appreciate who you are. It changes you to produce more, to become better in your field. So those things are better. In my people who are watching, Jesus Victory Center, Kawanguare, you are just amazing. I appreciate who you are. Your pastor just need to say, what can we do? And you do it perfectly, without questions. God bless you. You are so nice. They are so nice. I only need to say, how you do it, I can't explain. The way you do it, where you get money, only God knows. May the Lord bless you. So for the people who are married to their work. And yet they have a family. I'm not sure if this happened to you. Did you always have this balance when studying? Or if you'll tell us that. But for the people who are married to their work, and yet they have a family. What sort of challenges do they encounter? If you don't balance your work and the family well. Of course you lose your family. You just create that distance. You have a long distance and you have a long life. But remember, after work there is the family. And the family is the backbone of life. So you can't drive in business. You can't drive in ministry without a family. So to them that are just married to their work. Please, it's the high time you balance that too. Your family means you. You are kids, your wife. If you are a nince you, know how to balance. Right. Speaking about how to balance. Let's look at a couple of myths about work like balance. And what we should do instead. So this is the time we are looking at the myths. So I will go through some of them. And then you will explain further. And you tell us why it is a myth. Alright. So let's start off with what we have been mentioning. From the time we started this conversation. Which is the work of life balance. So here is the first myth apparently. That it's actually about achieving balance. When it comes to work. And I don't know if we started this conversation. I had mentioned that I feel like, especially those who have interacted with most of the entrepreneurs young in that matter. And they are always not being able to just balance the aspect of work and life. They are always working on the go. Even if they go home. Because now technology, you can reply to an email through your phone. So is it possible to achieve that balance? It is very possible. When you realize what is in it. Of you? It is very possible. Yeah. But the fact that your work can bleed into your life. You can be at home. But you have a client to meet. That you have to actually even meet this client so that a deal can go through. I'm back at home. And there is ease of technology. So is it possible? It is very possible. Very possible. In fact, at some time you will be able to understand. But you only need to make your customer know the truth. And understand. Let them all understand. And right now we don't have to meet physically. If it is all about the documents I will scan for you. Sign, then scan back to me. Zoom meetings. Zoom meetings. Everything is easy. The technology has made it easy for us. You know? Physical meetings. Okay. Not necessarily. Okay. Here it is. Meet number two. That life needs to be compartmentalized. Which says, another myth is that we need to compartmentalize life. For some of us that means an even 50-50 split. Where we spend half of our time at work. And the other at home. So for others, it's dividing our days into eight, eight, eight hour blocks. Again. Oh wow. What is the matter? You sleep. Sleep eight hours. And then eight hours work. Okay. That is your work. And then the other eight hours, leisure time. Friends. Family. Let's go for vacation. Pasi kuna eight time. Ten or two. Yeah. You have. You're chasing the bug. You're looking for the money. You have to cut down on your time frame of eight hours where you're probably sleeping. Even the eight hours that you're supposed to spend with family and friends. And you're thinking, by the way, if this deal works, things are going to go well. I'm going to take a vacation and we're going to spend quality time with my family and friends. Up and compensate. So is it that we work with this analogy that is just 50-50? Or do we work with what works best for us and also priorities? No. I think the analogy might be maybe right to some people. But I prefer that we work with what works best for you. Not for me, but for you. Yeah. Are you achieve the maximum results? Yes. Do you believe that we can have it all? Ah, it depends. Not really. But the contentment is the key. Yeah. You can't have it all. All right. The other myth is here. They say time management is the answer. So here it is. I'm all for the time management. Okay. So at the same time, it's an outdated concept. Most of the time management techniques we put on at a pedestal were created before we were connected to 24-7. So I wish I could completely unplug to free me of destruction or unwind. So the reality is that as a business owner, something I was talking about, I can go completely off the grind. To counter this, you have to be selective with how you spend your time. That means spending your energy on the right actions at the right time. Very true. Spending your energy on the right actions at the right time. That's the key. You need to choose that. Okay. It's more of time management than maybe spending your time well. Because when you manage your time, you know at this time I need to do this. As I began by saying you need to position yourself right in any field. If maximum results won't be available. Therefore, what I mean is that spending your time well maybe priorities will help you to achieve in life. Priorities. You fall back to priorities. What matters to you? What matters to you? Because what matters to you is not what matters to me. Very true. We have to prioritize things. Okay. Let's go to the other myth. The other myth is about work-life balance. It's that the early bird catches the worm. Okay. We've all had this. I wake up at 5.15 a.m. So a lot of successful people do. The idea is that if you're up early, you have more times to get things done. As a result, you'll have more time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. But that doesn't work for everyone. Some people are more productive at night. Also, whether you realize it or not, you're adding more work hours to your day. Yeah. I'm to that. 100%. 100%. Because most of the time, I work at 6. Yeah. I work at 6 p.m. So I work at 5 p.m. Every day. Every other day. And then there's also aspect here. Also realizing what works for you again. Because there are people who are about waking up early. They're not morning persons, morning people. They're people working at late hours. So I feel like it's understanding where you belong. Because you can wake up in the morning, very early in the morning, and still do nothing. Very true. So it's just realizing, you don't have to go to work early. That's the thing. Okay. Again, because being lazy, nothing can come along your way when you become lazy. Even the Bible says, if you don't work, don't eat. So you cannot just sleep and expect work to be done. You've got to wake up early and do something for yourself. Okay. All right. Let's look into another myth when it comes to work-life balance. So we have, you never have to work during off hours. So perhaps the leading argument for work-life balance is that you never have to work during off hours. Okay. So entrepreneurs don't always have that luxury. Wow. Those people got, most of them got vacations. They don't just have leisure time because even meeting them, you know, I have several of them as business partners. You don't just find them. They are just rare materials to find because their shame users are always fixed, very busy. And therefore, it depends. It really depends with your priorities also. All right. So we have people who always want to schedule everything. Okay. So here's another myth when it comes to work-life balance. They say that everything has to be scheduled. So essential tasks and appointment always go into my calendar. But that doesn't mean you have to schedule your entire life literally. It's unrealistic and adds more stress to your already hectic life. And here's what they say that. So when you're trying to organize yourself, putting everything on the calendar, don't overdo it. Live blank space so that you can grab coffee with family and friends. But then another article of research when it comes to work-life balance. Yeah, at some point, I'm just happy that you've put it because you need to plan your tomorrow before it begins. What I'm doing today, I didn't wake up and just find myself here. It was a schedule. And after this, I know where I'm going, what I need to do. And therefore, scheduling events in life is very important. Know what you want to do. Just have that program. Tomorrow I need to wake up at this time, pray, ring the one of God, do this and that and that. And make sure you achieve. Don't just shed you. Just achieve. Make sure you do one thing at a time. If you have a tic, when you do that, tic so that you know what you haven't achieved for the day. That one will bring fantastic results. Great. So, this is schedule. The important things. The things that matters to you for that day. Okay. Great. So, those are the myths. You can actually find them on our research. The research is from an article from entrepreneurs.com when it comes to work-life balance. And is it possible or is it you have to just integrate your personal life and which your work and we appreciate that a lot. So, let's move on to another space as we wind up. I'd like to find out what keeps you sane and grounded. Yes. What keeps you sane and grounded in the midst of everything that you do? Oh, that is my calling. That is who I am in the Lord. My life purpose. It keeps me on the ground. And the story of the two women in the Bible also keeps me changed every day. This is Deborah Engile in the book of Judges. Judges chapter 4 and 5 will meet these two ladies who are very strong during the time of Israel. And you find that they did what women could not do. They did extraordinary things. So whenever I read about these two women and another woman also called Zipporah, I remember Zipporah circumcised the sun to save the life of the husband, Moses. So Zipporah couldn't do something that a woman was not supposed to do. And when you read these stories, they put you in a position and they just tell you that you are able, you are equally capable to do extra things that other women are not doing. So the stories in the Bible concerning these specific women who are in charge and I find them extraordinary. Every day I feel like Helen you need to do something that you have never done. Every day of my life I always long to do something that I have never done. I have to appear somewhere in the books of Chronicles, somewhere. Oh yes, before Jesus comes I have to do something. That my generation will be reading. Fantastic. So how can people reach out to you if they want to keep this conversation going? If they want to know about Pasta Helen, if they want to understand more about work-life balance, how can they reach out to you? You can reach out to me via my phone number, direct contact 0716 0716 586 445 I repeat again 0716 586 445 Pasta Helen. Oreos you can just visit us every Wednesday and every Sunday at Jesus Victory Center Kawangware just opposite Kawangware primary. When you are just there give me a call and we will worship going together. Number three, you can reach out to me at Alohita Street, Upsa Plaza 11th floor. Alohita Street, Upsa Plaza 11th floor, CBD. Alright, thank you very much Pasta Helen for creating time to be with us. Thank you. For helping us, you know, dissect in this discussion when it comes to work-life balance, we appreciate that. Before we wind up, I want to talk to a woman who is watching or even listening to us. Please do, please do. Country, don't throw in towels. You are equally capable to do supernatural things. There is an untapped strength of a woman that they learned as depositant in your life. There is time that you just take responsibility, just raise up, just see mama to marry you. Then you take up your own life, come and be one of the four lepers who are living. If we sit here, we will die. But if we move, the Lord abbreviate their steps. So, erase your time, just rise as a woman. You can do extraordinary things. Cheers. As you're doing extraordinary things like you. Yes. What's the new jump that you have? Because you're also an artist. I don't know how we moved on that. I also do music. Yes. I got two albums and maybe next time. Yes. You will come and launch your next. You have to launch your next song here. If you feel that you need to reach out to me, I have a good stuff to tell you. To give to you for free. You don't have to pay anything for free. Just call me, just reach out to me and we shall come back here to celebrate the power of our man. Number 0716-586-445 0716-586-445 Thank you very much, Pastor Helen, for coming through and having this discussion on work-life balance. We appreciate you. Alright, so that is Pastor Helen Juru from Jesus Victory Center. We were looking at most definitely how to balance work and your life because it's important. So it is possible to have a successful professional career and a fulfilling personal life as we have had from this conversation. And this is, we have come to the end of Strength of a Woman. I hope that you have learnt a couple of things and on how to maintain that balance. At Y244 Channel, you can find us across all our social media handles. At Michelle Ashira, you can find me across all my social. Kaisi is already in the building. He is coming through with gas stock. So make sure you stay tuned.