Canfield BHP Alum Gloria Chan Packer Shares Her Entrepreneurial Journey and Shows Us How to Recalibrate

Gloria Chan Packer Headshot

Canfield BHP alum Gloria Chan Packer, Founder and Principal Advisor of Recalibrate reminds us all that it’s okay to step back, take a deep breath, and get a healthy dose of perspective before recalibrating to tackle our day, especially you go-getters! Recalibrate is a global workplace mental wellness provider, based in Austin, focused on delivering uniquely science-backed education and easy-to-implement tools for busy professionals. We caught up with Gloria to talk about her entrepreneurial journey in the mental wellness space and along the way, discussed what inspired her.

After graduating in 2011 with her degree in Canfield BHP and Finance, Gloria maintained an impressive career in management consulting over eight years at Sense Corp. where she focused on technology strategy and implementation projects across all industries as a Senior Engagement Manager. Then in late 2017, Gloria started struggling with chronic migraines—a malady she didn’t have a problem with before. 

Gloria explained that “they got very bad very quickly, where I was getting weekly migraines that turned into every other day that turned into every day over just a few short months. At the onset, I was trying to figure it out and take care of myself while also trying to very much power through and white-knuckle my way through, but it took those migraines getting really bad for me to force myself to slow down and re-examine my own relationship with stress”, she said.

This was the moment in her career that Gloria realized her body was forcing her to slow down. During that time, she learned more about her relationship with stress and the science behind mental wellness, which is where the concept of Recalibrate began.

“I felt so strongly about these mental wellness topics that I think are shared experiences by a lot of us—from stress to pressure to perform to perfectionism to self-doubt and imposter syndrome —and at that moment, I believed we had to do better for a lot of us high achievers. I felt strongly that if we could normalize the conversation through education in a science-backed way that appealed to analytical minds, that we could turn a stigmatized weakness or fluffiness around mental wellness into a biological conversation of ‘this is how our brains and bodies work’ and ‘this is how you need to take care of yourself’. That was how Recalibrate started back in May of 2018 and it has been growing since then.”

Interestingly, Gloria shared that Recalibrate’s business has been doing quite well and expanding its reach globally—an upside during the time of COVID, she explained. She confessed that at first, she was concerned companies could contract their budgets around benefits and spending due to COVID, which may have had an impact on Recalibrate at the start of the pandemic earlier this year. Fortunately, that was not the case. Gloria explains:

“I’m grateful and in admiration of our clients as companies who are stepping up to help support the mental health of their employees. I feel proud to be partnered with a lot of the organizations that were trailblazing in workplace mental wellness before the pandemic made it a must-do. I also feel proud that Recalibrate adapted to the pandemic by quickly figuring out, ‘What does this mean to go virtual? How do we try to maintain the pieces that differentiate us? How do we keep the quality of services for our clients?’”

A normal day in Gloria’s shoes is always a bit different though she does her best to build in routine throughout the week. Tuesdays to Thursdays are service delivery days, where she leads client workshops, trainings, and one-on-one sessions—while Mondays and Fridays are internal operations, team meetings, and business development days.

“After two years, I have a lot of clients who I get to see every month and even though it’s just 15 or 20 minutes in our one-on-ones, those can be meaningful and powerful. I enjoy witnessing people’s growth and change through the stuff that makes life real.”

As you go about your day, Gloria recommends thinking about the word “sustainability”—what feels sustainable for you in your life and to pursue that. It’s a good question to ask yourself, particularly when you’re feeling like the pace or approach with which you are doing things starts to feel unsustainable.

During current times, Gloria shares this advice for taking care of your mental wellness:

“Know that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for how you need to take care of yourself, especially in times of change or hardship. It’s important to tune in every day and see how you’re feeling. Ask what you need—what would feel nourishing at that moment? Some days, you might feel energized and good—where what you need and what feels nourishing is to tackle your to-do list and feel proud of that. Other days, it might be the opposite—where you need to slow down and rest or maybe find a connection with people or to reach out for a listening ear. The world is so different than before this pandemic hit and because we are all living through a new version of life that’s full of unpredictability, we are feeling this magnification on how little we all control, that’s going to make us feel extra squirmy. I’d offer to remind ourselves that it’s not about controlling it all—it’s about navigating it all. None of us can truly control everything but all of us can truly navigate everything. I would encourage everyone to remember all of those weird, unpredictable curveballs that you have navigated with resilience before and apply that to now. It’s not about having things perfect, immediately, always—because as this year has forced us to remember—that’s not how real life works. Real-life is full-spectrum, from neat to messy. It is in our responses and our resilience where growth and learning occur that make life really meaningful and fulfilling. So when you find yourself antsy or fearful of the unknown, see if you can find comfort in trusting your ability to navigate and respond with resourcefulness and resilience as you always have.”

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