Patricia Holloway on Motherhood, Service, and Self-Care
What does it take to devote your life to serving others without losing yourself in the process?
In this episode of Prevention Pioneers, Patricia Holloway shares her lessons on service, motherhood, and self-care, and what it means to make an impact.
Patricia Holloway has always been called to serve. From leading respected institutions to supporting life-changing organizations, Patty believes in showing up for others. She has even been honored as a Dame of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great, one of the highest honors the Pope gives a layperson.
Service doesn’t stop in her community. Patricia is also a dedicated mother to five children, one of whom is Mike Holloway, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Spirence.
In this special episode of Prevention Pioneers, Patricia sits down with Mike to share her most important lessons from a lifetime of giving: that family time is critical, self-worth and self-care keep you going, and that we need to inspire self-confidence in the next generation.
Her story is a testament to the impact one person can have at home, at work, and in their community.
The Tension Between Service and Self-Care
What does it take to devote your life to others without losing your identity? Service has always been second nature to Patricia Holloway. While guiding others in a university setting and raising her children, she poured herself into helping others thrive.
But after the birth of her fourth child, Patricia decided to leave her formal career to dive full-force into motherhood. However, leaving work didn’t stop her drive to help others. Instead, it posed questions that many parents face.
What if parenthood alone doesn’t fulfill your sense of purpose? How can you be a present parent while maintaining your sense of identity?
For many people, a career is an integral part of self-worth. Without a career, keeping a sense of identity outside of parenting is hard, as Patricia recognized. “I needed to somehow immerse myself in their life, but not overtake their life.”
Find out how Patricia maintained her self-worth in the full episode. Her next chapter led to a new question. How does someone who spends all of their time caring for others take care of themselves?
A self-care routine and a deep connection to spirituality, as Patricia shares, can provide a positive foundation. Early mental health support can prevent those who serve from burning out. But a lack of mental health education leaves many unsure of what’s happening to them or how to find help until they reach a breaking point.
Patricia’s belief in early mental health support echoes Spirence’s mission to provide proactive mental health resources for those who serve. We provide the tools they need to build a strong foundation for their mental health or recognize when they need more help and where to find it.
Protecting Connection & Confidence Starts With Families
Being self-assured is vital to Patricia, but how do we build that confidence within ourselves and others?
Servant leadership, the philosophy of serving, supporting, and developing the people you lead rather than prioritizing power over them, is a big part of it. Patricia is a servant leader in her community, but that leadership began by showing up at home.
A key aspect of providing support in families is simple: togetherness. Increased demands, like activity schedules or academic pressure, threaten quality family time. While Sunday used to be a family day, modern activity schedules fracture families.
Patricia calls for a return to togetherness. “I say to all the coaches out there, all the schedulers, change your thought on this. Bring the family back together…Sunday is a family day.”
For those without a close family, a sense of community and support can come from friends or even a workplace. Spirence’s mission closely aligns with Patricia’s drive to build confidence and connection. Our educational resources help leaders and employees learn to create community and confidence.
Redefining Recognition and Support
Patricia has earned one of the greatest honors the Pope grants to a layperson, the full impact of which she shares in the episode. However, she also points out that recognition is just as powerful in its simplest forms.
“There are so many things in life that I have done that people just say a simple thank you or write me a little note, and those things are just as meaningful…those kinds of things mean more than anything, any award.”
Both giving and receiving gratitude can have a massive impact on our mental health. We can have a positive impact on the people we interact with every day by sharing our thanks. As we believe at Spirence, turning that gratitude towards our own lives can also benefit ourselves.
Caring for Others and Caring for Ourselves Go Hand-in-Hand
From the people in our home to those in our community, serving others can have a profound impact. Patricia Holloway is a testament to how far and how deep one person’s circle of influence can go.
But the people who care the most for others also need care. Daily routines, family togetherness, and self-worth have kept Patricia going through decades of motherhood and service.
For some, mental health starts to slip because they don’t know where to turn for help or how to describe what’s happening. That’s where Spirence can help. We provide preventative mental health education that helps people understand themselves and respond to their needs earlier.
Dive deeper into Patricia Holloway’s story of resilience and service in this episode of the Prevention Pioneers mental health podcast.
Do you want to support your employees in navigating the complexities of mental health while serving others? Explore how the Spirence platform can help.
