Working a hectic schedule is not easy, especially when you’re a woman. Now add the title of CEO to that equation and you’ve got an intense and demanding life. Pat Jerominski, CEO of iCare, knows all too well about being a woman of power and keeping it balanced. iCare is a managed care organization that offers both Medicare and Medicaid insurance benefits for people with disabilities.

Keeping it balanced is important. It’s so important that Pat focuses on it and every six to eight weeks, takes a trip. “I’ll go visit friends or go do something that takes me out of my environment, something that gives me a whole new prospective,” she explained. Going full circle by moving fast in a lot of directions is not uncommon for Pat, but she realizes that she has to still get the peace and relaxation that she needs.

Pat’s hectic day starts at 5am. She spends a lot of her day in meetings and networking, and usually doesn’t get home until after 7pm. With all the things that Pat’s on top of in her life, she admits that her eating habits could use some work. Juggling work and living alone cause this female CEO to eat out more than she’d like to. “When I do cook for myself, it’s a spiritual experience. I spend a lot of time giving thanks and really thinking about the energy I put into the food,” she said. She also confesses that one of her biggest challenges is not getting enough exercise to balance. Working a desk job and going to dinner, lunch or breakfast meetings takes a toll on your eating and exercise habits. “I don’t know who invented that, but quite frankly, that really isn’t the best thing to do – to have a meeting and eat at the same time,” she laughed.

As women, we naturally nurture and care for our families, friends and relatives. So many of us do this so much that we forget to do the same for ourselves. Even though Pat has a life and career with such an intense schedule, she still finds time for herself. Every morning when she wakes up at 5am, she meditates on what she needs to do to love herself, which she admits is very challenging for her. “The challenge of loving yourself to me, that really means taking care of myself,” she said. So when I asked Pat Jerominski for some ‘Girlfriend’ advice for our readers, she had this to say: “Take care of yourself. Women that I know don’t know how to take care of themselves because they love and take care of the world. There’s nothing wrong with taking care of yourself because if you don’t, you can’t take care of the world. So, instead of being an expert at that, turn that expertise onto yourself and the world will be a much better place to live.”

NaMia Moore