My name is: Hilary Coles.

I’m known as: Co-founder & VP of product at Hims and Hers.

My expertise is in: Product innovation, brand strategy and health.

I stay physically healthy with: For me, staying physically healthy requires a perfect mix of activities because every day is different. Working out keeps my body fit and my mind sharp. I make a point to go on an outdoor, solo walk once a day to get in touch with myself and remember to breathe. Before my solo walk, I always apply sunscreen to protect my skin and preserve the work my Hers skincare has already put in. I make an effort to drink a lot of water on a daily basis to ensure that I’m always hydrated and ready to go.

I keep my emotions balanced with: I keep my emotions balanced using a few different tactics: The first is calling my sisters and my mom. They live far away and catching up with them always gives me peace of mind. What did we do before Facetime?!

Second, I often repeat this quote to myself: “Comparison is the thief of happiness.” In the age of social media, I constantly need a reminder to focus on my own journey. 

Lastly, smell is very important to me. I’m currently obsessed with Aesop’s room spray. When I come home and want to change my energy, I spray it and can feel myself level out again. 

I’m intellectually stimulated by: I’ve been spending a lot of time learning about bias in the health-care system. American citizens across the country are subject to different levels of care based on skin color, body type, health conditions and more. Realizations like this are shocking and drive me to do better with our team at Hims and Hers. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, I highly recommend reading Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. 

I was recently transformed by: While in Hawaii for a dear friend’s wedding, I visited Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park—sacred ground. Walking around, I saw happy sea turtles and a group of yellow angel fish swimming around, untouched and unperturbed. That same evening, I watched Michelle Williams stand up and use her Emmy-winning speech to demand for respect and compensation for all women across the entertainment industry. It made me think about how important it is to protect yourself and your environment: where you live, who you spend your time with, what you ask for in order to be better (i.e. more help from your partner, more communication at work, making time to work out); but it also made think about how you protect those around you—your employees, your partner, your kids—to be empowered to flourish and succeed. 

In the last six months, the ritual that has become so important for me is: I fill out a Google form for myself daily, logging things like my energy levels, how much water I drank, if I was inspiring, kind, patient, if I felt present in my body and more. Daily self-reflection has enabled me to identify personal priorities and gives me a consistent opportunity to celebrate the good and reflect on what I can work on tomorrow. 

Here’s how you can do it too: Identify personal goals and what matters to you the most, open up a Google doc and create questions around what you think you need to do to achieve those goals. What kind of person do you want to be, and how do you think you can best become that person? 

It helps me live my process because: We live in a society that loves to celebrate “effortless” perfection and instant success, but any truly successful person knows that’s not real—nothing happens overnight. Everyone should read the book, Growth, by Carol Dweck. She explains that your brain loves to get into a routine, but often we have (bad) routines that get in the way. To combat these bad routines, you constantly need to put effort into becoming the type of person you want to be. Self-reflection allows you to do that.

Artwork @filmdecay_

Take a “Moment” to learn more about Hilary Coles’ journey here.