Over the past seven years of being self-employed this time around I've become known as someone who is a real doer. So much so that my business coach has been constantly amazed at just how quickly I get things done. One minute I'm talking about a new idea and the next, I've implemented it. That is, until this year.
Being a creative and a real ideas person, there is always another concept I can dream up. This of course has meant that I've been extremely busy all of the time. What it has also meant is that I have burned out, more than once. Taking care of myself was definitely not a high priority. As a driven entrepreneur with big goals, I've always been head down. No stranger to working long, long hours, I'd be up at the crack of dawn, with easily 2-3 hours of work completed before most people arrive at the office. For the last couple of years I have been thinking about slowing down. Overdoing it has definitely been a bad habit and after almost having a breakdown at end of 2019, I knew had to make changes. But I had no idea how I would do that. It seemed really foreign to me to take things one step at a time. I actually couldn't pace myself, but I had to learn, and fast. The alternative was that I could have ended up with serious health issues. With health as my motivator, I started to think about what changes I could make that would give me time and space. I started to think carefully about how I spent my time. And, I started to put myself first. A brand new way of being, it was very difficult at first to not be constantly doing. At first I actually had to make very conscious decisions about what I did when. For the first time, I had to pace myself and do things in my business bit by bit. It took me many months to feel comfortable doing things in this new way but I'm delighted to say that it's now become my new normal. In re-launching this business, I'm doing one thing at a time. I'm not rushing. I'm not working crazy hours. I'm not running myself into the ground. And, it feels wonderful. Being kind to myself has been key. To be honest, I didn't think I would be able to achieve this kind of balance, but I have. Tell me, what have you learned to do differently in your life? Until next time,
