Is it just me, or every time you come back from a vacation does your whole household get sick? 🤧
Seriously–it must be the world's way of * quickly * bringing me back to reality after a vacation high. Last week I got home from the Florida retreat trip and one by one, we've been dropping like flies. My son with a double ear infection, me with a nasty cold, my daughter with an eye infection, and my partner hanging on by a thread.
Of course, I return from the retreat with loads of work to do, playing lots of catch up to get back into my rhythms and creation modes… but the universe always has other plans, doesn't it?
I'm sure you've experienced those weeks when you had things planned and organized to a T, only for life to get in the way.
That's just the thing though–life will always get in the way.
As entrepreneurs, we have to learn that running a business is a game of ebbs and flows. We have to learn to be the masters of adapting, pivoting, and rearranging.
There will be seasons of immense work, and progress, and planning, and there will be other seasons where it feels like nothing is working how it's supposed to but you'll figure it out regardless.
I remember this same time last year in 2021, I was dealing with my anxiety disorder like I never had before. My business was thriving, and I had basically put myself through the ringer until my body said enough was enough. My anxiety was manifesting in panic attacks multiple times a day, to the point where I felt crippled. I couldn't work, I couldn't sleep much, I couldn't exercise, I felt anxious sitting with my son.
An ER visit later and follow ups with my primary care, they said my anxiety was hitting a peek and I needed to chill. {Chill?! Who me?! I'm chill 😵💫} Anti-anxiety meds, a beta blocker {that's a story for another day}, and an order to see a therapist, all that “thriving" I did in my business basically laughed in my face… because of course, the universe had other plans.
I share that story to say there is never going to be a perfect time to do anything in business. Yes, there is a method to the madness when it comes to planning, and launching, and investing, but what I mean is – there is never a perfect time in life. Life will always be here, doing what it does best. Surprising, delighting, sending us mad. 🥴
The beautiful thing is that you're in control.
You're in control of your responses, your output, your energy. You're in control of how you react to life. You're in control of your business / client relationships. You're in control of your boundaries.
If your business is making you more stressed when life happens, it's time to reevaluate what's going on in business 👇
• Do you have boundaries? (Can you take a day off if you need to?)
• Do you have healthy client relationships? (Can you communicate with clients when shit hits the fan?)
• Do you have steps prepared for those seasons when it's harder to show up? (Content planned, or an assistant to help, or automated systems?)
• And most importantly, can you be real in this business?
I've learned it's so much easier for me to show up in my business and be honest about life {like when my son is cuddled up next to me with a fever} because I've created a culture of honesty and realness in my brand.
Creating that realness gives us the space we need to live, to show up honestly, and to remind our audience that behind this business, just like anyone else, is that we're human, just like them. ❤️
