Have you ever thought, “maybe I just need to to cut myself some slack?”
Last Thursday I had scheduled myself to attend an early morning networking event. When 6 a.m. came and my alarm went off, I lay in bed noticing how tired I felt, and I envisioned myself getting up and getting dressed, driving across town to meet a few people who could be potential clients. Now, thinking about the potential clients whose lives will never be the same because they met me thrills me to no end, most of the time. The ripple effect of the difference I know I make truly does get me out of bed. Most days.
But last week, as lay there, I chose the following mantra: “Pressing snooze is the most powerful business building activity I can do today.” I repeated it in my mind as I fell back to sleep. It was great!
As a recovering engineer and overachiever, I have a long history of defaulting to the idea that my worth is based on what I achieve, and how “right” I do things. Now, I’ve given that up, mostly, to be in business… I would much rather make a difference than be right, and those things are often mutually exclusive. However, sometimes the superwoman inme kicks in, and I begin overachieving – accidentally and for the wrong reasons. I get so excited about what I’m creating, then I forgot why I created it and become simply driven to “do more, be more.” I am here to tell you this never works. In times like this, the best thing you can do for your business is to “press snooze.”
Many of my clients are also smart, driven, high achieving, perfectionistic people who love to be hard on themselves as well. We all know you can’t press snooze every day and still put yourself out there and have your message be heard. There are times when “self care” is a convenient disguise for fear. And then there are times for honoring your truth, your body, your spirit, your joy.
Giving yourself time to replenish can honestly be THE most powerful thing you can do to grow your business. I always come out of one of these quiet and reflective times with new ideas, new intentions, and a surge of new energy. (Not to mention, if you are out meeting people when you’re feeling tired or resentful, they don’t get the best version of you either, which can actually hurt in the long term.)
Full disclosure, my resting went beyond Thursday morning’s snooze button. I went out, I watched movies and 2 seasons of a TV show, I played wii, and I even worked on a puzzle since then. And through that time I gifted myself, I created a new energy to live in, by intention, for awhile — “Simple and Fun.” I’m smiling as I write this. Smiling for me, and the fun I’ve already had with it, and smiling for my clients and my business that gets to built within that framework in 2011.
What can you press snooze on this month to allow your Intuitive Genius to emerge?
OK, it seems simple and fun to also let you know that I can help you with this… click here to learn more about that.