This past weekend was ah-mazing! Last week, I made a commitment to myself that I was going to take this weekend to completely relax and not even think about work. Hubby and I planned a getaway and we just indulged in it and really freed ourselves. And you know what, girl…it felt so good!
This experience really had me thinking about the awesomeness that takes place when we decide to give ourselves a break and just relax. Literally giving yourself permission to do whatever makes you happy at that moment. If it’s taking a nap, so be it. If it’s going downtown to your favorite restaurant, so be it. If it’s going to the park and having a picnic with your family, so be it.
This type of relaxation is also called self-care. Caring for self is so important if you desire to live a fulfilling life, serve others, and especially own a business. Have you heard the phrase, “if you can’t take care of yourself, it’s harder for you to take care of someone else” (author unknown)! Yup, this is so true. I’ve totally seen evidence of this in my own life. Back in the day when I was stressed with work and never created time for myself, I felt like I had nothing left in me to help someone else. In fact, for a year after quitting my job I ran away from anything that said therapist, counselor, psychologist, or mental health professional. I was too drained and overwhelmed to feel like I could be effective. And the truth is, daily self-care could have changed things up a whole lot.
As you are venturing into fulfilling your desires and creating a lifestyle that you love,make sure you listen to your body and what it needs at that moment. When starting out in business, it’s always a temptation to go hard 24/7 never taking a break. Many people think that in the beginning you have to focus on your business and everything else can fall in the back burner until you feel like “you have made it”.That is a recipe for ~quittation!
Yes, you want to invest time in your new biz, but you also need to make time for all the other important things in your life ~ family, home, date nights, and rest. This simple act will save you time, energy, and the longevity of your business and overall fulfillment. You will start feeling the benefits of having a lifestyle-centered biz way before you even make your first 1k.
Action Step: Make a list of all the important things in your life that give you joy, and schedule them into your daily/weekly/monthly calendar. Some of these things may fall in the category of “daily non-negotiables”; and if they are, make an intentional effort to partake in them even when you have that long to-do list that’s hanging over your head. I believe that a simple 5 minutes of listening to your favorite song can make a huge difference in completing additional tasks.
I hope this has given you a boost in scheduling that long awaited relaxation time you’ve been postponing 🙂
Always and forever,
Nozipho
Verse of the Week: “There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work; just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11
