Drop That Old Ball And Chain
By: Karen Pattock
Do you ever feel like you’re a prisoner of your business?
Do you find yourself constantly feeling torn between building your health business and spending time with family and friends? Believe me when I tell you that you’re not alone!
Building a home-based business is not for the faint of heart. It takes tenacity, determination and a vision for the future. There’s a side effect though, that often comes with entrepreneurialism, and its name is GUILT!
I clearly remember where my head was when I first established my home business. I knew I had everything it took to be a success. What surprised the heck out of me was when I started having feelings of guilt that seemed to follow me around wherever I went.
I would feel bad when I was working on my business and I wasn’t spending time with family & friends. I would also feel terrible when I was taking time for myself for much needed down time, therefore, not focusing on my business responsibilities. No matter what I did, that nagging feeling that I should be doing something else other than what I was doing kept following me.
I never doubted my decision to start my own business and I loved every single minute of growing it to a success. I just needed to find a way to combine the two separate worlds I was living in into one cohesive and manageable environment.
I have good news if you can see any part of yourself in the experience I just shared with you. I’ve learned to connect everything in my life so that it compliments and links together as one well-oiled machine.
Let me share a few of the changes that made a difference for me in bringing it all together.
Step one – Create time in your calendar that is specifically designated to your business. Also set specific time aside for yourself, family and friends. If you have designated times that are designed for one specific purpose you’ll feel less guilty about participating in those things at that time.
It’s a great idea to bring family into the decision making process. That way they know that their needs are just as important to you as your business.
Also, when you have a clearly defined calendar your family and friends will know when it is their time with you rather than always feeling like they are competing with your business. It’s a win-win scenario.
Step two – Stop comparing yourself to other people in your industry. This can be so dangerous and self-defeating. It may seem that others in your industry are cruising along and are growing their business by leaps and bounds while you feel like you are standing still. If there is one thing I’ve learned in all of my years in business it’s that appearances may be visually skewed.
I could go on and on about the people I’ve run across in my life that seem like they are perpetually in the MAGIC ZONE! They constantly have 50 new clients, won the lottery and have the best of everything. Just ask them! Of course this is an exaggeration but it’s because I want it to be an absolutely ridiculous scenario. It doesn’t matter if their claims are true. You’re living your life, not theirs.
Remember, where they are in life is much different than where you are. Are they an empty nester? Maybe they work their business 40 hours per week and you only have 15 hours because of other responsibilities. The speed at which you reach your destiny is not the goal… it’s staying focused on your target while taking time to smell the roses along the way.
Step three – Most importantly of the three steps is to let go of the guilt. When you’re working focus on work. When you’re not working focus on whatever you’re doing and who you’re with at the moment.
If you are constantly living in a vortex of feeling like you should be in another place besides the one you’re in, you will create an extremely dysfunctional dynamic for yourself. You’ll begin to feel like a perpetual failure and you certainly don’t want that.
I have used the steps above to create a fulfilling and harmonious life for myself. I believe with all my heart you can do the same by making these few little tweaks to your mindset and schedule.
Now it’s your time to share with me!
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My Facebook page is a classroom and support group all in one place. It’s a great place to get inspiration, share your thoughts and ask questions! Feel free to stop by anytime to say “Hi” or ask me how to resolve a problem you’re having in my business. It’s always my goal to support you 100% of the time.
With love & support,
Karen Pattock
