I saw a post on Instagram today that defined an entrepreneur as a crazy person who is dedicated to pursuing their dreams.
I’ll admit that at times entrepreneurship is darn right crazy. Some days you feel you are on top of the world. You are working with ideal clients, connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, sharing your message, and having an impact. Other days, you are wondering why the heck you decided to do this and convince yourself that just having a job would be so much easier.
It is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. You are in charge of you and your business, whether you feel like it or not. And there are definitely days when you really don’t feel like it.
Sometimes you will see this as a sign to check in to see what’s off. Other times, you’ll just want to hide and wish it would all go away. Every time, you get to choose. Curiosity or criticism? Kind introspection or critical denunciation?
You won’t always choose the high road. There are times when you will choose to beat yourself up, wonder what the heck is wrong with you, why isn’t this working, why you aren’t progressing and swim in frustration and overwhelm.
Other days, you may choose, somehow, to trust it is all working out and that maybe loosening your choke hold on your business would actually allow it to breathe a little. You’ll remember other times in your life when you were obsessed with something and remind yourself that when you let it go, it thrived. Your obsession was taking the life out of it (and making you crazy at the same time).
When you stopped worrying about it, found something that caught your attention and made you feel good, it developed on its own.
It’s like planting a garden. You can’t plant a seed and then stand out there incessantly demanding the plant to grow. You tend it to and water it, but you trust it will grow in its right time. If you worry about it, overwater it, over tend to it, you kill it.
The same is true for your business. You have to take care of it (and take care of you as well), but you have also let it go. You have to trust you are doing the work necessary to grow your business and then you need to go do something else. Something that lights you up that is unrelated to your business.
When I stopped obsessing about my weight, my body found its best natural state of being. When I stopped worrying about whether I would find the right partner for me, he came along.
I came to peace with my body and with being single. I filled myself and my days with meaningful work, supportive friendships, and activities I enjoyed. I stopped striving. I settled into being me and being ok right where I was.
When you come to this place of self-acceptance, that’s when everything changes. You are open to receiving instead of giving off the energy of desperation. You are no longer looking for something or someone to fill that hole, you fill that hole. You can sit with yourself, with every emotion, in every situation, and you can know you are going to be just fine.
The next time you are on the rollercoaster, see if you can allow yourself to enjoy the ride. Ask yourself what you need to learn or what you might be getting from the ride. Bring your curiosity out. Then, as a kid at an amusement park would, go jump on another ride. Engage in another activity, go outside, dance, sing, play, do something that shifts your energy and brings you back to a state of trust. Kids don’t worry if they’ll have fun at an amusement park. They know it’s going to be fun. Drop the worry. Lean into faith. Lead with love. Now, smile and know it is exactly as it is meant to be.
Are you ready to get off the roller coaster and design your own ride? I can help with that.