When I’m in my office, I want to feel on top of things.
I imagine it like I’m rowing across a sparkling blue ocean on a beautiful clear day. There’s a lot happening underneath the surface, but on top, it’s clear, spacious and beautiful, as the boat moves steadily forward.
…Unfortunately, what I often feel is: overwhelmed, squashed in and crowded, like I’m drowning under piles of papers and suffocating amidst the pressure of unfinished tasks.
When it gets this bad, you’ll often find me taking the laptop to the kitchen or the dining room table, to avoid the office altogether!
So, what do you do when your space feels so bad that you’d rather run away than clean it up? (more…)
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As the mother of a beautiful and bubbly toddler, I mostly feel awed and inspired to have my daughter in my life.
But sometimes, when she’s testing my boundaries, pushing my buttons, or just being two… I can get to feeling like she’s just too much. And for a moment, I just want her “away”!
And I have to admit, it’s never a totally comfortable place to be – feeling grumpy, annoyed or disconnected from someone I love so much.
If you love your business – and I think you do – it can be hard to admit that you’re feeling restricted or burdened by it.
…But it sometimes happens, right?
When there’s too much work, not enough time, too many demands, not enough money, or things just aren’t going the way you expected… It’s easy to start feeling frustrated or burdened, wishing it could all just disappear.
Even if you started this business because you love this work, this is the time where you secretly think… “Maybe I should be doing something else…”
The problem is not what you think it is.
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Have you heard that story about the professor who fills a jar first with larger stones, then with pebbles, then sand? There’s various versions of it around on the internet, but here’s one to remind you:
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 5 centimeters in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full?
They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was.
The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognise that this is your life…
“The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
Anon.
The last few weeks have been incredibly intense here. I mentioned a few posts ago that I’m pregnant… And in addition to the usual exhaustion, nausea and constant hunger, I’ve faced the scare of threatened miscarriage, followed by minor surgery to protect the pregnancy, and post-operative migraines as the spinal anaesthetic wore off.
So, um, business… What’s that again?
This week I feel relatively normal for the first time in ages (hooray!)… And I’ve had some moments to reflect on what it all means for me and for Soul Business. To have to grind to a halt for a month or more, then pick up the pieces and re-evaluate.
I’ve learned some powerful lessons for Soul Business. And I suspect they might be helpful for you and your business too… (more…)
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