On honoring your energy as a small business owner
When you want to judge yourself for moving slowly, read this...
As someone who has been chronically overscheduled for the better half of my life, I’m finally learning that when I don’t honor my energy and try to push through, it actually hurts me more than it helps me.
Not overscheduling oneself sounds so easy to do, right? Wrong. There are years of programming I need to rewire. Years of telling myself and learning from society that I have to do more to be more. From working multiple jobs simultaneously as a teenager, throughout college, and into adulthood, I never really learned that it was safe to slow down.
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Slowing down meant I was lazy and unproductive. Maybe I would miss an opportunity or a boost to my bank account if I wasn’t constantly doing.
The other part of me was scared to sit with myself. To be bored or let myself chill in the liminal space was wildly uncomfortable for me, even into my 30’s.
As someone who teaches slowing down for a living, I realized I need to embody that energy in my own life.
But last night, my good old friend guilt started to creep in again because my social/networking calendar was a little bit fuller than my time allotted for “real” work this week. I reverted to some old thought patterns that sounded something like this: “I’m not being serious enough about my business” or “I guess I’m not that ambitious after all”. Those thoughts could have spiraled into a dark place, but this time I chose differently.
I had a few reframes that really helped me honor my current energy and stop me from anymore negative self-talk.
Old belief: If I’m not producing, I’m falling behind.
Reframe: My worth and my future are not determined by my output today.
Old belief: Downtime means I should be doing more.
Reframe: Downtime is evidence that I’ve designed a life with space, not a problem to solve.
Old belief: I left a steady paycheck, so I need to prove this was worth it.
Reframe: I didn’t leave safety to create pressure. I left it to build sustainability and flow.
And I think the hardest thing for me about building a business with intention and trust is being gentle with myself when my energy is low.
I’m practicing that grace almost everyday and remembering that just because I may not be exactly where I want to be (YET), I’m still making progress towards my goals everyday even if I can’t see it.
I created a few mantras to give myself permission to close out and honor my day even if it feels like I didn’t do “enough”.
I’ve already done what I could today. Resting now supports an energized me tomorrow.
I’m allowed to pause without abandoning my financial goals.
I don’t need to earn rest. My body is part of my business.
My devotion to my work is proven over time, not by tonight’s to-do list.
Rest is part of the life I’m creating.
After taking time to relax and journal all my thoughts about that last night, I felt so much more productive and energized today which led to doing some of my most exciting and joyful work all week! Which proves my theory that when we let ourselves rest, we do much more meaningful work on the other side.
So if you’re also judging yourself for moving more slowly than you’d like, remember that some days will be full, energizing, and productive, while others will be slower and require more rest.
If we don’t honor our body’s rhythm today, we will most certainly be unavailable for the really amazing things that await us on the other side.
You are worthy of building wealth and abundance without sacrificing your nervous system.
xoxo, Ashley