I wanted to share with you an interesting observation I had during my trip to Japan about managing stress in business, and feeling the pressure and exhaustion when you are running your own clinic or business.
I was walking up to the top of the mountain to visit an ancient shrine and had an amazing moment of clarity.
We took the cable car to get to the top faster. At least that is what I had in mind. Little did I know that the cable cars didn’t go all the way to the top. When I saw that there was another 45 minutes walk to where we wanted to go, I was not impressed.
We were only about 50 meters from the top and my muscles were burning and cramping and I felt like I’ve had enough.
This is when my gorgeous husband reminded me that I can sit there and be happy with what I have achieved or go just a little bit further and experience something I haven’t before.
I felt the pressure from these words.
I had to make a choice of whether or not I’m willing to give that extra 10% after I have already given 90%.
I decided that I will go that extra 10% and went all the way to the top. And what a sight it was!
I got to see the ancient fire the monks there have been maintaining for over 1200 years. I wondered what it was like for the first ever person to walk up that hill. I wrote on a candle and spoke my intention that I may never forget what that moment felt like.
I wanted to remember that I didn’t give up 50 meters before the finish. Instead of the end, I felt this was a start of something new. This is something I would never have experienced, had I given up at 90% of the journey.
I didn’t put down my burden because I felt I had gone far enough, or further than I had ever been before. I felt that the pressure was on. Stress levels began to rise. Then I started and that’s what lifted the pressure off.
Being in business is much the same.
You might feel that you have done your social media stuff, you have written your blog, you’ve done all your client notes, and you have all the other stuff going on. Yet you still feel a lot of pressure on you. Then other random events start happening to pile even more on. Your stress levels are high, and the feelings of exhaustion are creeping in on you.
At this point, it’s easy to just give up.
My advice on managing stress, exhaustion and pressure in business? Surrender to those moments.
Instead of seeing them as the end, see them as the start. Start by just taking the next step and then the next.
You don’t know what is at the top or on the other side until you make a start. When you are feeling that pressure, when you realise that this is the further you have ever been with something, just be in that moment and stop.
Then start with your next step.
I have experienced this high stress, pressure cooker feeling when I had my Naturopathic clinic. On Thursdays, I would have consults from 7am till 7pm, back to back. I would wake up in the morning already feeling the dread and pressure of the day. I was stressed before leaving the house. That’s not a great feeling to start the day with, and the feelings of pressure and exhaustion only got stronger as the day progressed.
This happened until I started putting in place a process that would make my day flow so much smoother.
When you are always thinking about what you need to do next in your business, it can be overwhelming and stressful.
Remember, all you need to do is just start with the first step.
Write that email. Put that system in place. Talk to that person. Press that Go Live button.
Once you make that first step, the pressure and stress that comes with all those open loops of things being 90% done, lifts off you.
Keep closing those loops one by one, step by step, and you will see things calming down around you.
The feelings of pressure and exhaustion ease, and managing the stress of each day becomes manageable AND you actually get more done!
So, if you know you need help managing stress and pressure of business, do you need to close some open loops? Or do you need a process to help your day flow smoother?
Comment below and let me know :)
Hugs,
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