“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” — Eleanor Brown
Most Business Owners I have met are ambitious and driven. They push themselves relentlessly to ensure they feed their own families and the families of their employees. They go the extra mile for their customers regardless of what it costs to themselves. They have a passion and energy that burns brightly which inspires everyone around them. They are determined to succeed at any cost and generally have only two speeds. One hundred miles per hour or a dead stop. The dead stop comes when they collapse from exhaustion, or from a mental breakdown, or from a heart attack. Some never recover.
As we are in the midst of the Covid hangover I have noticed how many Business Owners are hanging on by their fingertips. Business has picked up. Client demand is building and yet some of the most self-motivated people I know are struggling to keep going. Many of them are seeking to exit from their businesses either by selling up or walking away. They are just so tired and beaten down from the Covid storm they have had to endure for the past two years.
A long with their loyal staff, they are overworked and overwhelmed. Many local hospitality and retail organisations have had to reduce their operating hours because they don’t have enough experienced staff to cover the shifts. There are huge shortages of professionals such as Accountants and Lawyers and many tradie businesses have so much work but are losing customers because they don’t have the staff resources to do it. Market demand is exceptional but without the human capital these businesses can’t grow. The pressure these Business Owners are under is tremendous.
Asking yourself if you are okay once a year is not enough. You have to ask yourself and your staff on a daily basis, are you okay? If you are not, then please do something about it now, and not when it is already too late. You are a long time dead. If you and your staff do practice consistent self-care then spend that extra energy on seeing how your customers are going and making sure they are looking after themselves. A local business networking group I belong to, demonstrates this point well. They actively check on each other to see how everyone is doing. Each member represents a different business and yet they support each other as if they were family. As a business community that is what we need to do in such tough times.
So I plead with you please be aware of your own health and energy levels. Take regular time out to rest and recuperate. Take time out to exercise and enjoy yourself. Spend quality time with your loved ones. Once you learn to nurture yourself, you are then able to look after the needs of others. If you are sustainable then your business will be sustainable.
