When you’re trying to build your dream business, you feel like the only way to get what you want is by working super hard. The reality is, all you get from working super hard and all hours of the day… and weekends and maybe even when you’re asleep, is burnout.
When it’s just you against the world, you can often develop bad habits of treating yourself like a disobedient or lazy employee. Your expectations are so much higher for yourself than they would be if you had someone working for you. You expect yourself to be your marketing manager, your accountant, your account manager, your strategist, your web developer, your photographer etc. etc.
Would you ask someone else to do all those roles and then shout at them for not working hard enough? Probably not.
You need to take breaks and give yourself holidays just like you would if you had employees to look after. A worker that is stressed and depressed is not going to be productive or motivated to succeed in any way shape or form.
Why do we often believe we’re too busy for self-care?
We know, subconsciously, that everything is down to us. The only person that is going to make our dreams happen is us. This means we have to push ourselves to always do better, reach that next goal, dream bigger. And yes, to some degree that is correct, but we also have to make sure we aren’t trying to put from an empty cup. We need to make sure we have the energy, courage, motivation and drive to want to make our dreams happen.
I do tarot readings for solo business owners and one of the most common cards to appear in their spreads is this guy:
Just look at him! He’s carrying so much, working so hard to reach his home in the distance. Everything that he’s decided to carry all at once has meant that he can’t even see what’s in front of him anymore, he’s lost sight of his goal.
The main message of this card is that the weight you’re carrying is the weight you have chosen to carry and you’ve chosen to carry it in this way.
The main cause of this? Impatience. You want to get to the destination as quick as possible so you’re prepared to do whatever it takes. The problem with this is, how is this guy going to feel once he gets to where he’s going? Will he be able to enjoy reaching his goal? Nope, he’ll be burnt out, tired and exhausted. If he takes breaks, appreciates where he is right at that moment, he’ll not only have a more pleasant journey, but he’ll be able to really celebrate once he reaches his goal.
Recommended products for immersing yourself in self-care
How can we break the cycle of being ‘too busy’ for self-care?
If you can schedule your work, your social posts and your meetings, you can schedule your self-care. Make it a priority in your working day, even if that means squeezing in 10-minutes of meditation at lunch.
Something that I’ve found that really helps me to force myself to take a break, is by setting myself strict working and no-work hours. From 9am-5pm I sit down and I work through my to-do list, but once 5pm rolls around, it’s time to log off, go eat and do something that I love.
I also make sure to give myself an hour for lunch where I don’t have to be productive or even think about work. That’s another thing to highlight, just because you’re away from your desk or work station, if your mind is still thinking about work, you’re still working. Remember that it’s your mind that needs the biggest break, so be mindful of where your thoughts are during your non-work time.
Sometimes we don’t even realise that we’re not making time for ourselves because we’re so caught up in the hard work we’re doing. So, if you feel like you’re unmotivated, frustrated or ready to give up on what you’re working on, it might be time for a tarot reading.
Why? Because tarot reading can help you see the bigger picture. It can help you realise what your conscious and subconscious goals are, what approach you’re currently taking and which approach would be best to adopt in order to move forward in a more positive way. Sometimes we need a bit of help to open our eyes and help us see things for how they really are.
