This is something that I have to keep reminding myself of. As an entrepreneur I have to plan ahead. I am always explaining to my employees how I am working 3 months ahead of them each day. If you’ve read any of my previous posts you will know how often I speak of having a short, medium and long term goal in place and how important it is to stay focused while you work hard towards reaching those milestones. It is important, not only in business, but in all walks of life – if you are determined to achieve results you need to keep your eyes on the prize.
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
In this post, however, I am going to deviate from this slightly and focus more on balance in life. While we always need to push ourselves to climb to those high peaks that we often think we can’t reach, we must also remember that life is about balance and that you need to look after yourself while on the journey towards the destination.
Looking after ourselves and our health
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Recently I started experiencing a strange sensation. It started approximately 3 months ago. I would start feeling dizzy, like I’m floating and “not quite there”. It later started getting worse to the point where I’d feel I am going to pass out. It would come and go, but it became more regular. Long story short, after a visit to the doctor and a few blood tests everything seemed perfectly fine and it turned out to be stress related. This made me realise that, no matter how much I want to reach the goals I’ve put in place and how successful I want my business to be, I have only one life and it depends solely on my health.
If I am working myself into an unhealthy state, how can I be enjoying the journey and will I actually be able to reach my goals?
It is all about balance
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Sure, we live in a fast paced world and it’s not easy to take time off, but it is as important as the air we breathe. We simply have to set aside time for a break every day. A slow walk through the garden or a jog around the block. Time spent with family or reading a book outside.
It’s amazing how refreshed and revitalised you feel the next day if you actually go home at 5 in the afternoon and switch off from work to restore yourself for the next day. I would argue that you will be a lot more productive the next day. You simply must find that balance in your life.
Exercising is about the only shortcut there is
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Some of us simply have to push harder than others, I know this - I am one of them. The only solution you will then have to try and keep the balance in place is to exercise more. Exercising is a great stress reliever. The fitter you are the clearer your mind becomes.
You don’t need to push yourself to the extreme, all you really need is consistency. Find a sport that works for you and stick with it. If you get bored easily find a few sports and alternate between them. Get into a comfortable rhythm. Strike a good balance.
I hope that this post will inspire you to look after yourself. Please don’t wait as long as I did to get to the point where you risk your health before you wake up to the fact that you need to take a break, restructure things in your life and seek balance to even out the stress levels, recuperate your health and enjoy the journey rather than obsess over the destination. Start today.
Stress is a killer, please don’t succumb to it. Control it!
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
As usual, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment below. I’d be happy to help where I can.
Sincerely, @BegToDiffer