Common Question: How do you balance taking care of your business and the people who matter to you?
The short answer –
1. I make sure I take care of myself first.
2. I contribute to others when I can AND do it with a grateful and open heart.
3. I have created amazing support structures.
The longer answer is –
From about 8, I was busy taking care of everyone but me. It only got more pronounced the older I got. In my 20’s, I supported a bunch of people and NEVER asked for help.
Then, there was a transformation. An emotional, mental, physical and spiritual leap from the reality of “I can do it all on my own” to “I love being supported”. It was not an overnight change and there was definitely some resistance. In the process, I uncovered a whole bunch of juicy lies I had told myself for years. Here are some of the things I told myself, “It is easier and more efficient to rely on me. I don’t want to be needy. Taking care of others is more important than taking care of me. It is less embarrassing when I mess up or fail if I am on my own.”
But one day I saw a video of an older couple dancing at a festival. They had a gleam in their eye and dance moves in their steps. But, if you took a closer look, you could see that they were helping one another through the process. One hand pulling the other, a push to move the twirl, a grab to ease unsteadiness. I don’t know if it is because I love to dance or if I was just searching for something else … another way to do life … but I thought that maybe finding help, support and structure could enhance my life, not ruin it.
Once I made that determination … that jump, I have not ever looked back. My support structure, or dream team as I like to call them, includes an accountability buddy, writing buddy, two coaches (health and money mindset/business), fellow entrepreneurs who I can call on when I get stuck, friends and family and my husband who is endlessly supportive.
My life didn’t suck when I was doing it all on my own, but holy crap when I was in breakdown it felt hard and lonely. It took recognizing limiting beliefs and healing past crap to let people in and actually enjoy being supported.
At times it was scary and confusing. But as I followed my intuition to find the people who are supporting me now, life has gotten Awe-Inspiring, a whole heck of lot more fun, and filled with ease that I didn’t know possible.
Do you have a dream team?
Could you create one?
In what ways could you or do you allow others to support you?
Take the leap … it is worth it!