On Slowing down
If you know me, you may know how I found myself here, starting my own business in the middle of a global pandemic. For those of you who are new here, let me fill you in…
I recently left my job at a nonprofit agency after reaching a point of personal and professional burnout I hope to never reach again. To make a long story short: I was working too much and not afforded the time I needed to recharge. My personal wellbeing was suffering because of it. I mean, I voluntarily quit my job, with no solid plan, in the middle of a global pandemic, amidst record rates of unemployment. So yeah. It was pretty bad.
I made this decision to protect my own personal wellbeing, which is great and all, but in the back of my mind I also knew I needed to get back to work in the near future. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does pay the bills.
Given the level of burnout I was experiencing, I was worried it might take awhile to “shake off” how I had been feeling and start fresh. While my business still has a lot of growing and evolving to do, I’ve experienced way more personal healing than I ever expected in two short months. As I reflect on this, I think a huge part of this healing has come from me allowing myself to slow down and rest.
When I decided to start up my own practice, a part of me felt anxious about getting enough clients and reaching the success I’d seen so many others find in this industry. This part of me felt pressured to jump into marketing and building my web presence on social media. I quickly began spending a lot of mental energy thinking about how to do things in the “right” way, and I wondered where I’d find time to keep up with everything.
At the same time, there was another part of me, tugging gently at me, urging me to stop worrying about the business side of things and stop obsessing over the details. This part of me reminded me that I had been “going, going, going” nonstop for so many years, and what I really needed was some rest.
I’m not going to say I’m perfectly evolved and have magically found the right balance of work and rest since quitting my job. However, I will say, showing myself grace and compassion throughout this process has made it a whole lot easier. Some days I work a lot and some days I take really long walks outside instead. I’m starting to see how both are equally important and productive uses of my time.
Many of our lives have changed significantly since the start of the COVID pandemic. Some of us have been forced to slow down, and some of us may feel like we’ve had to speed up as we try to keep up with demands of work and home life all in one space.
This year has been enlightening for me in that it pushed me to an uncomfortable place, which in turn forced me to make an important decision about my future. Ultimately I made the choice to invest in myself and for me, that meant slowing down. I made the leap of faith, trusting that if I did what was right for me as a whole person, the rest of the pieces would fall into place. The pieces aren’t totally in order yet, but I’m starting to see that things are moving in the right direction.
How is your work-life balance?
Are you adequately investing in yourself and your personal wellbeing?
How do you feel about slowing down?
What does it look like for you rest and recover from the daily grind?