Push Yourself or Look After Yourself?

The eternal question: Should I be working harder or actually slowing down a little? I struggle to find this balance in my business a lot which is why I’m writing this post right now.

If I listen to one part of my soul it strongly says – push harder, work more…

There’s a creepy voice ‘If you really wanted it you’d work harder for it…’

If you’re picturing twin girls in a horror movie saying that to me, you’d be bang on with the voice in my head.

A voice I struggle against.

It doesn’t help that half the internet seems to feel the same.

Endless posts about ‘You’ve gotta hustle’ only add fuel to the fire.

And for years I followed that thinking to my doom.

On a never ending circle of work hard, get sick, stop, burn out, take time off and start it all over again.

After 2 years of a particularly harsh cycle with my business, I looked up and realised that most of my friends were gone, I didn’t have a single hobby and I barely had time for my husband.

Even as I write this I feel like I should maybe edit the words so it’s not so shameful.

Yes, my business had moved forward in leaps and bounds, but I wasn’t at that magical moment when I could work less hours or simply just do less.

In fact, if I took any time off, clients would be missing something or the impact would be felt.

I got some perspective from someone outside of my circle.

Business is a long game of small steps done consistently over time.

If it is indeed a slower process than many would have you think (the old I’ll transform your business in 6 weeks BS comes to mind)

Then should you be miserable through it?

Surely, if you’re miserably hustling through your life & business, people (potential clients) will pick up on that energy and be repelled by it?

I know once I started employing people to work with me and I actively slowed down, my income increased.

So maybe there’s something to that idea.

Yet, constantly, I have to reinforce my new slowly does it approach.

Those old ways keep creeping up on me.

So where do you fall on the work harder vs slow and steady wins the race? Do you struggle with this in your business?

Send me a DM over on Instagram and let’s see if I can help!