Work Hard(ish), Play Hard(ish)

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How we do anything is how we do everything, right? Therefore, when we work hard (like really hard) we also tend to play equally as hard. 

As I head into creating my seventh business, I’m sharing what I’m doing to purposefully slow down so that I can show up better. If you’re feeling like you’re always firing on all cylinders, but need to make a change too,  you’re in the right spot.

 

I’M SLOWING DOWN TO SPEED UP

 

I’m an “all in or all out” person, so I’ve spent the last 12 years accepting the “work hard, play hard” mentality as just how I was created. But at 38 years old, starting my seventh business, I’m doing things differently.

 

I’m learning that how we recover makes all the difference in how fast we move forward. This time around, I’m balancing how hard I work because I know will dictate how hard I recover; and that recovery will impact how quickly I can move forward. I’ve never done things this way because I always thought I had to be the hardest on myself. And if I weren’t hard on myself, I would lose my edge. In this season, my edge is taking care of myself so that I don’t need to lean completely out. It may feel like I’m moving slower on a day-to-day basis but long-term I know this will allow me to move faster. 

 

This new business is the biggest one yet, with so much to look forward to, but I want to make sure that I’m focusing not just on building the business, but on my own recovery, too. I want you to do the same. The thing is, you simply can’t keep pouring from a cup that’s already empty. You just can’t.

 

Are you ready to try it together? Here are some of the ways I’m slowing down to speed up.

 

TRYING NOT TO BE COMPLETELY OBSESSED

 

What’s the one thing you could do ALL.DAY.LONG? That’s the thing you’re going to have to work hardest at controlling.

 

For me, it’s work; it’s entrepreneurship, it’s building businesses. But at some point, I burnout, and then I have to recover because I’ve pushed myself so hard that there are no other options.

 

PRACTICING WORK/RECOVERY IN ALL AREAS

 

The little changes are the ones that make the most impact. In the past, I’ve tended to go really, really hard in work and working out (re: how we do anything is how we do everything), so I’m making changes to my fitness routines, too.

 

I love riding my Peloton … I could kill myself riding that thing every day of the week, but instead, I’m going all-out 1-2 days a week and then using the rest of the days to move my body in ways that feel good.  When I make time for recovery, I work harder (hey, new PRs!) in my HIIT workouts and they feel so stinkin’ good! My goal is to replicate this feeling in my business.

 

ALLOWING MYSELF TO TAKE IT EASY

 

I’m learning to find the elusive balance between working my ass off and also taking really, really good care of myself in order to supercharge that work. Like with my workouts, I’m leaning in to do my best, most focused work a few days a week and then giving myself a day or two in between to back off. 

 

Your mindset about your recovery matters. You have to allow yourself to take it easy.  If you’re like me, you might think that beating yourself up is what you need/deserve in order to motivate yourself to keep going. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. What we need is to give ourselves (and each other!) love and compassion; time for relaxation, stretching, and meditation; and gentleness. When we’re gentle with ourselves, we don’t have to escape it all in order to recover.

 

What would happen if you chose self-love and compassion instead of going all-out all the time? Would your recoveries be more gentle? Carve out space for yourself … you deserve it and your performance will increase because of it.