It’s not easy to grow a thriving business when you beat yourself up over every little thing you’ve done wrong or you keep getting caught in negative thoughts.
I know this to be true because I have done it for year after frustrating year. And then, I stumbled into yoga class because of a friend that hooked me with the line, “you won’t believe how hard just holding your arms over your head can be”. Always intrigued by a challenge I agreed to go and I am glad I did because my life changed for the better and so did my business.
Here’s what I learned. Maybe my lessons will help you. I hope they do!
Recommit yourself each day to doing your best.
Before starting any of the yoga asanas the first thing we do in class is go through a breathing exercise. It is during this time that I tell myself to do my best for the next 90 minutes. What ritual can you undertake daily to remind you to do your best?
Categorize your business day by like tasks
In yoga we have two basic series; the standing series and the floor series. Each series has its own set of exercises and is given a specific amount of time. By grouping like tasks together you are able to be more efficient. In business we might categorize our tasks as:
- The calling series
- The writing series
- The selling series
- The errands series
- The social media series
Do your best and let it go
In yoga there are some postures that I can do to their full expression and other postures where I am lucky to even get the set up correct. At the beginning I would get a little ticked and frustrated that I couldn’t do everything perfectly and then finally I heard the teacher say “Do your best and then let it go…it’s done”
And so that’s what I did.
I do my best to stand with my knee locked and then I let it go. I do my best in the triangle pose and then let it go. Sometimes all I can do is stand up straight while everyone else around me does the posture and then let it go.
Sometimes as entrepreneurs we get hung up on what we did do or didn’t do well. When the truth of the matter is that it is gone, that moment is gone. We can learn to do better from it the next time but we can’t hold on tight to it emotionally.
I had to do this recently in business when I sent off a proposal for a $7500 project. I had to prepare the proposal based on my experience and the cost to implement the proposal and then I had to email it and let it go.
When they came back to me saying it was too high I had to breath, listen and then let my emotions go.
The result? I came back with another proposal that will help them to get the job that they want done…done.
In each case I had to do my best and let it go.
Take time to relax and let it all sink in
At the end of every yoga class we lay down and let all of the work that we have just done sink in. The teacher reminds us that this is the most important posture of the day, that it is this asana that will give us the most benefit and prepare us to reenter the “world” outside of the yoga room.
The same premise applies to your business. At the end of the day, you need to acknowledge what you have accomplished and let everything sink in.
Taking the time to do this will make it possible for you to leave the office at the office, making sure that you are 100% available for your family.
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What business lessons have you learned from your hobbies or interests? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
