YOU WILL PISS A LOT OF PEOPLE OFF WHEN YOU START DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU

I made a decision last December that I was taking 2 entire weeks OFF to spend with my family for winter break. It’s the first time since I became an entrepreneur in 2006 that I ever took 2 weeks off for myself. And boy did it PISS PEOPLE OFF … I couldn’t believe how much push back I got … how many clients expected me to work anyway … how SHOCKED people seemed. Today I was scrolling through FB and I saw a graphic that said:

YOU ARE GONNA PISS A LOT OF PEOPLE OFF WHEN YOU START DOING WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU.

I realized that we, as business owners, are trained to put OURSELVES last … and if there are ever times when we do CHOOSE ourselves first, clients may be furious with us … and that it’s acceptable at that!

I am the first person to be upfront and honest with this statement:

I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO ANSWER EVERY EMAIL AND I WILL NEVER BE CREATIVELY AWESOME ALL THE TIME

To do ^^ that isn’t realistic, nor even possible - and I have had to work very hard to accept that I’m going to make people furious with me - and beyond that, I have had to accept that I have to be ok with the fact that people are going to be pissed at me. Now, could I answer every email?? Sure. I could. If I didn’t care about my own health, well-being, family, or my life - I could sit from morning until night and answer emails. It’s something I could do - but, I choose to do what is BEST for me - and one of those things is realizing that emails, like laundry, will keep piling up and when I answer two emails - four more will pop into my inbox.

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT TO SAVE YOUR SANITY?

Every business owner has a thing or things that will never always get done perfectly - something they have to ‘sacrifice’ for the sake of what is BEST for them - and that ‘thing’ changes depending on what time of year it is - what life looks like - what’s happening at home - it’s the constant CHOICE of: being a business owner or being a PERSON who has life happen to them.

To my knowledge, we do this once. We live a life that hopefully has lots of love in it - that makes us smile more than we frown - that is filled with amazing people who inspire us to grow and who motivate us to keep being badasses. To live a life where we live in fear of pissing people off - even if they are clients - isn’t the life I choose.

NOW, WILL I ALWAYS TRY MY BEST??

Duh, of course. I’m not here saying: pshh, just do whatever you want! Who cares! Seize the day! Work can wait! … what I am saying is if you are getting to the point of NEEDING a break … time away from work … if you are feeling the anxiety attack you from all angles and you’re starting to feel broken: TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF. Take care of yourself … do what’s BEST for you … because in the end your clients will actually suffer more if you are barely hanging on because you need a few days for some rest and relaxation, but refuse to take them out of guilt or fear.

XO~ Heather