As with any business, stress is part of the package, so it’s important to fortify against its potentially negative effects. Of course you can’t make the stress of your job disappear, but you can manage your response so it doesn’t make you sick.
I used to have a couple of retail stores — a stationery shop and a few coffee bars. Not long after I opened my second location, I can remember sitting on the vinyl table at my doctor’s office, his cold stethoscope picking up the heart issue I had been trying to ignore for months. Before that day, I had cancelled appointment after appointment – I mean, who has the time to go see the doctor when you’ve got business to tend to?
The combination of chronic stress and bad lifestyle choices had finally taken its toll, forcing a fast change in my priorities. But to be honest, I didn’t want to slow down. I knew I was burning the candle at both ends, but I didn’t want to change. I didn’t think I could afford to change – when actually I couldn’t afford not to.
I also didn’t think I had time to follow my doctor’s advice – to walk more, to do yoga, cook a healthy meal, pack a salad, etc. Instead, I was fueled by fast food, coffee and chocolate, frustrated by health goals not met and exercise classes missed. Not long after, I ended up in the emergency room with another scare. That’s when I made the personal commitment to take better care of myself.
That shift in priorities made everything better. My sugar-induced brain fog lifted. My energy was higher. My mood was brighter. Both my business and relationships flourished.
You are the most important tool in your business. Your health is your most valuable asset; your brain and body the most important equipment. So while you have rules in place to schedule things like routine maintenance on things like your car or your equipment investments, what are you doing to take care of you?
According to the Mayo Clinic, feeling like you’re being threatened causes your adrenal glands to pump hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. When you feel like you’re under attack all the time, you get overexposed to those hormones and it disrupts almost all of your body’s processes.
If you wonder why you gain more weight when you’re stressed out, it’s because cortisol increases sugars in the bloodstream, lowers your immune responses and suppresses the digestive system. At the same time, adrenaline increases your heart rate and elevates your blood pressure.
In other words, when you let the stress get to you, the stress can actually get to you.
Health isn’t limited to just the physical. It also includes making time for activities to feed your soul – spiritually, mentally and emotionally – giving you a sense of balance in your busyness.
The better you feel, the better you perform. And your performance in your role directly impacts the success of your business and the families of the people you employ.
I used to think that my career would be best when I was completely absorbed by it – and for me that meant 24/7/365. (I was completely wrong, but we’ll get to that later). As an owner, employer and mom, I was the glue that held together the lives of those around me. I would take care of my customers, my team, my family – but I couldn’t seem to find the motivation to take care of myself. As a result, my own health quietly deteriorated.
Moral of the story: You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of those around you. That includes fueling yourself with wholesome foods, getting enough rest, and nourishing your soul with what matters most to you in your life, with those things that bring you joy. Add self-care to your to-do list. You’ll live to NOT regret it.
