Lesson from Getting Knocked Off Center

This last week has been quite interesting.  My business has been growing and very exciting projects are coming to fruition.  My family and I have been preparing for testing for our red belts in tae kwon do and we just came off of a wonderful Easter weekend with family.  Having an emergency kitchen counter top replacement completely knocked me off center.

Here are my lessons learned from the “counter project”.

Lesson 1 – Plan and Mange what you can

The counter project required some over site during business hours which inevitably took time away from my normal business activities.  This was probably the biggest contributor to really knocking me off center.   Because I hired a contractor, I viewed it as their project” so I didn’t schedule in time to manage it nor did I plan to work extra hours during off hours to make up for lost production time in my business.   In hind site, I needed to plan this project as if it were my own and schedule my business activities accordingly.

Lesson 2 – Get over it!

Going without a sink for 9 days was such an interesting experience.  I found myself at the mercy of my little 1/2 bath sink or the upstairs bathtub for running water.  Interestingly enough I kept begrudgingly going to the little sink or even going without because I kept telling myself “just a few more days”.  I realized that I was “suffering through” the situation and quite honestly allowed my frustration with the inconvenience to prevent me from doing the best thing that needed to be done – go to the sink!  I truly needed to accept the situation and just get over it!

Lesson 3 – Self Care

Self neglect is one of the top things many high achievers are prone to.  Sometimes it is because they are habitually putting everyone/everything else first and sometimes it is because they don’t realize how easy self care really is.  During the last week and a half, I have ensured that I got the important and urgent things done AND I also needed a few minutes each day to “relax, relate and release”.  Relax my mind and body of all things that were in a state of flux.  Relate with my friends, family, colleagues so that I could be energized by those who weren’t in the middle of it.  Release from the things that I truly had no influence/impact on.

Every business owner will experience something that can knock them off center – a counter project, a flu, an illness in the family, etc.  The trick is to do the things that bring you back in balance so that  you recover quickly.