Last night I hung out with a bestie swimming lengths underwater at the pool and riffing on life whilst hanging out in the sauna. It was a perfect Saturday night. I woke up this morning at 7 am and jumped online to check the tides and the weather forecast to see whether I could sneak in a SUP today.
My kinda weekend.
Over the last couple of days, I’ve been thinking a lot about the things we do that make us feel more like ourselves. It seems crazy that anyone would ever do anything that leaves them feeling less like themselves, but sadly, it’s way more common than you think.
Here’s the crazy thing. It happens a LOT in entrepreneurship. We get so caught up looking at what everyone else is doing and trying to keep up, that we can end up running a business that doesn’t feel like our own.
I witnessed this recently with a client who realised one day as we were talking, that actually, she was walking down a path that she didn’t even want to be on. She had just assumed it was the only way to go. Thankfully we were able to delve a little deeper (and take a massive detour) and she’s now building a business that aligns with the work she really wants to do, in a way she really wants to do it.
Here’s what I’m learning (yep, it’s a constant process).
Every single day you make choices. From tiny, seemingly insignificant choices (like, which pair of socks you should wear) to the stuff that feels pretty important (whether you go train at the gym today), all the way to the big stuff (saying yes to a new project/client).
Every individual choice is either taking you closer to being your authentic self, (and therefore fulfilling your potential) or pulling you away from it.
I LOVE this quote from J.K. Rowling:
It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
I can look back at every big decision I’ve made in business and can see clearly the two categories they fall into. Those decisions that were based on gut instinct, values & intuition (this feels right, this feels like me) and those that were not. I’m pretty sure you can imagine which category created awesome momentum & success and which led to some pretty devastating mistakes!
Hindsight’s a bitch huh? Well, only if you don’t learn the lesson.
So, my challenge to you this week is this. Become mindful of the decisions you make. Even the small ones. Ask yourself, is this bringing me closer to who I am and who I want to be, or is it pulling me away?