Coming Out of a Funk

There have been many times in life when I wish a had a personalized road-map and set of directions to follow.  Maybe it’s my personality, or maybe I can blame it on my schooling experience! (ha!)  But sadly, there’s a part of me that likes to be “told what to do.” Times like my freshman year in college when I wanted to know if I should pursue a career in law and politics or not. (I chose not)  Or like when we brought home our first child and were living in the new, unpredictable world of parenthood. (he’s 10 now!)

Now that I think about it, when facing any major life decision or challenge, I would have welcomed an airplane banner’s message in the sky telling me what to do next!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen that airplane banner. And so, left do my own devices, I’ve had to seek out intangible wisdom and direction through friends, my “gut,” reading, and prayer. Inevitably a decision had to be made, or one was made for me by default. There wasn’t a pause button on life that I could hit to give me time to figure everything out. So, often, I had to just make the best decision I could with the information available and “go with it.”

All of that as background to say that the last month or so, I have really tried to push harder on that “pause button,” and had pulled back from some business activity in order to re-assess goals and overall direction. I was wanting some clarity about which products to offer and who my target customer is.

I noticed several things as I did that:

1. It’s easy to “get lost” in a great book. 😉

2. Sometimes fear is disguised as busy-ness.

3. Every situation has its pros and cons, always.

4. It really doesn’t help at all to compare yourself to others.

5. Life is more fulfilling when getting involved with others and trying to make a difference.

6. When you don’t know what to do, don’t stop writing. Use writing to clarify thinking.

And there are some things that I’ve learned that help to get out of that “funky” feeling, whether it has to do with business or just life in general: Play an instrument. Journal. Pray. Do something for someone else. Walk outside. Read about others whose stories can inspire you. Make a small decision and take action. Listen to music. Remember why you started in the first place. Look around at the “good things” and be grateful.

The time spent in reflection was valuable, but in hindsight, I would have done things differently. Nevertheless, I look forward to continuing to growing a business that helps passionate women who have a unique talent, skill or product, and want to grow a business that impacts others’ lives. Not much changed, just an overall renewed commitment.