Business is about balance

Balance. Business is all about balance.

And when we talk about achieving a balance in business, it can mean a great many different things.

You need to balance your personal health and well-being, with the well-being of your business.

You need to balance your need to bring in a daily, weekly or monthly income – with the desire for your business to really mean something – i.e ‘to contribute to a higher purpose’.

You need to balance your workload with your ability to pursue your ideal lifestyle.

You need to balance business deadlines with your families day-to-day needs.

None of this is easy to achieve.

Particularly, when we get caught up in the ‘busyness’ of it all.

It’s a juggling act and a balancing act. One that can feel like you can never actually win.

Sometimes though, you need to simply pause and draw breath.

To take a good solid step back from what you’re doing day to day – and re-evaluate everything you’re doing and where you’re headed.

Both personally and business-wise.

Because otherwise we’re just on that hamster wheel, running and running and running but actually, achieving very little. Going absolutely nowhere.

With a scattered mind and a scattered approach where eventually, you fall in a burnt out heap at a complete loss as to how to move forward or get unstuck.

That’s where I’ve been the last few weeks…

Which is why this week, I’m taking a few days out from the daily ‘hamster wheel’.

Somewhere, with the shock and exhaustion of dealing with a sick pony that came from nowhere – plus the constant grind of young kids and trying to grow a business – I got a little burnt out.

I lost my enthusiasm for my work a little and just felt ‘meh’.

And I also didn’t know where to focus my energies (or what little energy I had) to move my business forward in the right direction.

I was also feeling a little bit liked a caged lion – like many of us down here in Victoria, we’ve been going through more Covid-19 restrictions, and had kids home 24/7 with little respite.

And as much as I love where we live and I really appreciate that we have such incredible freedom to roam and explore across our 70 acres – which is way more than what many people have had to deal with in Melbourne with lock-downs – I still felt stale. Disconnected almost.

Which is why, the second restrictions eased in regional Victoria last week, I booked our little family a mini-holiday.

To remove us all from that daily grind and our normal routines and allow us all to find a little bit of space.

To do something different.

Be somewhere different.

Gain perspective.

Have a little fun.

And already, within 24 hours, I’m gaining that extra clarity I needed to direct my business where it needs to go.

I’m starting to see things in a different light, simply by being somewhere different.

And my biggest realisation this week?

I have a bad habit of only focusing on the money I want to earn.

And while there’s nothing wrong with that – some of the focus does need to be realistically on the money side of things (let’s be honest and practical here!)…

But I had lost sight a little as to why I’m doing this whole business caper in the first place.

To connect what I do daily to a bigger purpose – a bigger mission.

One that means more to me – but ultimately, means more to my clients.

And so, I’m shifting that balance.

I’m also shifting the balance between what I want to achieve with my business – and the type of lifestyle I want.

Because again – with the weather a little crazy lately, I’ve been neglecting my horse riding and the passions that I love and need to keep me sane and happy.

It’s just so easy to make the excuse that business is too busy – that there’s too much work to do – that you end up neglecting simple things like going for a walk outside, cuddling the horses or hanging with the kids.

And then you see these two – full of adventure and fun – and it reminds you, that life and business is all about balance.

It simply HAS to be about balance.

It’s not about working yourself into the ground at the cost of all else.

But it’s also not about mucking around and neglecting your business either.

It all comes down to balance. Every single time.

Yes – money is important. But so is meaning and contributing to something bigger than you.

Yes – achieving business goals is great – but so is having the ability to take time out for the littler things in life.

The ‘right’ balance might be different for all of us.

But it’s important to keep taking that step back – as often as we can – to make sure we strike the right balance that works best for us.

And if somethings not working – to fix it.

So we look after ourselves and our families WHILE we achieve great things in business.

Because everything becomes far more pleasant, the closer to ‘balanced’ that you can get.