The Importance Of Wellness In Business
It is more important now than ever to prioritize well-being while pursuing professional success. The reality is, if we don’t have our health and our energy, we are less likely to make good business decisions.
In ‘Build Your Digital Community’ Episode 33 with Brooke Bailey, a business and wellness coach, we explore the intersection of business and wellness in today’s society, and how important incorporating wellness is to our busy schedules. We also take some time to dive into the different types of wellness and the steps we can take to achieve greater wellness daily.
Taking Stock
As a business owner, we tend to put our businesses first. There often appears to be a direct correlation between the impact of what you are doing and your profit, making it incredibly challenging to turn off.
We typically can recognize where our balance needs some work. Perhaps we need to exercise more or prioritize better sleep. However, implementing these practices can be a challenge in and of itself. This is where having some outside support can help you clarify what it is that you really want and support you in that journey.
Ask yourself clarifying questions like: Why am I working late every night? This will help you to understand the ways you are motivated, along with your own unique patterns and habits. Then, you must move to implement new ways of doing these things by breaking those desired habits down into bite-sized steps.
Influences We Should Be Mindful Of
It is wonderful that, as a society, we are having more discussions about preventing burnout and wellness - much of which was brought to light by the pandemic. Now that we are back in a post-pandemic world, we can feel the speed of society beginning to pick up again. This ultimately affects the way we work and the beliefs we have surrounding work.
If we don’t sit with ourselves to determine what it is we really want, then these influences, rather than our own intentionality, will be the driving force behind our businesses and personal lives.
How To Be Intentional
Culturally, we are constantly in a state of fight or flight. To protect our nervous systems, we must be able to break that spiral of busyness. To do this, Brooke recommends creating some type of a pause.
The things that come up during this pause - the questions, the gut feelings, the inclinations - will inform what you need to focus on. Ask yourself how you can make an action or a moment more intentional than you currently are. Then, break these moments down into micro-steps. For example, if you find it difficult to pry yourself away from your phone in bed at night, how can you begin to re-program that habit? You may need to put the phone in another room or delete specific apps.
Technology is a popular pain point, as it is great at cutting us off from pausing, being present, and embodying our entire physical self.
The Intersection of Wellness and Business
In all aspects of life, it is essential to have our health, energy, and clarity of thought. These things impact our wellbeing, allowing us to feel like we have the capacity to make a positive impact. If we don’t have one of these things, our decision-making ability can be thrown off.
Take Small Steps
Initially, making these changes needs to feel easy and actionable. If these changes feel outside of the scope of who we actually are, they will be far more difficult to implement.
In addition to this, set your expectations of what these experiences are supposed to look or feel like to the side. Instead, adopt degrees of open-mindedness to increase your chances of sticking with the things that calm you down and bring you more awareness.
Wellness Shouldn’t Be Stressful
Taking on new habits or lifestyle changes can be stressful for ambitious folks. We often take on a bigger chunk than is necessary to implement the routine or habit and strive for perfection before we’ve even begun, resulting in unrealistic expectations for ourselves in the process.
If you ever reach a place where you’re feeling distressed, see where you can pull back. Reevaluate your approach to allow yourself those small wins. This will increase your chances of solidifying a long-term habit.
Lastly, give yourself the grace to realize that we all go through cycles with habits depending on what’s happening in our businesses and lives. A three month window is typically the length of time into the future that we feel we have control over. Beyond that, we can be envisioning and planning, but we have less control. Continue what works, try new things, and don’t be afraid to leave things that don’t stick behind.
Reconnecting With Wellness During Busy Seasons
Busy seasons in businesses can ebb and flow, making it difficult to stick to certain routines. Here are some actions to take to reconnect with your wellness journey when you’re going through periods of elevated stress and activity:
Clarify what your goals are and why are they important to you?
We do not have all the time and energy in the world to work on every goal at all times. If there are goals you need to shift during this time to prioritize your health, don’t hesitate to do so. Some goals need to be put on pause for the sake of other larger goals.
What distractions do you need to remove? You don’t always have to add things in to take care of your mental or physical health. Sometimes it is the removal of things that benefits us most.
Ensure you follow up these busy periods with a pause or lower-energy cycle to rest and restore your wellbeing.
Advice For New Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship can be a rocky road. Let the gut feeling of falling out of integrity in your business be a yellow or red light for you to take some time for yourself. Wellness is not just physical exercise or the food you fuel your body with, it is also the way you think about yourself.
To keep a healthy energy flow, ensure you are getting enough sleep. It can be difficult when you’re starting out, but you need to prioritize rest to refresh your mind and your perspective.
Ultimately, trust your own desire to build your business your way!
How will you be implementing Brooke’s advice into your entrepreneurial journey?