As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to put our own self-care to the back burner in the name of “hustling”.
It’s not that we don’t want to live a fabulous lifestyle–in fact, it’s that siren song of being able to write our own tickets to our fabulous futures that beckons us to stay up just one more hour, craft just one more social media post, or work on just one more advertising campaign.
So we defer taking care of our bodies, our minds, and even our spirits–claiming that it’s just temporary.
I advocate practicing self-care no matter how busy you are, or what stage of business you’re in.
What I am NOT suggesting, however, is that your life always needs to be perfectly in balance.
Especially during the early years of building a business, we need to be prepared to allow the scale to tip more in favor of the #hustle than of #livingthedream.
You’re likely already putting an enormous amount of pressure on yourself to tick every box off of all the things you should be doing–expecting to practice perfect work-life balance will just set yourself up for failure and one more thing to feel guilty about.
Just keep in mind that self-care is NOT an all-or-nothing deal.
Practicing even small pockets of self-care is critical as an entrepreneur–not only for being able to stay in the game, but also for being able to actually enjoy the life that you’re working so hard to create.
Let’s take a closer look at those two essential reasons to practice self-care for the principle, not the ratio.
#1. SUSTAINABILITY
The grueling pace that you may have started out building your business with can’t go on forever.
Though there are those few lucky ducks who become overnight sensations, whose marketing courses we buy while secretly resenting them (c’mon, you know it’s true), most of us have to work for several years to get the results we hope for.
If you’re constantly going on fumes and burning yourself out, you risk never achieving your entrepreneurial goals because you’ll reach a point of giving up and no longer being willing to make all those sacrifices.
By practicing a little self-care as you build your entrepreneurial routine, you’ll be more refreshed, creative, productive, and help ensure that you can last as long as you need to, in order to reach your goals.
#2. FUTURE HABITS
You’re practicing now for the life you want to have in the future.
The habits that you’re creating now are the habits that you’re always going to continue having.
It’s tempting to believe something along the lines of,
“When my business hits X dollar amount…”
or
“When I have this many customers…”
or
“When I have this many team members…”
THEN I’ll take time for myself.
But that just doesn’t happen.
I’ve had clients who had already reached that 6 or 7 figure mark in their business, but were so primed for “the hustle” that they had a hard time letting go after they reached their goals.
That’s why it’s so important to build those habits now and practice self-care for the principle (even if not for the ratio), even if you’re still in the hustle phase of your business.
What I mean by practicing for the principle, instead of the ratio, is just giving a little nod to self-care in your daily life–whether that’s a short workout or taking time out once a week to pursue a hobby or just doing the “Netflix & Chill” thing once in awhile instead of always being productive every single moment.
Practicing for the principle means that even if you’re not yet at that stage of what you can reasonably call “work-life balance,” you’re ensuring that your self-care habits will be intact for life.
You can always increase the ratio, or volume, of self-care once your future success affords you more freedom of time and money.
For example, if your dream is to eventually only work 4 days a week, at least make sure you’re taking 1 day off a week.
Or if your dream is to be able to splurge on weekly massages (one of the things on my personal vision board), at least make sure you’re getting one massage every month or two.
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While those little nods to self-care may not make you feel totally balanced here and now, a little self-care DOES go a long way to help you feel more refreshed and able to take on your entrepreneurial challenges.
And perhaps more importantly,you’re priming that practice so that as your business grows, you’re better able to enjoy all of the time freedom and lifestyle perks that you probably set out to create your business for in the first place.
Don’t let this dream of chasing a future lifestyle keep you from actually having a desirable lifestyle–both now AND later.
The habits you create now will help you live out the abundance you’re working so hard for and will also ensure that you have the strength and stamina you need ever get there in the first place.
Need some accountability for prioritizing your own self-care? Join our free Wellthy Boss Community private Facebook group, for daily discussion prompts about healthy habits and a supportive community who understands you.
