I usually toggle between being super inspired and feeling wildly anxious. This could be just my general make up of optimism when it clashes with realism or maybe it is just another manic Monday. In either case, after a full week away from technology and "work," I have emerged more inspired by... myself. Can I even say that? Is that selfish, ladyboss? YES. I can say that because a) it is true and b) we are doing things differently here at Business 4 Good.
I do tend to see the world as very malleable, adventurous even in its challenges, and I often maneuver easily into creative solutions whilst simultaneously noticing how chaotic our "systems" can be for those of us women in business who really want to see the world change. And lately, I have even inspired myself in being able to maintain this outlook amidst a lot of setbacks. If you are in business for yourself, you know success is not a straight line and can feel downright evasive at times.
The Blah Blah Blah of Inspiration
Inspiration can be found everywhere... blah blah blah!
"Take a look outside your window!" "Stop and smell the flowers!" they say. "Look up from your smartphone and be in the now," they also say. And sure, yes, all these little life hacks can be great, tiny suggestions to experience the grand world around us as inspiration instead of chaotic. AND I have very recently discovered that in order to really remain inspired and not allow for anxiety to take control of the unknowns of my day to day in running an online business that is now emerging again into the real world, I have to slow down tremendously.
The Old Way of Doing Business
The old way of doing business was to grind hard, faster, stronger and longer. To essentially burn ourselves out for the ultimate goal of... what exactly? If I am to remain inspired in my life, both personally and professionally, then I want to actually enjoy the process of where and how I spend my time. If I am to be actively engaged in making inspired choices, I need to then take stock in how I spend my energy, with whom and for what purpose.
If the last two years on this planet have taught me anything, it is that I am a powerful resource for this world and it needs me. AND I also must have this daily inspiration surging through me as I build better ways of doing business with women globally. It is imperative actually, and I implore you to make the same inspired choices for yourself in how you show up to work, in your personal life and even at the grocery store.
What if each of us slowed down just 5% so we could care 5% more about something we want to care about instead of what we think we should care about?
The Week Away
That week away was good for many reasons and quite honestly somewhat unplanned, or rather outside of what I thought our schedule was to be. My inspiration meter was running on fumes and I needed a reset. PERIOD. And here I am reporting back with inspiration for myself, our collective platform that supports more women to show up in their business authentically so that we can change the world, and for the crazy, chaotic world we are living in.
If I do not tend to my inspiration like a freshly sprouted plant or one that has outgrown its original container, then what kind of garden am I growing? What am I living within? And for the record, in the past I had made some time to stop and smell the flowers but often I am doing that whilst simultaneously replying to a message on Slack, sharing production notes, reviewing a run of show for an online event or other sort of "multi tasking" hacks. But that is not being honest to inspiration or fully open to those subtle miracles that happen every minute we are busy grinding. That is performance inspiration that makes us think we are slowing down but are not truly engaging in the stunning world around us.
Performance inspiration vs. actual inspiration. There is a difference between scrolling through motivational quotes while answering emails and actually sitting still long enough to hear what your own body and brain are telling you. One feeds the algorithm. The other feeds you. Our bodies know the difference even when our monkey brains do not.
A Work in Progress
I am absolutely a work in progress and this bit of slowing down so that inspiration can find me is relatively new for me. I had come from the patriarchy camp of the busier you are, the more inspired you can be, could be, even should be. But now I am actually beginning to see the joys of slow living. I can still do business with purpose and even swiftly, at times, but I now much prefer the occasion to enjoy my precious time on earth and hopefully serve as inspiration to others as we collaborate, elevate and inspire each other as frequently as possible.
The grind culture tells us that rest is the reward for work. I am here to say rest is the work. Rest is the strategy. Rest is how we stay sharp enough to elevate ourselves and everyone around us. It is how we avoid becoming just another spoke that snaps on the flywheel because nobody bothered to check the pressure.
So if you are reading this from a place of exhaustion, of "I have to keep going" energy, of that familiar tightness in your chest that comes from doing too much for too many with too little for yourself: please know that slowing down is not quitting. It is the most radical act of leadership a woman in business can take. It is how we build something that lasts instead of something that burns.
And if you want to build alongside other women who get it, who are doing business differently, who are choosing #Tequity over toxic capitalism and community over competition, we are here. We are building this together.
Love,
Rose
