The Art of Separating: Why it is so Hard AND so Important

Ever find yourself unable to disconnect from the daily grind of your business? It's a common struggle for entrepreneurs, and we're diving headfirst into it. As business owners, we're often so caught up in our passion and responsibility that we forget to consider the other important aspects of our lives. We discuss how to create some distance from your business, so you can prevent burnout, boost creativity, and make better decisions.

We emphasize the significance of stepping back, reassessing our commitments, and striking a balance that doesn’t compromise our personal wellbeing. Get ready to explore the benefits of truly appreciating our finite lifespan when designating our time and energy. This episode is filled with practical tips and insights to help you find the sweet spot between business success and personal happiness. So, buckle up for an enlightening journey on how to balance business and personal wellbeing effectively!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Blissful Biz Adventures Succeeding Without Sacrifice. Ooh, this one. Why can't I get my business off my mind? This is one that comes up so often for me, especially in the beginning. I've definitely been able to separate more, but who doesn't struggle with this? I would like to hear from the people who don't struggle with this. It's very hard to separate, and let's talk about why. And let's talk about why you are not alone.

Speaker 1: 0:32

So this preoccupation with your business is a common experience among entrepreneurs and business owners, and it can stem from several reasons. It's really helpful to understand why it is happening for you so that you know how to address it, because, of course, we don't want success to only sacrifice our own happiness. We want to be able to have them in a harmonious relationship with each other and have both Okay. So what are the reasons why you can be so preoccupied with your business and cannot get it off your mind? First one passion and dedication. This is your baby. You have built this from blood, sweat, tears, time, energy, sacrifices, and you're passionate about it and you have been dedicated. So your business is likely, this project, this thing that you feel very deeply about and you're very passionate about, and this enthusiasm can really lead to thinking about it consistently and also worrying that something's going to go wrong or what if you lose it. Your dedication to its success drives your thoughts and actions. Sometimes people have this belief that if I separate from the business, that means I'm not passionate, that means I'm not dedicated and that means I'm not going to find that success, I'm not going to be able to continue this and I love it. Very, very common. Now, really, this is untrue and we can talk about it in another episode. But you do not have to consistently be thinking about your business or be constantly trapped by it or shackled to it in order to have a successful practice that you love. Actually, it can really lead you in an opposite direction and cause burnout and resentment for your business. So this whole topic is really important to not only your mental health but your success of the business.

Speaker 1: 2:44

Now, what's another reason? Responsibility. As the owner, you really carry, of course, so much responsibility and risk for the success of your business. The weight of the decision making, the financial stability, the well-being of your team can make it very difficult to just clock out and to switch off without thinking about it. There's so much that you are responsible for and it can really feel like if I'm not thinking about it, I am neglecting it or I am going to miss something or I am going to cause something to go wrong. So that responsibility that is really heavy and takes a lot of practice to let go of as a business owner, to be able to check out and have those systems in place and those checks and balances and all of that. It takes time, like all of these things I'm going, like all of these concepts I'm going to mention, but responsibility is a big one.

Speaker 1: 3:46

Another one is that entrepreneurial mindset. I shall go this deeply. There's so many opportunities, there's so many solutions, there's so many ways to innovate and improve what you're currently doing, let alone all the things that you wanna do, that it might be new, all these adventures that you wanna go after. This mindset is naturally gonna keep your mind really engaged in business related topics. So that blessing and curse of that entrepreneurial mindset, of seeing all of these things you can do, really makes it hard to get it off your mind.

Speaker 1: 4:24

The next one is challenges in problem solving. So, of course, a big reason we can't get business off our mind is because businesses do face constant challenges. There's always gonna be challenges and you can pretty much rest assured that you are always going to have struggles and there's gonna be new problems and new things to figure out. So there's always gonna be challenges in problem solving and the sooner that you are able to say this is just what it is, this is the way it should be, the sooner you let go of trying to solve them all and prevent anything from happening in the future business off your mind. The next thing is your personal investment. Entrepreneurs often invest significant time, effort, resources and rely on that for feelings of stability, feelings of being able to relax, because then you're gonna be setting yourself up for disappointment and you're gonna be sending yourself up to believe that you are not successful because there's more challenges. No, there will always be challenges. As sooner you say, hey, there's gonna be challenges and I'm gonna take care of myself and accept that that's the way it's gonna be and I'm always gonna be problem solving, the more you can accept and relax. So but of course, this is really difficult because of course, especially when you're starting these challenges whether it's related to operations or growth your mind is gonna be and need to be, sometimes for days without breaks, about finding solutions to fix these, and the business sometimes just demands your immediate attention and you need to make those sacrifices.

Speaker 1: 6:05

The next thing is uncertainty. Business environments are very unpredictable, especially when you're in the first five years or if you're dealing with economic fluctuations like we are dealing with now. This uncertainty can lead to a very heightened focus on your business because you're trying to seek that stability and that growth that you are after. So that uncertainty I mean can't we say that in life? Uncertainty is uncomfortable and it creates a hyper focus on whatever you're uncertain about. So that can keep your mind really tied to the business and it might be hard to get business off your mind.

Speaker 1: 6:50

The next thing is your personal investment. Entrepreneurs often invest significant time, effort in the name of the business and this personal investment can really create this strong emotional attachment that keeps your business on your mind. And one thing that's important to do, and what you can start doing right now, is starting to separate yourself from the business by saying I am not an insert business name. Right, I am Jamie. I am not side by side. I am not Jamie RD, I am Jamie. Okay, separating those two things so they don't get amashed. And, of course, I don't think it's gonna be impossible for them to have a little bit of an ameshment. They are gonna impact each other, but we wanna be aware of that. But personal investment is a big reason why business is hard to get off your mind.

Speaker 1: 7:45

Continuous improvement this will always be there as well, this desire to continuously improve, continuously grow. If that is something that you wanna do. Grow in by expanding or just grow in what you are able to provide. Grow in better supporting your team, whatever it might be. It can lead to this constant evaluation and strategizing, right. So if we're constantly in this place of evaluating and strategizing, we're constantly adding to the to-do list, right? So it's driving your thoughts in that direction.

Speaker 1: 8:15

So, with all of that, while being deeply engaged with your business is really a sign of dedication and it's really normal, it's also really important to find balance and to assess this, to see where you are at, to see why am I so? Why is it so hard to let these things go? Can I find a reason? And then how can I prevent this potential burnout or this inevitable burnout that will happen if I don't separate, and how can I maintain my overall wellbeing? There's so many ways we can do this, and there's no right way, from setting boundaries to practicing mindfulness, to therapy, to having your routines, to delegating your tasks right.

Speaker 1: 9:00

It's crucial, though, to take the time for assessment of this and for other aspects of your life. Your life is not your business. You are not your business, and it's really important to consistently assess this so you're not looking back in a stressed out state, in a place of burnout, where you sacrificed unconsciously and where you have sacrificed the other important things in your life, but, again, it's really, really common. I don't want you to beat yourself up about it. I want you to feel less alone and give you some things that you can assess and see where you're at. So, as we close up here, I wanna talk about why this is so important to give you, because if I just say, hey, it's important, you might say I'm gonna continue doing this, because those ties, those reasons wanting to continuously improve, wanting to handle uncertainty, wanting to be ready for problem solving, that entrepreneurial mindset those are strong. Those are very, very strong. So I wanna give you the reasons why it's important, and I'm gonna start with this 4,000 weeks.

Speaker 1: 10:09

If you have not read that book, I highly recommend it, and it talks about how you have 4,000 weeks on earth 4,000. Do you want to spend them? Being consistently tied to your business? Always right, and I mean even tied mentally, if you're not tied physically to it at that time. So if you plan to clock out at five and go out with your family and engage in an activity you love, you wanna actually be in the present moment in those things. If you are in your mind in the business, problem solving, you are wasting valuable time in other aspects of your life that bring you joy, that are of value. So you only have 4,000 weeks. What are you gonna do with it? Do you wanna spend the majority of those running your business? So let's talk about the importance. Okay, so the importance is number one. It's gonna prevent burnout.

Speaker 1: 11:09

Constantly thinking about your business, constantly doing in your business, can absolutely lead to burnout, absolutely, and then what happens is we don't even have a business right and that never needed to happen. The next thing is you can maintain, of course, that work life balance. Overwhelming preoccupation with your business is going to negatively impact and sometimes without you even consciously being aware of it until it's too late, can impact your personal life, your relationships, your relationship with yourself, your health, so you have to. So it's really important to assess this to maintain your mental health, your emotional health, your physical health. Additionally, getting your mind off work helps you gain fresh perspective, distance, doing the things you love. It allows you to be rejuvenated and come back to your business rejuvenated, while taking care of with your cup full. It helps you to see your business from a different perspective. We have new ideas. Stepping back can actually really help you identify these new opportunities, these challenges, these solutions and that that might be too obscured when you're too close to the day to day operations. Are you too close and not able to separate when you're not taking care of yourself? You can be. Really you might not. You very well, may not be able to see things clearly.

Speaker 1: 12:36

Next one enhanced decision making. Your emotional attachment can cloud judgment and I'm going to do a whole other episode on this and delegation and why that's important and the hard lessons there. But emotional attachment can cloud your judgment and and you can enhance your decision making by separating, by taking a step back, by help, by asking someone to help you, by delegating, by promoting someone right, and that will lead you to take better care of your business. Decision making is extremely important and happens all the time. Little decisions, big decisions, and so if you want to have a clear head and make good decisions Grounded decisions, well thought out decisions then we need to make sure we're separating and taking care of ourselves so we know what decisions those will be.

Speaker 1: 13:26

The next one is boosting creativity. If we allow ourselves time to go and experience life, the other things that bring us joy unrelated to business, this is going to help stimulate more creativity, more feelings of creativity that you can bring back to the business. When you get away and you separate, what happens is you have exposure to new ideas, you get to explore other interests, you can have other experiences, and all of these new experiences, different experiences, time spent away to have these opportunities to do other things can inspire innovative solutions for your business and creative, creative decisions for your business as well. So boosting creativity is a huge perk to separating. Another one is that separating allows you and kind of forces you to have to delegate to other people and also to empower other people to step in. Separating from your business is going to require you to have to take tasks and responsibility and give them to others, to take ownership to develop their skills to contribute to the business's growth. Delegation is it's so helpful for the business, it's so helpful for you, it's so helpful for you to then be able to do other things to work on the business, or that you are better suited for. That is really where your time needs to be. So delegation is so important, and I'm going to do a whole other episode on this. Anyways, separating from your business actually requires you to delegate, and it gives you the opportunity to delegate and empower others on your team, and that is just good for everyone. It's super hard for business owners to do, though.

Speaker 1: 15:35

Okay, the next one is by separating, you're going to avoid this tunnel vision. If you are constantly focusing on your business, what can happen is it could lead to this very narrow way of thinking, this tunnel vision, where you miss out on broader trends, other ideas, changes in the industry. The next thing it does is really reduces stress, and, if you think about it, if you're continually stressed out and you're in your excuses while I'm working on the business, I'm busy. This requires a lot of work. It's just the place. I'm just going to be stressed. That's just what it is. You actually are making things worse, possibly causing problems. It's not actually doing what you're hoping it's doing, which is getting more done, getting things done efficiently, effectively. Just being in the business too much is going to be very stressful. It's just not good for you. So separating is going to help you to give yourself a break from these business related stressors, from business related endeavors or creativities too, and it's going to reduce overall stress levels.

Speaker 1: 16:51

And, of course, stress can negatively impact your personal life. But it can, of course, impact your decision making, your relationships in the business, your goals in the business, the health of your business and, lastly, there's long term sustainability. When you're establishing a sustainable approach to running your business, this involves taking care of yourself, which involves separating. A healthy work life balance ensures that you have longevity and resilience to navigate entrepreneurship and all the ups and downs. Now I want to say, of course, when we say work life balance, I don't like that phrase actually too much, because sometimes it's just work, work, work right, and sometimes life happens and then we have to put work on pause.

Speaker 1: 17:48

It's going to be different. All the time in the business demands different things of you in different seasons that you are. There are voluntary and some that are involuntary, where you are just forced to have less balance in your life and do more work at that at that moment. So, either way, when you are able to take care of yourself and separate from the business, this is going to help All of these things like stress and well-being, which is going to, in turn, help you be able to sustain business and business practices and the ups and downs of the business, because this is never ending in business. There's always going to be ups and downs, things that are coming your way that you didn't expect. Problem solving all of these things that really are going to demand your attention, time, energy and expertise. So, in order to sustain that type of work, we need to be able to get good at separating and taking care of ourselves now.

Speaker 1: 18:50

So, all in all, you are not alone. It is very hard to separate and you deserve to separate. It is going to be so good for you. It is going to be so good for your business. What are you going to do today, this week, this month, to practice separating from your business? Despite how hard it is, you are not alone. This is something we all go through because of all of those reasons I gave. There's so many reasons why it would be hard to separate yourself from the business, and there are so many reasons why it's so important. So go out there, go get them and make sure to take care of yourself. You are not your business. Thanks for joining. Blissful Biz Adventures succeeding without sacrificing happiness. Stay connected with our vibrant community by subscribing Together. We'll uplift and support each other on this blissful journey. Until next time, always remember that in your business, you have the potential to not just survive but to truly thrive.