In business, as in life, when we set goals for ourselves and things don’t go as expected, we can get to a point of frustration. That point often comes with “Why am I doing this at all?”
For example, if you want to lose weight and you feel you are doing everything you should and yet nothing is moving on the scales, you might be wondering, “What’s the point of making all those healthy meals from scratch and I haven’t even lost one pound in the last 3 weeks?”.
Or if you are working all the hours you can and follow your business mentor’s advice and still the figures are not as you like them to be, you might ask “What’s the point in keeping that business going anyway?”
Or, you are eating well, you’re exercising, you get plenty of sleep, and you reduce your stress with meditation, and yet, you still feel the signs of ageing, joint pain and lack of energy.
You might ask, “What’s the point in going through all this effort, when nothing seems to work?”
I am a member of Network Ireland, Wicklow, where we meet regularly. This week, we all introduced ourselves and shared the struggles we are currently facing in our business. 3 themes came up: “how to consistently attract clients”, “how to properly share the message to potential clients on what exactly you do” and “time constraints”.,
It’s so supportive to hear that we are all struggling with similar issues and that we are not alone. But it also made me think of something else:
These struggles can often lead to the question: “Is there any point in continuing
– if it’s a constant hard effort to attract clients?
– if I just can’t figure out how to explain how I can help people?
– if I constantly feel under time pressure (and maybe even stressed)?
When this “Why am I even doing this?” pops into my head, I always remind myself of my initial WHY?
And here is my WHY:
In my early 40ies, I was constantly exhausted, needing a nap in the afternoon to half way function. I was constantly grumpy, moody and often felt very very low. I felt unfit and unhealthy, I felt I was on the typical downward spiral that just happens as you get older. And like everyone around me, I wasn’t able to shift the extra pounds anymore.
By coincidence, I met someone who was training in Nutritional Therapy and she needed a guinea pig. She quickly identified what I was doing that drained my energy. I would never have thought of looking at food as I was not eating junk food at all and thought I was eating reasonably healthy. But a few changes changed my life – for the better! And they were easy to implement once I understand the “why”, and she also helped with the “how”.
These changes were so profound that I felt I need to share this information with my friends who were going through similar symptoms. (BTW, I know now that I was in peri-menopause, but nobody spoke about this back then!) I studied Health Coach, and went on to Nutritional Therapy (4 year course).
I wanted to become that one person that can change the whole live of someone else for the better!
Fast forward – on my 50th birthday – I ran 50km, that’s from Bray, along the coast into Sandymount, and back! It was pissing rain throughout the whole day, it took me nearly 6 hours, but because I organised the whole day as a fundraising day, I was never alone. All along friends and family joined in and ran with me. We celebrated the success straight after, and then I went home, had a shower, and got a lovely massage and then I went on to party with my friends until the early hours of the morning.
Fast forward to 61 – I am not running as much, still going to the gym regularly, I am still the same weight as I was at 45, I am eating loads of delicious food all the time, playing golf regularly, doing loads of things, having plenty of energy throughout the day, loving life!
I’m not telling you this because I want to show off or because I’m someone special.
I am telling you because I believe that getting older does not mean that things need to be on a downward spiral.
After my Nutritional Therapy training, I worked 2 years with Dr.Eva in her weightloss clinic. And I’ve been giving group courses, talks and have done 1-2-1 programmes. All along, I’m attending conferences, webinars, and further trainings, and have a particular interest in what we can do to age well and successfully. I now have so much knowledge, I feel it would be neglecting help to people who need it, if I wasn’t sharing it. I also never liked to see others suffering. And especially, if I can see a possibility to help reduce or ease that suffering.
Seeing the changes that I can make to peoples lives – that is my WHY.
Yes, it would be wonderful, if that passion would also be a business, where I am actually earning a proper living. But it’s not the money that is driving me.
I would give all my knowledge away for free, but I also realise that most people don’t appreciate “free” stuff, and that they get better results once people sign up to a programme to which they committed and where they are held accountable for.
I just know, I cannot stop doing what I do!
I just need to find a way that works best for me and for my clients – and it seems I am just a very very slow learner, but I am growing every day in the process. Bouncing back from “failure” makes us more resilient, doesn’t it?
KAIZEN is the motto of our network this year, and it means as much as constantly looking for something to improve even if it’s just small little steps.
So, if you are struggling with something in your private life or business and you feel you are not getting results, ask yourself WHY did you start in the first place.
Then look at the small successes that brought you joy along the journey, write them down and acknowledge those. Be grateful for your opportunity, enjoy the journey and how you grow in the process. And what you learn in the process! And if your WHY is strong enough, just keep going!
This is why I’ve decided to try out something new: It is a free service that I offer to my subscribers (and in my networks). A monthly zoom call where you can ask me anything. This means that I can still do what I love and I know, that often even the small steps and small changes can make a huge difference. I understand that not everyone wants to commit to a programme over several weeks or months, but that option is still there.
This is also why I will continue to write a monthly newsletter and blogs where I give my opinion on current topics, where I share information and tips and recommend podcasts and books that have an impact on me.
Please keep reading my blogs and subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on social media. And please tell me if you found something I wrote or told you has made a difference. It means the world to me.
