As a freelancer, I am learning important lessons every day. When I asked for a career full of learning, challenges and non-stop action, God served up a mind-boggling amount. And I love it.
The days fly by with phone calls, cold-calling clients, meetings, scheduling, treasure hunting, and then the actual work. And little of it feels like, “work.”
So when I hit rock bottom a few days back, I didn’t understand why. As a woman I assumed it was hormones, or perhaps my daily strength tank was running low. But a sweet voice said, “When is the last day you took off, Ahna?” And everything became clear.
Every moment since my business began has been a possibility. The next phone call, the next email, the next five minutes. It is continuously exciting because anything could happen. I put my heart and soul into it. The emails are answered, phone calls returned, and the search for consistent revenue continues, regardless of the time.
I took a leap of faith by deciding to start my own business, but my dreams are attainable if I am successful, and it’s more than enough to fuel the rough times.
However, in the midst of my excitement, I forget a fundamental truth: We must live life with balance.
More than two weeks had passed without a day to myself, away from work, and devoid of all the electronic goodies I can’t live without.
I was becoming sensitive, irritable, and losing sight of my goals. My productivity was down and the days leading up to the breakdown were like wading through pools of thick mud. Exhausting. But because it’s my business and its success is up to me, I didn’t think about the obvious.
My lesson is this: it does not matter who you are or what you do, if downtime is not a part of your schedule, all the time you are putting in is hurting you. And it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable collapse.
Life will wait. Phone calls can be on hold. And all will be well when we jump back in.
After my epiphany, I made taking breaks my new goal.
Balance – it’s my greatest lesson so far. Do you have any you’d like to share?