I got amazingly great responses to Tuesday’s blog about slowing down.
One reader even said, “We are so used to the go, go, go that just sitting and enjoying watching the birds singing feels like the business police will be banging on our door.”
You feel so much pressure to go, go, go, don’t you? The only legitimate reason to stop is because you’re exhausted or sick (and sometimes you don’t even stop then, right?).
Funny thing is – there is NO business police.
If you sit outside for five minutes each afternoon, or roll out your yoga mat for 20 minutes a day, there’s actually no one who is going to crash in and write you a ticket for not working. You’ll never encounter a business police check point in the parking lot of your work (or in your driveway, for that matter)
The idea of the business police is a made-up construct in our heads. We build it based on old stories, stuff our parents said to us about “working hard,” things “society” says, or even the way someone looks at us that one time at work.
True story: I used to work at Queens University of Charlotte. I worked in the President’s Office and part of my role was to help with board meetings and graduations.
One Friday right before graduation, I was in charge of answering phones. Things were quiet for the moment, so I pulled out my lunch and prepared to wolf it down quickly. Just as I took the first bite, Hugh McColl (you know, the guy that used to be the head honcho at Bank of America?), walked in. He was Chairman of our board at Queens and had come up to retrieve something he left in our offices.
I paused mid-bite and looked up at him. He said, “Eating at your desk? I admire your dedication, but don’t make a habit of that.”
So, seriously, if one of the most successful men in Charlotte (and maybe America) tells me not to make a habit of eating and working, who the heck am I to argue (not that I needed his permission, but you get what I mean)?
Gentle reader, especially if you’re an entrepreneur, artist, or business owner: there is no business police and no one “checking” on you unless it’s YOU.
Make sure you’re not volunteering for the job of business policeman in your OWN life.
Slow down. Make some room.
Angie