Why I Say ‘Recovery’ Instead of ‘Self Care’
Self care sucks. Okay, before you close this newsletter because you think I’m crazy, let me explain. The term ‘self care’ and its derivatives have been tossed around the entrepreneurial and professional spheres for ages. Truthfully, the majority of us as entrepreneurs don’t listen. We tell ourselves that someday we’ll have time, money, and space to take care of ourselves… And then that day doesn’t come. Instead of ‘self care,’ let’s use the word ‘recovery.’
Every day entrepreneurs take major risks.
You’re picking up the phone when you know somebody may hang up on you. You’re sending out a proposal when you know that it may break your heart when they say no. You’re logging onto your computer to learn a new technology that you know nothing about. You’re looking at your numbers even though it terrifies you.
Every single day, we as entrepreneurs are doing hard shit – and then we end our days and for the most part tell ourselves that we didn’t do enough. There’s very little fanfare, very little celebration. We go to sleep at night, we wake up, and we do the whole thing over again.
After a while, we start to get a little stressed out, a little burned out. Our nervous system responds by making us rest. We start watching a little too much TV, eating too many chips, or procrastinating on social media for a little too long.
Our body literally does not know how to respond to the level of risk, stress, and fear that we put ourselves through every single day.
When this continues for days, months, and eventually years, the effects on our bodies can be quite profound. I’ve watched so many entrepreneurial women face lasting physical and mental health issues, and it breaks my heart.
There’s a different way to handle this level of stress: adding in recovery time every single day and every single week.
Recovery is about having moments that allow you to relax your nervous system – to turn your brain off and have complete rest.
I always say I make more money when I’m doing yoga – and that has been true every year since I’ve started my business.
So what does this look like?
On a weekly basis, I recommend doing something that allows you to turn off your entire mind and body. For most entrepreneurs, that looks like a massage, an acupuncture session, a float tank, a healing session, a bath, a spiritual ritual – something that allows you to go to zero.
Begin each day with some time to enter a still, small, quiet space and feel your feelings. End each day by taking at least five minutes to do something just for you, whether that’s taking a quick shower, going for a walk, breathing, or dancing: something that allows your body to recover.
The most important piece here is intention: you’re intentionally letting go, releasing the energy of the day, and allowing your body to rest.
This kind of daily and weekly recovery has been so, so, so, so important in my own business.
If I don’t add in recovery time, I notice that I start to get really bitter. I start to feel like my business isn’t worth it. It doesn’t matter how much money I’m making, it doesn’t matter how great my clients are – I get this feeling like I just want to throw the whole thing out the window.
Skipping out on recovery time also makes it difficult to get work done. When we’re not getting daily and weekly recovery, we start to self-sabotage, procrastinate, and fall behind on our goals.
Your invitation for this week is to create a plan for including recovery in your work.
What are you doing daily?
What are you doing weekly?
What are you doing monthly?
As entrepreneurs, recovery is not optional. It is essential to our success.
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