When dreaming up this post, I immediately thought of sharing ways to take care of ourselves in this time. It’s a sentiment that is at the forefront of our expressions of goodwill to each other during the age of COVID. Since I already wrote about that in a perfectly Yogini fashion last month, I thought I’d take more of an entrepreneurial twist to weave some magic into the business realm.
As someone who lives in the entrepreneurial and the Yogini/spiritual/intuitive space, I have a unique lens to observe the landscape we are in. The result is somewhere between trusting the path we are on and recognizing what is not working for us. I am keenly and intimately aware of the hardships that have rippled through the economy and, most notably, small businesses. As we settle into this new normal, if I told you we would eventually be going back to the “good ol' days” of how we were a month ago, I would be lying to you. I’m not here to diminish any loss or grief; what I am going to do is help plant seeds for a new normal, one where we can all thrive. We have to start shifting to welcome that in and survive this upheaval in a way that serves us, our loved ones, and our businesses.
As I have been sitting with people in my sessions this past month, there are common themes that continue to arise. I created a summary of those themes that I hope will give you some energetic insights that you can apply to your personal wellness and business.
Agility and Intuition
In business, racing against the curve, striving to manage trends, being agile, and living by the bottom line are the name of the game. But what if I said your intuitive capacity is actually a gift that gets you there, too? Here’s the thing: the ability to holy shift to this new reality we’re finding ourselves in will be a special combination of reacting quickly to change and recognizing the needs of your community and customers based on the resources you have right now - which is sometimes more abundant than you think. Here in Ottawa, Buchipop, a company that makes kombucha, used their existing space to become a hub for local makers and farmers that are part of their existing network. They responded to the needs of two communities - their customers and entrepreneurial networks.
When you combine agility with intuition, you create a special opportunity for alchemy. Your capacity to respond comes from a place of trust and knowing versus collective fear. Our survival instincts are real and the more we can be in tune to what our intuition is telling us regarding the new market needs, and acting on it quickly, will create a new landscape of survival. This also means sometimes knowing when to shift quickly into a new offering if the old one isn’t working right now.
Know your strengths and sweet spots - where you can truly serve from - listen to what your community needs, and race in that direction.
This also applies to the entrepreneurs that can afford to take this much-needed break to rest. I was at my favourite takeout place and the owner/chef was stressed and wanted to take time off, but was worried about disappointing her customers. The reality is that taking a break is a version of honouring her intuition and she will likely come back feeling that she is better able to serve her customers from a more nourished place.
Fear is not a driver
I was afraid to write this down because, when you’re in the thick of things, this can seem like a rude thing to say. "What do you mean don’t be driven by fear? This whole time is fearful! Sheri, this spiritual stuff is kinda shit."
I get it. I know the fear is all consuming right now. I just want you to know that you have the choice as to how you direct your thoughts. This is not me telling you to bypass your feelings, it’s me suggesting that you don't become them. You can either be fear or you can feel fear and move through it. The antidote to anxiety is throwing down an anchor and getting yourself on solid ground. It’s working with intention and affirmation and getting clear about how you want to feel. It means connecting to your community. When you come from a place that is in service and is driven by your soul, you have an anchor that is an antidote to fear.
Shifting from scarcity to abundance
I wish I could wave a magic wand and tell you that I could solve all of your money woes. But what I can say is this: abundance is a mindset that reaches far beyond money. It infiltrates our capacity to receive, to see our worth, and the ability to see beyond the limits we place on ourselves. Sometimes that results in hearing the call of our hearts' purpose and trusting that the net will drop when you take the leap into it. Sometimes it’s creating a new pathway and trusting in your own capacity. Sometimes it’s accepting partnerships and community endeavours and being part of a collective, but knowing it doesn’t take from your piece of the pie because there is enough for everyone.
Keep dreaming and trusting that the only mindset limits are your own inherited ones. This may seem like the most non-logical time to shift this internal paradigm as the world seems in crisis and many people are in overwhelm. But it’s also a time of recalibration, creating new structures and taking opportunities to heal the old things that have kept us stuck in the past anyway. Tough love, I know - but worth it. I promise.
Creating life balance and care
A lot of people are pointing the finger at our Root Chakras, the Yogi version of Abraham Maslow’s lower hierarchy of needs. Seeing those first and second levels - our most basic needs to survive comfortably on this planet - as needing care-taking.
To create a balanced approach to life now, we need to tend to our nervous systems and our mental health and take rest when we can.
The pendulum has swung so far in the direction of rest now that we are all at home getting an earth driven time out. We need to learn (or re-learn) how to care for ourselves. It’s sometimes as simple as taking 3 deep breaths between emails, being completely present with your family, smelling flowers, taking time away from your desk to walk for 20 minutes, or preparing a meal.
We need to really fuel our souls before we strive. Not to hustle and then crash repeatedly. Trust me, this one I learned the hard way. We are creating a sense of having to be in survival mode all the time when we remain in this state, and our nervous systems react accordingly. So nourish yourself and connect to pleasure, and make that the top priority on your to-do list.
This is a collective experience and you are not alone. This is a time of seeding to bloom, to tend to your roots, and to connect to community in new ways. There is space to use that community as a resource for support and growth. It sounds very kumbaya, but if you look around, even though we are being distanced, we are coming together more than ever. We are showing up creatively more than ever. Like the butterfly effect, a ripple will happen and we have the opportunity for it to be beautiful as we transform. I see you in all of your ups and downs and wish you what’s most important now: to stay healthy, to stay safe, and to take good care.
