Dear Wiseguy

Question: How do I, as a self-employed entrepreneur, look after my health and find balance in my daily living? I don’t want to burn out!

Signed: Still Burning the midnight oil, Calgary, Alberta

Dear Burning:

Wealth without health is like having an endless supply of your favorite coffee, but without a cup! Certainly we ‘understand’ the message here however, how many of us actually ‘act’ on this understanding. Progressively, our lives are spiraling out of control as we end up stressed, burnt out and resentful that somehow, we have been let down. However, even though society has pushed us with the message that ‘workaholism guarantees success’, ultimately, we ‘choose’ to buy into it. And as entrepreneurs, that creative spark which enthused us to follow our passion often turns to fire and results in ‘burnout’!

My suggestion is that you take inventory of your personal situation before burnout. And note that much depends on how willing you are to challenge your current ‘beliefs’ which fuel your actions but which are no longer supporting you in being healthy. Try the following:

1. Choose awareness - We often loose our balance because we do not listen to our bodies. Instead, we override our knowing in favor of a belief that we must keep going in order to achieve success. Ask yourself, “What beliefs have I bought into which compel me to keep going until I drop”? And then, challenge these beliefs by going within to the realm of your inner wisdom which is all knowing and can guide you towards integration and peace. It is through awareness that we regain perspective and start back on the road to health.
2. Choose Trust - listening to your own inner guidance requires a leap in faith. You must learn to trust that you have intrinsic worth and that you can accomplish and achieve without putting your worth ‘out on the line’ and pushing. My own experience has proven that when I temper my ‘doing’ with my ‘being’ and trust that I am being supported by a force much greater than me, almost magically, things open up and get accomplished with ease. The trick is in remembering this when overwhelm and fatigue hit you!
3. Let Go - as an adjunct to ‘Trust’, letting go makes space for us to create. When we hang on too tight, we ‘tighten up’ & end up stressed. Through letting go, we see that control is an illusion. And the sooner we get this, the sooner will begin recovering from the affliction of controlaholism. Each time I have let go, I have been able to actually ‘hold on’ much better.
4. Visualize yourself at the end of your life - see yourself at the end of this journey and ask, “Do I have any regrets”? Image what these would be, and know that it is our regrets which keep us fearful of moving on. So take time out now to ensure a quality of life about which, there will be no regrets!

Use this process to reframe those beliefs that, in the bigger picture, do not support you in living a productive, successful, meaningful and balanced life! It is within each of us to experience simplicity, harmony and peace in our lives however, it takes practice! So I encourage you to get started NOW!

By Taron Puri