The change of seasons is a good reminder that we are part of a planet where life is based on seasons and cycles.
Every living thing goes through cycles of Birth, Growth, Decay and Death or Dormancy. We are part of a planet that goes through cycles too. Day and night, the ebb and flow of Tides, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn – everything in and around us is in a state of perpetual movement and change.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes calls it the Life, Death, Life cycle. It’s the nature of life here on this planet. We signed up for it when we came to Earth and we can’t escape it, so we better get with it.
In the world of your business this means letting go of unrealistic expectations of perpetual growth and increase, and accepting that your business will also go through cycles of Life, Death and Life.
In order to keep our businesses alive and fresh and growing, we need to welcome the downtimes, and the letting go times as much as we welcome the new ideas and excitement of flourishing growth.
Here are 3 tips for how to harness the power of natural growth to build a flourishing business –
1. Set seasonal goals – think in terms of three month projects within your larger business plan. Keep asking yourself What do I need to let go of in order to grow? What needs to rest? What new thing is wanting to emerge? What is in full growth and flourishing?
2. Be willing to let go of things when they are at their peak. You may remember my weekly Guided Mediation Radio broadcast. That was an inspired idea which I loved doing, and which had attracted hundreds of listeners in the course of nearly 2 years on air.
Suddenly, in May of this year, I received clear guidance to let the show go. If I’d looked at it with normal business eyes it made no sense. I was really gaining traction with a steadily growing audience. However the guidance was clear, so I stopped my broadcast with no clear idea of why, or what was next.
Within a month a whole new direction appeared and I realised that the creative energy which had gone into channelling the meditations, was being called into new ventures. If I hadn’t listened to my guidance, I wouldn’t have had enough ‘creative juice’ to embrace the exciting new thing that is emerging.
3. Honour your own energy levels. Our culture has been heavily influenced by the thinking of the Industrial Revolution which expects people to perform at peak efficiency all the time. But we ain’t machines, and that ain’t a realistic expectation!
If you find you are pushing yourself to work when you are ill, or feeling guilty because you are having an off day – realise that you have been infected with the ’mechanical virus’. (This is an exceptionally contagious virus that has infected virtually all aspects of the Western world, and the vast majority of its citizens as well.)
When you notice this is happening, be gentle with yourself and take a break. In all likelihood your mind will scream at you that you can’t afford the time – but the reality is that you can’t afford not to.
A day off to recover if you are ill, or a rest or walk when you are tired, will bring you back to your desk with far greater creativity and energy than pushing yourself when everything in you is screaming ‘stop’.
We simply cannot override the forces of nature – and trying to do so simply wastes the energy you need for your clients and everything else that is important to you in life.
Organic Growth produces long term sustainability – in business as much as anywhere else.
With love to youEvery living thing goes through cycles of Birth, Growth, Decay and Death or Dormancy. We are part of a planet that goes through cycles too. Day and night, the ebb and flow of Tides, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn – everything in and around us is in a state of perpetual movement and change.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes calls it the Life, Death, Life cycle. It’s the nature of life here on this planet. We signed up for it when we came to Earth and we can’t escape it, so we better get with it.
In the world of your business this means letting go of unrealistic expectations of perpetual growth and increase, and accepting that your business will also go through cycles of Life, Death and Life.
In order to keep our businesses alive and fresh and growing, we need to welcome the downtimes, and the letting go times as much as we welcome the new ideas and excitement of flourishing growth.
Here are 3 tips for how to harness the power of natural growth to build a flourishing business –
1. Set seasonal goals – think in terms of three month projects within your larger business plan. Keep asking yourself What do I need to let go of in order to grow? What needs to rest? What new thing is wanting to emerge? What is in full growth and flourishing?
2. Be willing to let go of things when they are at their peak. You may remember my weekly Guided Mediation Radio broadcast. That was an inspired idea which I loved doing, and which had attracted hundreds of listeners in the course of nearly 2 years on air.
Suddenly, in May of this year, I received clear guidance to let the show go. If I’d looked at it with normal business eyes it made no sense. I was really gaining traction with a steadily growing audience. However the guidance was clear, so I stopped my broadcast with no clear idea of why, or what was next.
Within a month a whole new direction appeared and I realised that the creative energy which had gone into channelling the meditations, was being called into new ventures. If I hadn’t listened to my guidance, I wouldn’t have had enough ‘creative juice’ to embrace the exciting new thing that is emerging.
3. Honour your own energy levels. Our culture has been heavily influenced by the thinking of the Industrial Revolution which expects people to perform at peak efficiency all the time. But we ain’t machines, and that ain’t a realistic expectation!
If you find you are pushing yourself to work when you are ill, or feeling guilty because you are having an off day – realise that you have been infected with the ’mechanical virus’. (This is an exceptionally contagious virus that has infected virtually all aspects of the Western world, and the vast majority of its citizens as well.)
When you notice this is happening, be gentle with yourself and take a break. In all likelihood your mind will scream at you that you can’t afford the time – but the reality is that you can’t afford not to.
A day off to recover if you are ill, or a rest or walk when you are tired, will bring you back to your desk with far greater creativity and energy than pushing yourself when everything in you is screaming ‘stop’.
We simply cannot override the forces of nature – and trying to do so simply wastes the energy you need for your clients and everything else that is important to you in life.
Organic Growth produces long term sustainability – in business as much as anywhere else.
Jasmine
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