[00:00:00] Episode 19. Welcome to the Aligned and Thriving podcast for ambitious female entrepreneurs where we align systems, strategies, and self for sustainable success. Welcome back if you're a regular here. Welcome, welcome. If this is your first time tuning in, my name's Jada and I am your host. Let's dive into this week's episode.
Today's share is not what I had planned for this week's episode, and it's alwa also coming out a day later than my podcast. Usually lands on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday. And the reason being, and you might be able to hear it in my voice, is that I was unwell the last few days when I had scheduled.
On Monday to batch [00:01:00] record, three to four podcast episodes. I like to batch my podcast episodes. I don't always do it, but most of the time I do. And I had used up all of the prerecorded podcast episodes and I was ready to batch a new lot. And the first of which was going to come out at the time of this recording yesterday on a Tuesday when my podcast normally is released on a weekly basis.
But because I was sick on Monday, I didn't record. I was hoping my voice and my throat would be better on Tuesday morning, and I would simply release the podcast episode a little bit later in the day. However, I was still feeling really unwell and. I have been practicing for a number of years now to not push through.
If you've listened into some other episodes or you follow me on social media, you might've heard me talk [00:02:00] about a big evolution and shift in how I do business compared to how I used to do business in the past. And it's an evolution and I'm still working on it. And I still have to remind myself to take the aligned actions and to.
Uh, shift some of the old habits that I have and oftentimes mindsets or where I think that I might have shifted a belief. Uh, I realize that sometimes it's actually that I, I guess, theoretically understand the belief or on a psychological kind of, uh, level, intellectual level. I understand that things can be different, but I find that.
In the moment, sometimes it's not a true belief shift. This one, this episode is not so much necessarily about belief specifically, but it's in those moments. It's in the real life micro [00:03:00] moments where we find out within ourselves whether we truly believe something or whether it's just an intellectual understanding.
Uh, and so I practiced. Walking my talk, I talk about having an aligned business, doing business in an aligned way, but I don't just talk about it. I am living it. So I have done business. Working as the CEO of our family business for almost nine years in a way that did not serve me. It did not serve my family.
It was out of alignment. I was giving more than I had to give, and it ended up in burnout. It ended up in a lot of me having a lot of resentment towards the business, um, towards my husband. Um, I didn't feel good in myself. There were many aspects to it. And so besides the knowing that I [00:04:00] needed to move out of that business and find my own direction, I also decided I wanted to do business differently.
And that's been the journey that I have been on over the last, uh, two, three years. Uh, coming, coming up to three years. And throughout that time, I have gone in a few different directions. So I've been in new phases of business and startup phase of business, uh, which brings a whole, a whole different set of, uh, challenges and journey to running a figure business that is very well established.
Uh, but they're just a different set of. Challenges and a different set of, uh, focus points and a different set of things you need to be, to be diving into mindset wise and within yourself. Every level and every kind of business and every stage you're at. There are just different, different ways of feeling, but, but, or different versions of a [00:05:00] lot of the same thing really.
But I think I digress. Anyway, in this whole journey to doing things differently, I just refuse to push through to work nights, to push through and work when I'm feeling unwell to work throughout the weekends. And this doesn't mean that sometimes when I have a creative urge or when I have decided to prioritize my.
My, I guess the freedom that I create in my life where it's, I've been able to prioritize other things throughout the week that I might decide this week I'm going to do some work on the weekend and I'm gonna free up this other day during the week, which is normally a work day because I can, because I have the freedom to do so, because I am the leader of myself.
All of those things. But I'm not going to do it when it's at the expense [00:06:00] of my wellbeing, at the expense of my family, uh, at the expense of feeling good. And so once again, yesterday when I was sick, it was that test of feeling like I needed to get my podcast episode out because it comes out on a Tuesday.
Versus honoring the fact that I didn't have capacity to do that and that I would've felt worse afterwards. And the implications of that is that I would likely or potentially stay sick for longer and I can't afford to do that. I'm going away on holidays to a retreat in Bali next week. I want to be feeling well.
That is actually a higher priority to me. That I feel well as I head away and that I get better sooner than making sure my podcast is [00:07:00] released on its usual day. Now, your priorities might be different. You don't have to have the same priorities as mine, but what I have learned throughout my 15 years or so as an entrepreneur is to ask myself, and this is something you can do as well, to ask myself.
What will I regret more when I'm faced with a decision and I'm unsure what to do, or something feels like it's pushing a lot or it feels like a cho a choice between two important things in this case, as an example, resting to feel better sooner versus. Staying on track with releasing my podcast when it's supposed to go out into the world.
They're both important to me, but which one? If I, if I was to move forward with it or let it go, will I, which one will I regret? Regret, I guess not doing more. And I know that [00:08:00] in this situation as an example, and it's just one little example that I would regret more being unwell for longer or heading away on holidays, feeling unwell versus regretting, uh, that I didn't get my podcast out on the day it's supposed to go out.
And the really interesting thing was that. I, first of all, I started looking for alternatives. I started having a look at some, uh, live videos that I might be able to repurpose that I hadn't, uh, spoken kind of about that topic on the podcast, which by the way. Reuse, reuse your content, my friends. It's totally okay to do that.
And I will do that with some of the lives that I found, uh, just because I found them and they're really good. So I'm gonna pop them here on the podcast for you. I could have done that, and I started looking at that, but even that started to feel really draining and too much for how I was feeling. So I decided, no, it is more [00:09:00] important that I rest.
It's more important that I prioritize my wellbeing over getting. Something out in my business, which in reality, a lot of the timelines and deadlines and feelings of, uh, pressure around. Around those timelines and deadlines. A lot of them are self inflicted, if you like. They're self-imposed and if we really stepped back and we looked at some of the timelines and deadlines that we put on ourselves, even if it is a launch date, even if it is something that feels really important, a lot of times I have found in my experience, it's a very self-imposed.
Timeline and pressure. And when we step back and we look at it and we think, well, what would, what's the worst case scenario if I. In this situation, don't put [00:10:00] the podcast out on that day. Well, it's turned into a potential sharing and teaching moment to share with you, and really, I don't think anyone's going to be worried about it coming out a day later, or even two days later, or even skipping this entire week.
Really, it's a pressure I was putting on myself or even things. As I mentioned, like a launch date, what would be the really worst case scenario or worst thing that could happen if you pushed it back by a week or two weeks to give yourself actual capacity, space, more ease, you know, the time and space to, to do things without burning yourself into the ground to get things done.
What would true, what would the true impact of that be? Sometimes we can't move things. Some things need to be delivered and you know, we have to pick and choose, but I just want you to. Learn to take that moment to really pull back [00:11:00] and look from a bigger picture and am and ask yourself, am I putting more pressure on myself than I need?
Is this a self-imposed deadline or a self-imposed pressure to get something done by a certain point or to make sure that it's at its regular time? What is the real true impact or the worst case scenario if that doesn't happen? And are you okay with that? Ask yourself, are you okay with that worst case scenario?
And what I have found for myself anyway is that most of the time I'm actually pretty okay with that worst case scenario. It's actually not that bad, and. Then going forward and being able to work on something without so much pressure on myself makes such a big difference because when we are putting too much pressure on ourselves, when we feel really stressed, when our nervous system is really heightened, when we are feeling overwhelmed, et cetera, we can't create at our best.
We [00:12:00] can't perform at our best. We're not doing our best work, and we certainly don't feel good in ourselves. And so we just need to sometimes ask ourselves that question. I know for myself, I am simply, well, not really simply, I am not willing to sacrifice my wellbeing, my enjoyment of life, my family time, all of those aspects.
For my business, I have been there. I have done that. It did not work, and I don't want business and financial success at the expense of. Me not feeling good or me not having energy, or me not having time with my family and et cetera. [00:13:00] And so while this is a newer business and this is a newer way of doing business for me, I am continuing on this path.
And while I haven't yet created a multi-six figure business yet. Doing business in this way, that is what I will do. I will achieve those big goals, and I realize that. It might take longer, and it's taking some time to, for my very, I guess, uh, overachieving kind of, uh, way of being. I am like, uh, high. I like to, to achieve a lot.
I. I want success in business. I want my life to be a certain way, and so I'm learning to be okay with [00:14:00] it, taking longer to achieve those things so that I can achieve them in a way that feels good, in a way that is aligned in a way that prioritizes me and my family and my life because. I don't wanna do business the other way, and so I guess I'm sharing this episode to share a real life example of doing business in an aligned way, whatever that means for you.
It depends on what your priorities are. We all have different priorities, but we have to check in our, our actions, our micro actions, our daily actions, the way that we are, the choices that we're making, each action that we are taking, are they aligned with our values, [00:15:00] with the things that are most important to us?
Or are we taking actions that are out of alignment with our values and with the things that are most important to us? And that is in the daily micro mini actions that we take. And this is an example of not just talking about it, but walking that talk and matching my behavior to what I say is most important to me, and then sharing that with you in the hopes that it also gives you permission to do so or feels like you have more permission to do so and gives you some.
Ideas around stepping back and really looking at some of that pressure that you might be putting on yourself around deadlines, around timeframes, and being able to really look at that and think, is that a self-imposed thing? [00:16:00] What does it really matter? Do I, you know, do you really need to keep going till midnight to get that thing done?
Or could it actually wait till tomorrow? Because there were so many things, uh, when, back, back in the day, I like to say, where I felt so much pressure to make sure I got something back to a team member or I, um, you know, got something out by a certain time or that that post just had to go out today because I'd meant to do it today and I didn't pull back and look at, well, what's the actual overall impact on.
The business, if I don't do it till tomorrow, or if I actually do take the holiday that I'm supposed to be on right now. And instead of working the first couple of days, 'cause I didn't get everything done and pushing and doing all of those things, what if I just didn't do them this week and I just did them when I got back?
What's the [00:17:00] real impact of that? And when we sometimes ask ourselves those questions. It's not as urgent as we thought, or we are able to reduce down the list of the things to find the things that are most important, that do matter the most, that really do need doing, and we can just do those and let some of those other things go till after the holiday, till tomorrow, till after the weekend, or whatever it might be, or until you are better.
So. Yeah, this is just an invitation to maybe think about things differently, to check in with yourself if your actions and behaviors on the daily basis are aligned with your values and what you say are most important and permission to build a business that feels good and that works around you. Your life and your family, and in [00:18:00] doing so, maybe it's going to take a little longer, but who says how quickly it needs to happen anyway?
And I'm not coming at this as a place like, oh yeah, that's all right for you to say Jada, because maybe like you don't need to worry about the money, or maybe you are all fine financially, so you don't need to worry if it takes longer. Well, that's not the case. That's not the case at all. I don't have another job.
I'm all in on this business. My husband also runs his own business. Yes, my business needs to be bringing in money, but I'm not prepared to do that at the expense of my wellness and the expense of feeling good and doing that in a way that prioritizes me my life and. My family any more. So I hope that something in here has maybe sparked, uh, a thought, an action, an idea for you or has alleviated maybe some pressure that you're putting on yourself [00:19:00] or has helped you to think about something differently or has given you a little nugget that you can take away or has given you a nice question that you can ask yourself to check in and.
I really recommend asking yourself, what will I regret more? If you're at a bit of a crossroads, you know, if you're on holidays and you're sitting down and you're feeling resentful, you need to do that work. Ask yourself, what will I regret more sitting down to do this work and missing out on some of the holiday, or not getting the work done and going and enjoying the holiday.
And also ask yourself the question, what is the true impact of not getting this thing done today or before the weekend or before you go on holidays or it not releasing that particular week, what is the true impact and are you [00:20:00] okay with that impact or. Letting go of one side or the other, if whichever one you see is is gonna be the give you the most regret.
Sometimes putting in that negative quote unquote negative side can make it easier to make that decision. So using these questions can be really, really powerful. I would love to hear any takeaways you've had from this week's episode. I would love to hear if you had any aha, like light bulb moments where you're like, oh, this makes so much sense with something that you've been experiencing or thinking about, and I would love to hear if you implement asking yourself those questions and what flow and effect that has for you.
Wishing you a beautiful day, a beautiful rest of your week, and here's to you. Aligning and thriving in your business and in your life. Until next week, bye for [00:21:00] now.
