Past Present and Future – Life as a Yoga Business Owner
It’s been a tough week to stay present and not spiral into despair. There is a lot going on in the world that is hard to sit with.
So, I did what I always do when I need to be talked down from catastrophizing, I called my mom. She knows me well and knows that I often need reminding to try to take life one day at a time, even when those days are tough.
While this present-moment-ness is something I’m working on, today she made a point that one of the reasons I might struggle to take life day-by-day is that I run my own business, and you can’t just think about today when you run a business.
While being present and taking life as it comes is an important strategy for wellbeing, especially in times like these, when you run your own business, you are always dancing between past, present, and future.
Learning from the past and bringing that wisdom forward.
Mistakes, successes, challenges – as a business owner I am always reflecting on what worked, what didn’t work, and how I can improve.
Projecting into the future with plans, ideas, adaptations, and innovations.
No matter what is happening in the world today, I have to imagine into the future new course dates, new study opportunities, and imagine what my students will need, when they will need it, and how best to deliver support and resources.
Being present with the work that you have now.
The inbox is always filling! My most important work is to attend to what is happening now, who needs support, what tasks need to be completed today, what reporting needs to be done, what random ideas have I had that I am eager to follow at the expense of what was already on my to-do list (why am I like this?)
The present-moment work is a priority, of course, but it has to be balanced with past and future, and that’s the tricky choreography that, after 25 years of business, I’m still working on.
I wonder if I need to better block my time. Present moment tasks first, then some reflecting on past efforts, then making plans for the future? Is that a workable strategy? Will my brain accept these categories, when I’m in the habit of doing all three at once?
This started out as a statement but has turned into a question, a call-out for ideas.
Your Wisdom Wanted:
Do you have strategies that help you to manage the past, present, future of business, life, parenting, art…honestly, I would take your gardening advice if you thought it might help.
For now, I will get on the mat, a place that always brings me back to the here and now, if even for a short time – refresh, reset, rebalance – so I can again begin the dance between past, present, and future.