Slow on Purpose: Removing Urgency & Allowing Rest
Episode 796: Show Notes
If you were to ask me how I feel about the rest of the year, I would probably tell you something about wanting to pack it up and see you guys in January! But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I want to talk about slowing down on purpose.
A few members of the co-op community have mentioned feeling as though they are always in a rush. What would it look like if you didn’t put so much of a timeline on so much of what you were doing? How much additional space, excitement, and desire would that give you creatively? How much fuel would that give to your life? Let’s talk about it!
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The Unexpected Reason That This Time of Year Is So Important to Me
I don’t talk about this much, but I grew up on my grandparents’ Christmas tree farm. I can still smell the evergreens. This was the most magical time of year when I was growing up. There’s so much about this season that I have adopted from how my grandmother showed up. She really wanted everyone’s experience to be special.
She would find the tallest tree, clip red cardinals to it, and string it with lights. My favorite thing to do was lie down under the tree and look up at all the birds and the twinkling lights while my grandfather played the grand piano, my uncle played the saxophone, my aunt played the flute, and my father sang. The memories are beautiful.
The childhood magic of the season is such a good reminder for this time of year. In business, everything can become a fire we have to put out. What would be the equivalent of childhood wonder for you? What would it look like if you tried to add moments like that on purpose to how you live your life now as an adult?
What You Might Need to Do to Slow Down to Get Creative Again
Even if you were to slow down completely, Q4 is the most lucrative time of year for most businesses anyway! There are ways to take less client work, but book for January. You could bundle some digital products together and sell them collectively. There are ways to be more efficient that just feel fun! When you are excited, people will get excited with you. When you are passionate, people will get passionate with you.
When you are overwhelmed, stressed, and hard to be around, are you surprised that people aren’t buying from you as much? What would happen if you had a fresh perspective? If you felt good? If you felt rested? It’s such a huge opportunity that is so easy to miss when you get stressed.
I had a really bad day yesterday. I texted my sister, and she asked me, what would happen if you just took the day off? So often, you forget to hold yourself to those standards because you are overwhelmed in the moment. You are not going to perform the way you would if you weren’t so stressed. It’s so wild to me that so many of us have built businesses with the goal of adding more flexibility and more freedom, and then we add rigidity in how we show up. In doing this episode, I’m reminding myself that I can do this too! I’m right there with you.
What Would It Mean to Live as Though You Already Have What You Want?
I want you to feel empowered, excited, and refreshed. And so many of you have continued to put a time clock on these things! Do you ever find yourself feeling envy for the experience of other business owners? A lot of the time, the things we see others achieving aren’t financial but actually are to do with the way someone is living their life. Which aspects can you recreate without spending any money?
Sometimes, you have to work up to what you want. But that doesn't mean that you can’t start acting like the person who is there beforehand. I can guarantee you that I would not live in the house I live in today if I had not been saying to myself for years that I needed to live somewhere amazing.
So often, we give ourselves this crazy perspective of what other people’s lived experience is. That’s part of what I want you to get out of this. You don’t actually know what other people are going through or what they had to do to get to this point. Most of the time, we don’t know the whole story. How long has it really taken you to get to where you want to go? How long did it actually take you to get to where you are?
The Ultimate Gift of Slowing Down and Setting Boundaries
I am not immune to any of this. I still want to rush through life and get to the next thing and the next thing. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to slow down. It’s okay to put up the Christmas tree. It’s okay to spend time with my spouse. I am not perfect at this. I do not have it all figured out and I still get jealous. There is a boundary that must be drawn. If someone on the internet is constantly giving you stress because when you see them you are so triggered by your own experience, then it is probably a healthy decision to unfollow them or mute their stories or posts. You don’t need to walk around feeling guilty.
I want you to be inspired. I want you to slow down and rest so that you can get creative again. I want you to add in those magical moments and childlike wonder. Urgency and jealousy often go hand-in-hand. While the holidays can be filled with beautiful moments, they can also bring up a lot; whether it’s family dynamics or loss or even just the weather. I want you to acknowledge that it is okay to walk away, rest, and slow down. Allow yourself the moments of peace and prosperity to dream again. Be more purposeful in the slowness.
If you are looking for community and for a place to be encouraged to remove that urgency, I want to invite you to the Co-op. I designed this community to provide you with tools that are going to save you time and make you more money; all with the lens that you are already enough!
Quote This
When you are excited, people will get excited with you. When you are passionate, people will get passionate with you.
Highlights
The Unexpected Reason That This Time of Year Is So Important to Me [0:01:25]
What You Might Need to Do to Slow Down to Get Creative Again [0:07:40]
What It Means to Live as Though You Already Have What You Want [0:11:30]
The Ultimate Gift of Slowing Down and Setting Boundaries [0:26:28]
OUR HOST:
Abagail Pumphrey
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Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:
Planning, Resting, Seasons, Festive Season, Slowing Down
