Happy 2023!
Every now and then, I like to pop in here simply to check and see how you’re doing and to share my thoughts and perspective from a Rock Solid viewpoint. As I was thinking about writing this morning, I was thinking how great it would be to grab a cup of coffee and sit for a few minutes just to visit! We might visit about New Year’s resolutions and goals, lessons learned in the past year, and maybe upcoming changes in life and business. I sincerely love chatting about all these things with business-minded people! Let’s be honest, it could be hours - not only a few minutes!
I’d be thrilled to celebrate your wins and hear what you altered in 2022 to ensure success! We’d possibly agree that we’re still in slightly murky waters, left over from 2020. Things aren’t necessarily bad, but I feel like most people I get to chat with are still navigating in unknown waters here and there.
Surely we’d visit about business goals and resolutions for 2023! It consistently amazes me when I speak with business leaders and discover fascinating new goals and intricate plans to make them realities. Those who know me know that I love to strategize, plan, and refine what “normal business practices” say is impossible and make those dreams happen!
But, as I dove deeper into what I’d like to share to encourage you as we march into 2023, I felt a pivot in my mind and heart.
This year has started differently for me. This is our 6th year in business, and things feel changed from previous years… maybe more comfortable or sure. (Are we even supposed to use those words in business?) It’s quite odd if I’m being honest, and yes -- it initially caught me very off guard. It required both a pivot and a shift in my mindset. As I took a breath to figure it out, I … relaxed?! Yes, I’m as surprised as you might be! Let me explain -
I’m not one to set resolutions in life or business. Oh, I have resolve, let me tell you! If my husband were to chime in, he’d call it bullheadedness or profound stubbornness. We’ll just go with resolve! (wink, wink) Throughout each quarter and season here at Rock Solid, we shift as needed, rearrange goals, and often make new plans to stay in stride with the growth that is happening. Because I didn’t have a business background when Rock Solid was started, I’ve always looked at business differently. I see it as a child I have been given. I don’t have to make plans for it to grow - the One who created it did that! I need to feed it, water it, nurture it, and help it to form excellent practices in life that will become lifelong habits and ways.
So what is different as we get 2023 kicked off?
Peace.
…another word we don’t often hear or use in business. Sometimes peace has to be chosen, not only an emotion we wait and hope to find or feel.
So… if I were fortunate enough to have coffee with you one month into the New Year, my best encouragement for tackling all the goals and resolutions would be this --
Breathe.
Resolve to enjoy your coffee or tea each morning quietly and without technology. Yes, before you check your inbox, if possible!
Learn to waste time just a little bit this year.
Not everything has to be prioritized and scheduled. It’s okay to be sporadic every once in a while!
Loosen up with these words -- or let go of them altogether:
Efficiency
Productivity
Hustle. (Ugh! That is my LEAST favorite word!)
Take a walk.
Not for exercise or because you need a minute away from it all. Go for an unscheduled walk to nowhere for an unknown amount of time. No counting your steps or calculating calories burned! Look around. See the birds. Look for signs of Spring ~new life awaiting to emerge. Listen.
Commit to reading one book this quarter that is NOT about business, productivity, or self-improvement.
Paint, write, cook, decorate, PLAY … whatever makes your heart smile, do that!
Most business owners I meet have started their businesses with a passion for making life better, easier, or more beautiful for others. They’ve got incredible talent and hearts as big as Texas.
Let’s resolve together to hang on to that, to nurture that! It provided the desire, the drive, and the dreams to get started. Let’s set a goal to hold onto it with bulldogged determination and not lose it in 2023!
There will be time to knock that project out, I promise. You’ve planned, practiced, and prepared - you’re ready! However, if your brain and your heart are exhausted, overwhelmed, and consumed with pressure and anxiety, it’ll affect your business and your life in disastrous ways!
The one thing your business has that no other business does is YOU ~ your heart, mind, passion, and vision! Let’s resolve to be all that we were created to be in 2023 and to serve others well with our gifts and talents along the way!
Talk soon,
Tracy
