Giving yourself the SPACE you need to experience serious business growth
This may come as a shock, but…
→ My best content ideas never come when I’m staring at a blinking cursor on the page.
→ My best business ideas don’t flow when I have a to-do list that’s a mile long.
→ And my best results haven’t shown up from being stressed and overwhelmed.
I’d be willing to bet my vanilla iced latte you can say the same.
You see a while back, I realized that I had become really good at running a to-do list instead of running a business (well, two businesses really). I felt so accomplished checking off each to-do with satisfaction and accomplishment, only to move on to the next thing.
I was killing it on the to-do list front. But my numbers still weren’t where I wanted them to be.
Which begs the question, why wasn’t more effort translating to more sales?
But here’s the problem—I wasn’t allowing myself time and space for the kind of big-picture thinking that brings in more of the results I wanted.
I wasn’t giving myself a chance to tap into my intuition, look strategically at my business, and decide what the RIGHT actions were that would bring in more leads, sales, and clients.
And of course, if I wasn’t doing that, I definitely wasn’t doing the foundational mindset work that was going to help me to actually execute on those RIGHT actions.
In a society that glorifies hard work and hustle, I can’t stress enough how important it is to decide if want to subscribe to that mentality. Because the hustle, the stress, the overwhelm, and the scattered focus—it’s all a choice.
And if you’re choosing to pour in more hours and effort and still not seeing the results you want, is it really worth it?
Because honest to goodness, the times when I’ve experienced the biggest GROWTH in both businesses is when I wasn’t making it more complicated than it had to be.
It’s when I was giving myself the SPACE I needed for the kind of big-picture thinking that boosts results. It’s when I’ve actually shown up as the CEO of my business.
It’s when I made the time and space to take care of ME first. I made time to go for a run, set up a coffee date with a friend, or just journal it all out.
And most importantly, it’s when I was doing the mindset work that makes it possible to take that time and really, deeply believe that I was fueling my business rather than taking away from it. (I mean you guys, know me by now. It always goes back to mindset!)
Because taking care of YOU is one of the foundational ways that you care for your business. ALWAYS.
So this week, I’m shifting your mindset around giving yourself the space you need to run a business, rather than a to-do list, so you can experience the kind of serious growth you’re craving.
Create space for the big-picture thinking
That ‘constantly busy, constantly productive’ feeling that I talked about earlier can be so addictive. But it can also hold you back from the success you desire for weeks, months, and even years, because that busywork is the exact thing that’s going to distract you from the kind of big-picture thinking that brings in more results.
You see, businesses are a bit like puzzles. It can take time to create a business that’s aligned to exactly what you want and how you want to create it. It’s a bit like picking up each puzzle piece, and seeing where and if it fits before moving on to the next. But like puzzles, it’s so much harder to put together if you don’t know what the bigger picture looks like. You’ll spend twice as much time picking up pieces and get about 10x more frustrated in the process. It’s not that it can’t be done, it’s just that it’s exhausting and unnecessary.
I have Future You clients who have been so wrapped up in the busy work that feels comfortable to them, that they haven’t allowed themselves the space for the kind of big-picture thinking and actions that will actually grow their business. They’re so wrapped up in what they’ve been doing all along and then frustrated that they’re not seeing different results. And nine times out of ten, it’s because they’re not giving themselves permission to DO that big-picture thinking. They haven't done the mindset work necessary to view that SPACE in their business as an asset rather than a liability. Because the ONLY thing that really, truly changes the overwhelm is your mindset, not a better to-do list, time management system, or software, but rather your THOUGHTS around all of those.
Maybe for you, that means carving out space on Friday morning to simply journal and dream about what the bigger picture looks like. Or maybe it’s a 15-minute check-in at the beginning of each day to see which area of your business needs your attention most right now. Find a rhythm that works for you, and then do the mindset work necessary to make it a habit. I PROMISE your business will see results because of it.
Make the time to take care of YOU first (and the business will follow!)
At the beginning of our work together, I see the impulse my Future You clients have to push harder and hustle more to see results. I think they love this because it feels SO within their control. And girl, as a fellow type-A business owner, I totally get it. I would love to believe that the more I put in, the more I get out. But I’ve stacked the evidence and it just doesn’t support that belief.
→ My sales calls convert the best when I got enough sleep the night before.
→ My content resonates with my audience when the inspiration struck while I was out for a run.
→ I get more of what I want when I do the mindset work to detach from the outcome I desire.
Because when I take care of ME first, it always translates to my business, and in that way, it’s the most important work that I do every day.
Now, I know you’d love to believe that I’m some super magical unicorn and while that kind of thinking may be possible for ME, it’s simply impossible for you. But I assure you, I’ve seen the very same thing hold true for other business owners. I’ve had business besties who go on two-week vacations only to get more leads in their inbox than ever before. I’ve had clients, completely shift their thinking around their schedule, cutting their work hours drastically, only to have more clients than they did before (not less!).
Because taking care of YOU is a business building activity. It’s those acts of self-care that fuel your business rather than take away from it. So whether it’s yoga, running, journaling, midday baths, or cuddles with your puppy (love me some puppy cuddles!)—I encourage you to make it a priority. It’s these actions that help you to feel better in your everyday life, and you always get more of the results you want when you feel good. But the only thing that lets you make it a priority is doing the mindset work around it FIRST.
Leave room for clients (duh!)
Do you actually have space to take on more of what you want? I think so often we want more clients, more projects, more events, more income, and more results, when drumroll, please... we don't have the bandwidth to take on any of those things. That instantly puts us into resistance with the very thing that we want more of and makes it THAT much harder to actually create it. Because if your calendar is completely filled with all the things that you DON’T want, where are you going to put the things that you actually do want?
I was talking with a business friend recently and she reminded me that we bring in what we’ve created space for. Let that sink in for a second because it can be a super powerful mindset shift.
She went on to explain how in the early days of her business, she filled her schedule with all the things she thought she had to be doing to make her business a success. She was super on top of the blog posts, the newsletters, the social media engagement, the list goes on… only to realize that she had completely filled her schedule and had no space left to actually TAKE ON clients—the very result she was looking to create. And once she created space in her calendar for them, well, of course, they started to roll in.
Now some of your are early on in business and thinking, “I don’t know what she’s talking about. My calendar is completely empty. I have all the space in the world.” Which brings me to my next point...
Schedule time to do the mindset work so you can take more of the RIGHT actions
You have to make time to do that mindset work. THINKING about doing your mindset work isn’t actually the same as DOING your mindset work. Trust me, as a girl who preaches mindset and knows the incredible results it can have, there are STILL days that I avoid doing it. But creating space for the mindset work is absolutely essential to following through on it and seeing more of the results you want.
I see too many business owners trying anything and everything they need to make their business work. It’s an Instagram course one day, a life-coaching certification the next, and they’re writing an ebook the day after that. But the challenge with that is you’re not giving yourself a chance to succeed with any one strategy.
The constant flip-flopping is exhausting, especially when combined with the lack of results you’re seeing. Sure it’s easy to hide behind those things because they feel comfortable to you. But the truth is that, usually, the thing that’s going to actually get you the results you want is the very same thing that’s going to feel uncomfortable. That’s why it’s so important that you do the mindset work to follow through with actions like:
→ Sticking to one marketing strategy consistently, even when you’re not seeing engagement yet
→ Hopping on sales calls and actually asking for the sale, even when it feels scary
→ Investing in the support you need so you can grow your business faster and with more ease
Honestly, that’s why I’m so effing amazing at coaching and my clients see such incredible results—because I coach you through the deep foundational mindset work that gets to the root of why you aren’t taking the right actions in your business. I’m completely, 100% available to guide you through that transformation. It all boils down to having the right mindset so you can take more of the RIGHT actions in your business, because once you have a solid mindset, the rest is easy. It’s getting out of your own way long enough to see those results that’s the hard part, so we tackle that together.
The bottom line:
Giving yourself the space you need to thrive in life and business is one of the foundational ways you can practice self-care. It can be so easy to get caught up in ticking things off your to-do list that you forget to leave room in your schedule for the mindset work that propels your business forward, and allows room for more clients, taking better care of yourself, and creating more fulfillment in your life. By doing the foundational thought work first, you’ll be giving yourself the space you need to see more results in your business.
Tell me in the comments below:
What’s one way you’re giving yourself the space you need to create bigger and better results in your business this week?
Photography by Jennifer Morgan Photography
