It was December 27, 2014. 15 years of growing multiple businesses and 9 years of building a non-profit, yet I never took a week long vacation. I was literally on the verge of complete burn out.
I have been grinding since high school. Building businesses, providing opportunities and committed to giving back in a big way. For as long as I can remember, I had always taken on far more than I should, and stretched myself beyond thin. I USED TO take pride in being insanely scheduled and busy.
My health was deteriorating, and I decided to take a month off. For the first eight days of that trip, utter exhaustion confined me to the bed in that hotel room.
That week I made a decision. I chose to stop defining myself as a workaholic with no time for anything else. I had been so focused on breaking free of poverty and abuse, I didn’t realize I did and just replaced it with a life of stress and overwhelm.
I knew better. But I also knew that in an INSTANT, I could redefine who I was and how I wanted to live.
I left that room on the 8th day and went for a long walk in the mountains. It was then that I chose who I was going to be and how I was going to show up. I had to dig deep to uncover what beliefs I was hanging onto that may have served me in one part of my life but weren’t serving me any longer.
Do you have any beliefs that used to serve you during one period of your life but may be holding you back now?
Have you given yourself an identity or label that’s isn’t congruent with who you WANT to be in this stage of your life?
We must always be cautious of the labels we give ourselves. If you say you’re “stressed, overwhelmed and anxious” — that’s exactly how you’ll be. And if you say you’re “energetic, loving and courageous” — that’s exactly how you’ll be.
What words are you going to use to define YOU? Your words can breathe life into your soul or they can cripple your success and happiness. Choose carefully.
