Stamina

Stamina (n) 'The ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort'

Messages come to me when I meditate. Today during meditation the word 'stamina' came up. It's not a regular part of my vocabulary and it's not something I think about often so when it came up I had to make time to reflect on what message this word was bringing to me. 

In less than a year I started 2 businesses. These businesses have been in the making for years and 2019 and 2020 were the years that I was blessed to birth them. It took me 8 years to bring my first business to fruition and 4 years to bring the second. In the 3 weeks since Corona lockdown began, I had to convince myself multiple times that what I chose to do was not a wrong decision. I had to convince myself that leaving my "secure" job to follow my calling was not a wrong decision and that launching a second business at the start of a global pandemic wasn't wrong either. My ego was telling me otherwise. 

The ego is tricky. It will have you believing half-truths and false realities to keep you from living your best life. My ego kept me from pursuing my passion and purpose 8 years ago. It also has kept me from fully embracing this entrepreneurial life I have now. Silencing the ego requires work. Consistent work. I have to work my thoughts in a way to counteract the thoughts produced by the ego. One slip up can send me over the edge in the wrong direction. 

Like many other small business owners, I had to pivot my priorities to better align with the needs of my clients and potential clients at this time. I have also realized that in my pivot, I could have easily caught myself up in the frenzy of taking advantage of this period to prematurely launch products, services, and information in order to capitalize on the moment. I chose not to because I believe in sustainability and I believe in self-care. I remind myself constantly that I am in this game for the long haul and there is no need to scale up or out before it's time. I have also watched other small business owners who chose to scale up to match the moment burn themselves out resulting in lost detail in their delivery and increasing apathy towards a business that was once a passion. 

Thinking of longevity business-wise has allowed for me to think about longevity personally. Our days aren't guaranteed but I refuse to allow those posts saying I need to come out of quarantine with new skills, hobbies, or I wasted this time from influencing my thought process. I refuse to let quarantine rush any aspect of my life. This is a marathon and not a sprint and rather fuel false starts and dead ends I plan to remain committed to my path, my process, and my timeline.