Simple Gifts for a Nurtured Entrepreneur

Dear Nurtured Entrepreneur,

To work with passion can mean, among other things, (a) to work with devotion, (b) to sustain a deep interest in our work, and sometimes (c) to experience overpowering feelings in our work, for good or ill.  The key to self-nurture is self-awareness and that can be a tall order for any entrepreneur in the thick of all that’s required to get your business to the river, into the downstream flow, and holding steady as you navigate.

If you are pursuing your work with passion AND wanting to stay mindful of your Body and Being in the process, I have some simple gifts you can give yourself that may help:

• A simple tool I use to check in with myself during the day is called a Mindfulness Clock.  Free software places an icon in your task bar.  Mine’s set to chime once at the top of each hour.  When I hear the gong beginning its call, I pause and take a deep inhale, a slow exhale.  In the process, my shoulders relax, my brain shuts off for a moment, my stomach relaxes.  I say “hello” to myself and add a “how-are-you-do-you-need anything” if I want to take the time.  Try this even once and notice how gratefully your body responds.  Your inner nurtured entrepreneur will thank you, too.  Visit the Washington Mindfulness Community to listen to this lovely bell and download the software if interested.

• A simple body movement I use to release unwanted energy is to shake.  Yep.  Think: tremor, shudder, quake.  It’s best if it’s a whole body shake.  Hide in the bathroom if you need privacy!  We take in thousands of emotions a day from experiences big and small that create tension in the body.  Unlike most animals, who do shake off this tension after a fright or trauma or an anticipated attack that never comes, we don’t shake these off.  Does that mean the tension goes away on its own?  No.  It settles into our cells and does not add to our well-being.  So get shaking!  Here’s a worthwhile, humorous article that explains why shaking is so good for us: Shake Away Your Stress and Tension

• Nurtured entrepreneurs are very sensitive to music.  One nurtured entrepreneur I know loves to listen to Mozart when he works.  He says it soothes and stimulates at the same time.  Have you tried setting up a nurturing music station for yourself on Pandora?  If you can’t listen to music while you work, consider taking a music break to listen to just one favorite, uplifting song.  This is one of my favorite nurturing songs, performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss (Simple Gifts):

Until next time …