Final Thoughts: The Slow Down Diet for your Business

Slowing down is a hard-sell for most in our fast-paced, ever-connected, ever-changing, culture.

Anymore, it has to be a deliberate choice to slow-down and stay grounded and connected to our bodies, our breath, and the life we have that exists beyond “busy”.

Being centered and grounded and connected is built into my vision of success for my life and for my business. I have no desire to work 70-hour work weeks, to be left with no energy for the other parts of my life. That is one of the huge benefits of becoming an entrepreneur — getting to choose the rhythm of your days so it reflects your truest values.

Reading, and working with, Marc David’s Slow Down Diet got me thinking about the intersection of yogini-ness and business. Because I can see, when I am practicing the principles of The Slow Down Diet, that it spills over into my relationship with all areas of my life, including my business. Business can be a part of my yoga practice and the Slow Down Diet is an excellent framework for getting started.

Let’s face it, starting a business is very much like having a child — bringing an idea to life, nurturing it, growing it, and helping it flourish in the world.  It’s a big undertaking that takes a lot of commitment and a whole lot of love and even more of our energy and mental-space.  It’s easy to get mired in the illusion that pushing harder, being busier, and taking it really seriously is the only way to create success.

That is not the yogini way.

Applying the Slow Down Diet to your Business

The eight elements of the slow down diet are a beautiful way to approach your business.  Very yogini-esque.

Relaxation

Though it’s a tough sell, relaxation and decreasing the stress-response is a key factor in running a successful business.  You simply cannot make your best decisions when you are in fight-or-flight response.  And it’s astonishing how little it takes to throw our bodies into a stressed state and we may not even recognize it, because it’s so prevalent in our culture.

Find ways to relax: breathe, practice yoga, run, walk, do tai chi, meditate — there are lots of ways to calm down your body and mind which will prime your energy and keep your mind clear. Find the ways that work for you.

Quality

Instead of focusing on quantity of products or services, focus on quality.  What could you teach in your sleep?  What do people value about you that you discount in yourself?  Where are your natural strengths?  Focus your energy there.

Yes, I agree with experts who say just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.  However, if you want to make a living now, it might be a good idea to leverage the skills and talents you have and fold in the stuff you want to do until you are offering a high-quality version of what you want to be offering.  At that point, there is an excellent chance that the clients who have benefited from your work in the past (your raving fans) will happily pay you for your new, exciting, high-quality offering.

Awareness

We grow into the best version of ourselves through exercising awareness — looking at the tender parts of our experience.  Not enough clients?  Not enough money?  Feeling fear?  Disappointment?  Overwhelmed?  When we can relax into whatever we are feeling, without resistance, that is where the learning happens. By experiencing our feelings and taking an honest look at reality, we can work with what is happening and make wise decisions.

For instance, one client I had was frantically trying to drum up business for her coaching practice as her savings were running out.   She desperately wanted to make a living through her practice.  When she was able to relax and stop resisting the situation, she could really see how much progress she had made in growing her practice and also see how her fear was impacting her, and her clients.  She was seeing clients regularly, but not quite enough to pay the bills and she was afraid.  Her fear kept her from being present with her clients and she didn’t feel good about their sessions, which led to more fear that she wouldn’t be able to retain or attract new clients. She was adamant about NOT returning to her previous field of work, certain that would mean she was a failure.

In the end, she decided to do some contract work in her previous field so she could stop worrying about money and focus on providing a great service to the clients she did have.  Over the following 5 months, her business continued to grow as people referred her and she was able to slowly phase out the contract work.  Now her coaching practice is supporting her.  She learned a tremendous amount about facing fear, her own resilience, and staying flexible.  Those lessons will be invaluable to her and her clients as she continues to grow her business.

Rhythm

Are you a morning person or a night person?  When are you at your best?  In a perfect world, what kind of rhythm would your days and weeks have?  Creating a schedule for yourself is a great way to create a deliberate rhythm that supports your life and honors your business.  A good rhythm includes exercise, nourishment, family and friends, rest and reflection, as well as time to work on the business part of your business and, of course, client-focused activities.

It’s up to you how you structure your days to best support your business and your life — and that is key — it’s your choice.  Deliberately creating a rhythm for yourself is an act of supreme kindness for yourself and will support you in staying relaxed, creating quality products and services, as well as add another dimension of awareness to your life.  I find that when I get out of my rhythm, there is typically something else going on that I am not wanting to address.  It’s a good indicator for me that some reflection and change are in order.

Pleasure

This, to me, is the key to getting lots of great work done.  I love what I do.  I enjoy every aspect of my business.  It all brings me great pleasure.  I work with clients that I enjoy and I create partnerships with other business owners that I have a great relationship with that I respect and love.

And the stuff that I don’t love (because there is always that, right)?  I find ways to get it off my plate.  Either setting up a system to take care of something or hiring someone to do it for me.   It can also be hard to enjoy something that you don’t understand.  If you are confused or uncertain how to do something, get some help with that.  You may find that you grow to love it, or, you may gain enough understanding to know that you aren’t interested in doing it yourself.  And that is great information to have.

When we love what we do, it increases our chances of success and it won’t feel like so much effort.

Thoughts

Thoughts drive our actions and our view of the world at large.  If you have lots of negative thoughts, it is negatively impacting your business and your life.

“No one likes me.  I have nothing of value to offer.”

“I hate business.  Money is for selfish jerks.”

“I will never be successful.”

“This is too hard.”

Questions your negative thoughts with ruthless compassion.  Even knowing you are having negative thoughts is a huge awareness and takes a lot of the power out of it.  After all, if you are aware that you are having negative thoughts, who is recognizing that?  Your higher, wiser, grounded, connected, amazing, self, that’s who!  So question those thoughts and replace the thoughts with truer, more positive thoughts.  I use The Work of Byron Katie or Self-Coaching from Brooke Castillo.  They are both effective methods for dissolving the beliefs and thoughts that hold you in old, predictable patterns.

Story

What kind of story do you tell yourself about your past, your present, and your future?  Are you endlessly focused on the challenges you face, or, do you see how each experience has equipped you with gifts, experience, and strength of character?

I recommend telling yourself the story of your business and your life, as you would like it to look, oh, a year from now.  Even two or three years from now.  This can be a driving force for planning your business as well as a powerful anchor that keeps you focused on what you truly desire.

Every story can be told a number of different ways, without deception.  It simply depends on what facts we pay attention to.  My natural inclination is to find the purpose and the blessings in any hard circumstance.  I happen to believe that all of our experiences happen for a reason, and it’s my job to find that reason and integrate the lessons that  I learn.

What do you believe?  Are there stories in your life that are holding you back in your business?  Can you retell them to find the gifts?  What story are you telling yourself about the future of your business?  Make a choice and be deliberate with this story.  It’s a powerful practice.

The Sacred

I see our business as a sacred journey home, to ourselves.  If we embrace the spiritual nature of life and we believe that everything is an opportunity to grow and become more fully ourselves, then it naturally follows that our business is sacred.

As frustrating as it can be, every single annoying moment and challenge in business is our divinity knocking on the door, asking us to wake up to something in this moment.  Notice if you tend to have the same kinds of challenges, over and over.  That is the Universe continually giving you the chance to learn something critical, something that is necessary for you and your path.

There is another level to the sacred business that I am still learning about and exploring — the concept that our business has it’s own soul and it’s own energy.  Hiro Boga and Mark Silver, two of my favorite spiritual entrepreneurs, teach this.  I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I do spend time on a regular basis “talking to” my business through visualization.  I ask my business what it needs to thrive, ask for guidance, and offering my support.  It sounds a little (okay, a lot) woo woo, but I have gotten some amazing insights and clarifications through this practice.

Slowing down is the sanest thing we can do for our lives and our businesses.

I’ve seen my own business, and that of other spiritually-minded entrepreneurs, begin to thrive in a very organic and natural way through the embrace of these practices.

Are there ways you want to slow down, or ways that you do?  Do you see your business and your life as a spiritual practice?  Are you interested in integrating your yogini-ness with your business?  Tell me more in the comments.

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