Enjoying the Little Things
Hey, my self-publishing indie authors out there, we are in an overwhelming business. If this is our side-hustle around our normal day job, then this authorpreneurship business is even more overwhelming. We’re working two full-time jobs and some.
There are many days when I don’t even get to see the sun. I’m sure some of you are in the same boat. We get up at 4 A.M. work our authorpreneur business while it’s dark. At six o’clock, we drive to our day job in the dark. We put in a long day there and then drive home in the dark. Have some family time, put the kids to bed, and then get back to working out authorpreneurship business, once again in the dark.
It’s a crazy life we live. And yeah, I know, sometimes life has to be crazy and out of balance for us to get to where we want to go. But going long stretches without seeing the sun isn’t a good thing. It isn’t healthy for us. We thrive on sunshine.
Every now and then, I think we need to remember to keep it all in perspective. And one of the ways we can do this is by remembering that our authorpreneur business is a marathon, not a sprint. We can’t sprint ourselves out. Sometimes, we have to walk, take a water break, and rest. Sometimes we have to stop and smell the roses in this business… and in life…
Also, remember that relationships and family are everything. After all, why do we even do this business? It’s so we can provide a better life for our family, right? It’s so we can contribute in a positive way to humanity, right? People are important. Relationships and family are vital. Do not neglect them while trying to provide for them.
Yes, we may go days without seeing the sun, but never go days without seeing your family and other people if possible. Contact with people is some of the little things that matter in this world and in this business.
So, what other little things matter? Hmm… How about the savory taste of a good meal? I know it’s just a small thing. And I know we often overlook the importance of savoring a meal. Busy as we are, we don’t think much about the nutrition and the pleasure of taste that we’re missing when we work through our meals.
Too often, I’ve woofed down some drive-thru food, if we can call it food, while trying to get to where I’m going fast. Furthermore, I’ve also done this while multi-tasking with other things as I’m driving and eating because I’m just so dang busy.
Too many times, I have thought of meals as an inconvenience. Food, the life-giving, energy-giving nutrition, and the delightful taste it provides us are one of those little things we should be enjoying. We have to stop thinking that meals take up too much of our valuable time.
Meals with others heighten our experience. We need to block out a little time to have a meal with another person instead of alone in our car driving to our next appointment, or at our desk working away.
Here’s an interesting little thing, but a good thing. Most of us authorpreneurs don’t believe we have any time for distractions in our lives. Yup, believe it or not, some good distractions add to our lives. We need something to entertain our minds once in a while, that isn’t work.
We could benefit from the healthy distractions that could be something as simple as watching the ballgame with our son. Or maybe it’s watching a spider building its web with our daughter. Perhaps it’s a walk with our spouse, or even watching the flight of a bird. Maybe it’s just sipping a cup of coffee all alone watching a sunrise… There are so many good distractions out there that we should be taking advantage of to help us recharge our batteries and work more efficiently when we do get back to work.
We all need healthy distractions in our lives. These are the little things that are the good things that we should be enjoying. We can’t work every waking minute of every day. It’s just not healthy to work like this.
Even though we are feeling enormous pressure to work nonstop right now, so we don’t have to work so hard later, it’s still not a good idea. We can’t work nonstop. Besides, working nonstop steals the quality of our lives. And the quality of our lives is something we should be guarding. After all, our spouses and children are counting on us to defend it.
The last thing we want to do is burnout. If we’re burnt out, we are no good to anyone. And again, our families are counting on us to be of some good. It’s an added burden on our families if we’re burnt out.
So, let’s not go there. We have choices to make. And the choice we should be making is to guard the quality of our lives in this business by taking the time to enjoy the little things so we can someday do big things.
Watch the free video lesson on this chapter!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV1aUqH3Q4E&list=PL_-39bUXJitwL8cHUpiZ5mO0-JJuaPOVl&index=78