Sunday is here and I am loving it… the calm of the morning. I get up early so I can have quiet time to myself. The kids are all asleep, I let Bill sleep late and just sneak quietly into the kitchen and make myself an incredibly strong cup of coffee. The birds are singing outside; it’s so serene. And me? Just hanging out loving the quiet; no Monkey Mind.
It took me years to get the calm of Sunday back, and it takes constant effort and my utmost attention not to slip back into my old ways. Being able to enjoy the quiet wasn’t an overnight success story for me.
In Love with Constant Motion
A couple of years ago, I would get that cup of coffee and start working on anything that popped into my brain. Of course, there are days when that can still happen. Like you, I’m a successful entrepreneur. My business thrives on my non-stop attention. I never shut my brain off. Good, right? Who can argue with success? But was I addicted to constant motion?
You see, sometimes, I wasn’t as laser-focused as I wanted to be; sometimes, I felt like what needed to be doing, was running the show and not myself. Sometimes, I wondered how tight I had to hold on in order to not fall off the merry ground.
All those “sometimes “ led me to start questioning how I do things. I began exploring all sorts of alternative ways of thinking and being. Of course, being me, I tried to unlock every nook and cranny. That’s what I try to share with you in these blog posts.
Discovering The Monkey Mind
I guess one of my more powerful “aha” moments was when I first stumbled upon the concept of “The Monkey Mind.” I was intrigued. The Buddhists came up with the concept ages ago. They used the image of the monkey to describe how people jump from thought to thought. Check out this blog for an excellent summary of The Monkey Mind and how to tame it: https://www.pocketmindfulness.com
Wow, can I relate to The Monkey Mind? I suspect you can too. Just as those monkeys swing from branch to branch, our entrepreneur minds flit from one thought to another. If we run out of thoughts, like the monkeys, we head for another tree. Think about those “to-do” lists. Never ending, right? When they actually end, we think of something else- new event, new promotion, new sales challenge, new service, new product. Then there are the buzzing phone calls and maybe a “well deserved” shopping spree. Sounds like your schedule, right? Well, that’s your Monkey Mind in full throttle. Yes, there are loads of benefits as we get so much done, but it is not sustainable. It can exhaust us, as well as, the people around us. More than anything, this non-stop thinking can lead to decisions we make on the run. In reality, this is not good for growing a solid company.
Taming The Monkey Mind…
So how do we take the good of “The Monkey Mind” and manage the unintended consequences? Like everything, it starts with awareness. Pay attention when you’re in the thinking speed lane. Take note! Evaluate your productivity in a chaos cycle vs a more measured pace. That’s hard for us to do; as we all know, entrepreneurs thrive on pulling rabbits out of hats. There’s a bit of a rush in it. Plus, we get rewarded with amazing feedback.
Advice as a Business Owner.
- Build the avatar of your internal team. Then build your external team. What are you looking for in your team? Your leadership team? If you don’t have one, start building it. Design the coaching team model in your business. The possibilities of team members are endless! Educators, company members, plumbers, electricians, bookkeepers, accountants, brand management, social media managers, stylists, assistants, you name it!
- Hire your first position: Executive assistant and eliminate 60% of what’s on your plate.
- Look at your calendar and find 20 hours a week that you can delegate the tasks that you are on to your Executive Assistant.
- Team up with the best education team that wants to support your growth and delegate your technical education to your external team. You don’t have to be the one to teach and educate. You need to hire the best educators that will help you grow and inspire your team.
Basic Things to Do…
Watch your diet. Stimulants feed The Monkey Mind so ease up on the coffee, sugar, and gluten-loaded foods.
Structure your time. Set a routine. See what happens if you delegate 20% of your weekly tasks to others or drop some altogether. And hey, maybe the world won’t end?
Put yourself on the “to-do” list. Program your family and fun time. Figure out what takes your mind completely off your business- play a sport, go to a yoga class, go for a walk, journal for a little while. Find your own zen time.
Do Nothing. That’s right. Find something that helps you feel okay with doing nothing but sitting still. Try breath work or meditation (see my earlier blog post on meditation).
Also, check out Wim Hof breathing exercise explained in a simple way: Thoughtbrick Blog
Be kind to yourself. Don’t set yourself up to get an “A” right away. I’m picturing you on a Sunday morning, sitting in your kitchen doing nothing but enjoying the quiet. You’re gonna love it.
