Grieving what we believed should have been

I miss her. But not her. My mom and I had a HARD relationship for the majority of our time together. When she passed away unexpectedly in 2008 I grieved and I grieved hard but there was a lot of anger and hurt mixed in with sadness. There would be no closure. I wouldn't get the answers I needed and wanted. I would never be able to have that last fight I wanted to have!!! The funny thing? Life and business are no different. One thing I have come to understand is life is unpredictable. Health issues shifted things, moving shifted things, family shifted things and life, in general, has been the biggest shift creator of all. So what do I do to manage all of the change that occurs, I make sure to grieve the possibilities. Because we attach meaning to things, we attach stories to things not only in the present but in the future! We plan, we execute and already have a vision in our head of how it MAY turn out and when it does we are ecstatic but what about when it doesn't…we need to grieve. Every day I talk to business owners and friends who are having to change something in their business or lives. Either a relationship, where they live, their spending, or the entire focus of their business and the hardest part is letting go of what we believe should have been. 

I challenge you this year, to start to release the "you" from your business. Your business is not you. You are not your business. Your worth is not determined by it and therefore the outcome. Our business should not destroy us or make us!! If you this makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you take a deeper look into your business/personal relationship and start the process of letting go. Find things outside of them to fulfill you. To make you feel whole. Grieve what could have been. Cry, scream, stomp your feet and then let time heal the bruises. But don't allow that dream to hold you hostage in your future and be unable to move forward.

Dawn Taylor