Have you ever had one of those moments where you really miss the mark? Last week was one of those weeks for me. We had an unreal winter storm that gave us a week of extreme low temperatures, icy roads, power outages, water leaks, and empty grocery shelves.
January was a great month for the businesses, and everything was looking positive. I am in the middle of a large (expensive) project, but it’s easy to be confident and trust God’s plan for you when everything is rocking along. When the storm hit and it became evident that closing shop was a potential path, I got a lovely visit from my good friend, anxiety. My mind immediately went to the financial cost of shutting down, the inevitable disruption in the supply chain, and the trailing price increases due to harsh conditions for farm and ranch operations.
In the middle of stressing myself out and trying to strategize on ways to make some positive adjustments to deal with the weather, I stumbled across a video on the Real Business Owners Instagram story that really spoke to me. Kale, one of the two guys that runs that account, did a video while returning from a family vacation. He discussed the value within his organization derived from a culture where everyone covers one another to allow for vacation time where they can truly disconnect. More importantly, he discussed how much value he and his family got from his vacation and how he’s not taken much vacation time while on his journey to grow the business. His message really hit me, and I instantly knew it was going to be okay, and I needed to be at peace with shutting down the shop for a handful of days. My goal then became using this time to really be present with my family and to disconnect so I could come back positive and full of energy once the storm had passed.
My intention was to disconnect, and I even made an Instagram story to discuss my plan. I didn’t do well though. I quickly slipped back into the mindset of feeling like I needed to be in control of whatever I could, finish any work-related projects I could, and I obsessed about how much of a negative financial impact this storm could have on our year. We have an awesome team and everything is going great, but I still managed to slip. Before I knew it, the week had passed, and I had an empty feeling inside. Most of my heart, soul, time, and four-wheel-drive went to the business as if I could really control what was happening. That anxiety came in, and I lost track of what was important.
As the storm was going on, I had a phone call with a great friend. He asked me, “Do you not believe that God can give all of this back in a week?” I believed it, but was stuck in a dark place through it all. Crazy thing is, we opened on Friday after the ice had begun to melt and had the busiest weekend of in-store sales we’ve ever had.
The takeaway – If I could go back in time and spend all my energy being positive, loving on friends and family, and delivering coffee to make people smile, that’s what I would do. For this business, myself, and my family to get where we want to be, it’s important to trust the process and react to stress with positivity, love, and trust. Sometimes we are clear on a path, have convictions on what to do, but still slip into anxiety and defensiveness when something difficult happens. For me, I know it does way more harm than good. It’s fine to work hard when times are tough, but make sure it’s coming from a positive place or you risk hurting people you love on accident.
Remember, working harder isn’t always a simple solution. I should have used my energy to love and support my family and team more so than to stress out and try to push. There will be another traumatic event, and I’ll just remember the blizzard of 2021 and do better.
