As an entrepreneur, it’s so easy to get caught up in work and the go-go-go. I’m a busy gal, and I actually thrive and feel most productive when I’m busy. But, there is a fine line between staying busy and productive WHILE maintaining your mental stability and being in a state of the busy hustle and losing a piece of your identity. Maybe you’re an entrepreneur, maybe you work a 9-5 job that you love, maybe you work a job that you dislike, or maybe you fall somewhere in between all of that. Either way, finding a balance between work and play is critical to overall health and quality of life. You are not and should not be defined by any one thing. For me, I’m a Health and Life Coach. But, I’m also a partner, a friend, a mentor, a yogi, a kitty-mom, a sister, and so much more. I am more than my business and the work that I do and though Essentially Madi and the work that I’m doing is my absolute pride and joy, I am also so much more than that. And, you are more than the work that you do. So, how exactly can you find the balance between working hard and creating optimal health and wellness?

What is Real Health?

Real health goes beyond doctor visits the scale. In fact, real health has very little to do with what the doctor prescribes and says. Wellness has become such a hot topic because of the mindset behind it. Health is a state of body and wellness is a state of being. Your body is only one piece of who you actually are and having a better understanding of overall health and wellness is what will get you one step closer to long-term quality of life. Taking advice from medical professionals is important as they can provide great insights into your body, however, this does not define your overall health. Health comes from getting a better understanding of your internal and external self and developing ways to listen to and honor your mind and body.

Real health is about creating balance in all that you do. In my post, Balanced Living: Is It Even Possible, I discussed how to create balance in your everyday life and this is the beginning stages of real health. Balanced living IS possible if you commit to it. After sharing that post, I received quite a bit of feedback from my audience saying how important that post was but how it was such a difficult topic when it came to working, business and finding the balance between work life and personal life. When your profession consumes you emotionally, it begins to wear on your overall life including your hobbies, relationships, and self-image. You are more than your work and your work greatly impacts your health, if you allow it to.

Eight Dimensions of Wellness

Yeah, yeah, I’m still talking about the 8 dimensions of wellness. It’s basically the core of the work that I do so if you’re sick of hearing about it, get used to it, hah! But no really, the eight dimensions of wellness define your overall health and wellness in all areas of life. These dimensions are Physical Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, Emotional Wellness, Spiritual Wellness, Environmental Wellness, Financial Wellness, Occupational Wellness, and Social Wellness. So, if it isn’t clear, Occupational Wellness is ONE part of your overall health and if you work for the sole purpose of money, Financial Wellness is also just ONE part of your overall health. If there isn’t purpose in all of the other dimensions, or areas of life that you are focusing on, you are naturally going to be lacking in confidence and happiness. It’s easy to allow work and finances to consume you but that’s not truly living. We work to live, we do not live to work.

Expectations Kill Joy

Setting expectations get in the way of your true potential and optimal happiness. No one else is expecting the things that you have in your head so when you set high expectations of yourself, and you don’t accomplish them the exact way that you intended, you are only letting yourself down emotionally. When setting expectations, your subconscious mind internalizes them and remembers the mission you set out to do. When you are let down by them, you may logically understand the reasoning why, however, your subconscious mind can’t recognize the logic, it only feels the letdown. You then internalize these experiences and feel incapable of accomplishing the things you set out to do. When, in fact, you are beyond capable and there is likely a logical reason why the expectation wasn’t met. Maybe there were baby steps that needs to happen first or you needed to pivot.

In relation to work, managing expectations can be difficult. Whether you’re expecting a promotion, hoping to book new clients, or eager to reach the next financial goal, managing expectations in this realm will help you retrain your mind to understand that you are deserving and capable of those goals, but we don’t always have control over external forces. You can’t control if your boss gives you a promotion. You can’t control if a client signs on with you. You cannot control external forces that you may be weighing your expectations on. So, adjust your expectations with your work, and consistently show up openly and authentically while putting your best foot forward. At the end of the day, that’s all you can do so instead of letting expectations kill your joy, adjust and pivot and enjoy the baby steps to get you where you want to be.

Integrate Health Into Your Mission

It’s beyond important that you know and understand your “why” in your work. This can be in a business or in your profession. Having a why and understanding of your mission and purpose in your work will improve your outlook on the work that you are doing. When you create your “why” and mission, integrate health and quality of life into it. We are much more likely to follow through when your mission and vision are written out. We constantly make goals in life, so why wouldn’t we make intentions and goals for our health? Write out your why or journal about your mission in your work and purpose and be sure to include overall health and quality of life as a priority. Then, begin to create choices in your work that help you cast votes for that mission statement. Choose to show up in your mission every day that you work.

Make Break Time Intentional

If you are working a job where you have a lunch break or little breaks throughout the day, make them intentional. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media or binging a show, create some time to intentionally be with yourself, even if it’s just for a few minutes before hopping on the ‘gram or pressing play of Netflix. Creating intentional time in your workday will help you feel like you have more freedom and autonomy in the day. If you are a business owner, take intentional breaks. Take a lunch break where you give yourself time to actually eat a meal and be with yourself away from the computer. Schedule mindful breaks to breathe, connect and give your nervous system a reset.

Create Healthy Routines and Stick to Them

Outside of work and within the workplace, create healthy routines and stick to them. It doesn’t have to be crazy complicated and lengthy. A healthy routine can literally be five deep breaths in the morning and night before starting and ending your day. When you start with little goals, your subconscious mind remembers what you are capable of and that the commitment to yourself is a priority. Starting small reinforces that you are capable and you will naturally adapt to larger goals. When you create a routine centered around health. Sticking to personal goals will help you accomplish work goals because you will realize that you can follow through.

Some easy and quick health routine ideas: journaling, mindful movement, five deep breaths, prepping snacks ahead of time, five minutes for hobbies, going for daily walks, doing an activity in The Way to Wellness Workbook

Burnout is Not Normal, Or Healthy

We live in a culture that really promotes burnout and hustle and this isn’t normal or healthy. Being busy all of the time can lead to chronic stress. Long-term chronic stress impacts overall, long-term health and can lead to much more serious illnesses and diseases. At the end of the day, unless you are the owner of your business and job, you are technically replaceable. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to care and put effort into your job. But, it does mean that you shouldn’t be burning yourself out and hurting your overall life by giving your all to a job. If you do own a business and have to give your all to work, at the end of the day, very rarely is there anything that will make or break your career or business that can’t be put off. If your mental health and overall well-being are suffering from the work you are doing, you need to adjust and pivot. You cannot pour from an empty cup and normalizing hustle culture will lead to burn out and you will be worse off than where you were before. When you are living in a state of hustle, grind, and stress, your digestive system slows down, energy levels lower, there is an increase in brain fog, anxiety, and frustration, reduced quality of sleep, etc.

Actively Practice Grace & Gratitude

Grace and gratitude go so far in your health, and ultimately will help you in your career and profession. You won’t get every promotion, every raise or hit every milestone when you want. It’s not about being pessimistic, it’s about being real and honest with yourself and again, managing expectations. Giving yourself grace in work and business will improve mental health and the desire to continue in your career. Grace reminds your subconscious that you are so worthy of the work that you are doing and deserve to celebrate and be grateful for what you’ve already done. The rest of the accolades will come within time. These two things, grace, and gratitude create a more meaningful connection to your career and purpose.

Find Intention & Meaning Beyond Your Work and Business

You are more than your career and though it is something you should be proud of, it’s also not your entire being. It’s important to find intention and meaning beyond your day-to-day work through hobbies, friendships, family time, spirituality, mindful movement, etc. Your health will never be solely measured on your ability to perform in your career and everyone else sees you for so much more than that, so find your intention outside of the workplace to better understand your meaning and purpose because that is beyond powerful and beautiful.

Your Health Matters

Health truly is wealth and when you solely focus on income and money, you lose passion and heart for the work that you’re doing. Finding and creating meaning in every day is beyond important for a balanced lifestyle and though it can be difficult some days, the work that you are doing does matter. The wealthiest people I know aren’t the ones who are rich and loaded with cash, they are everyday people that find meaning in the work they do and are fulfilled by the little moments. Creating balance in your work and life is a key component to happiness and longevity of life. I don’t believe the saying “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” because that’s so far from the truth. I love what I do beyond words but it takes effort and so much work. But, I’m more fulfilled than I have ever been with any job before. So, commit to meaningful work, commit to your health, and commit to your happiness. No one else can do that for you and stop trying to fill from an empty cup. You can’t serve others until you serve yourself.