Last year I turned 40 and I was fit, lean and rocked my lycra. I was 67 kilos. Now I am 71 kilos. My mid section is more one pack than 6, my bottom wobbles alot when I jig around and my upper arms are floppy once more.
But I feel amazing and happy and fulfilled. Not because I am learning to accept my body or free from society's ideals - more that I have directed my focus and drive away from the gym and towards my bottom line. Excuse the pun.
I am naturally a happy person. Easily pleased and generally optomistic. I like people, people on the whole like me and I like me.
But I am competitive, especially with myself and especially at the gym. I like spin classes and I like weights. And I like doing them at 100%. It makes me feel great.
How does this relate to me growing my business?
You see, the gym not only helps me keep a healthy weight but also gives me the quick fix dopamine hit I love. The reward for doing so well on the spin bike or rowing machine is a large, satisfying dose of feel good hormones and chemicals. Endorphins rush through my veins as I drive home and get back to work.
I feel so darn satisfied that I don't feel like I need to succeed any more that day. My satisfaction quota has been met. There is nothing else that makes me feel as satisfied as a gym session.
Nothing...except the high I get from creating beautiful art and design work for my clients.
When I'm in the zone, in full flow with my pencil, paint and Photoshop I feel invincible. You name it; serotonin, dopamine, endorphins yada-yada I am a human hormone fest of joy.
But my keenness to be fit and healthy meant that my personal quota for satisfaction was being met by the gym and not by my success at work.
I have always worked hard. I love what I do with a passion and have achieved lots from absolute zero, all by myself. No corporation behind me or official job description. No previous career to kick-start my business. My 17 year career and life as a professional artist and designer has all been off my own back. So, yes I am an achiever in many ways, but in other ways I am easily satisfied.
And my brain doesn't care where that feeling of satisfaction comes from. Any trigger will do.
This is terrible if you need to earn money and make a living to help support your family. It's a hobbyist's mentality. I was determined not to continue this mentality in 2015.
At the end of 2014, after I returned from Silicon Valley I realised that I wasn't enjoying my original business model. But I still didn't make the link between the gym and my unsatisfying business progress.
Then in January 2015 I began changing how I think. I listened to my gut feelings more. I investigated the woo-woo notions of Manifestation, Gratitude and the Law of Attraction. I wanted to run my business more intuitively and femininely; not the metric hustling and number crunching that I had previously been exposed to.
Paradoxically, the less I worried about my business metrics and the less I cared about how much wattage I was pushing on the spin bike or kgs on the kettlebell, the more money I began making.
The more I journalled about the way I want my life and business to 'feel', the more clients I attracted. The less time I spent at the gym, the more I pushed myself to increase my work satisfaction.
I am now enjoying huge rushes and highs from gaining new clients, creating beautiful video backdrops, stunning illustrations and delivering chairs that delight my clients.
Today, my No1 source of endorphins, dopamine and serotonin comes from my work, my art and my daily competition with my creative-self to reach higher, go further and be better.
Don't be mistaken into thinking I have abandonned exercise and my health! I still go to double spin - and I'm still 100% focused when I'm sweating away in that noisy, dark room. But it now only takes up one morning a week.
And I don't want my muscles to atrophy so I do incidental weights at home; 30 bicep curls while waiting for the kettle to boil, or a plank while scanning drawings or 30 squats in the shower while my conditioner works in.
And I take brisk walks in nature while listening to inspiring podcasts and audio books.
But all this means my weight gain has snuck up on me. One day I'm sure I will be 67 kilos and rocking the lycra again, but for now this is where I am, exactly where I need to be and I am happy.
Where do you get your dopamine hits from? Is it from quick fixes like checking for Facebook likes, or social media interaction? Or maybe like me, the gym. Or do you limit these and find your highs in more meaningful places that will propel your business forward?
Want to see how we can work together and create something beautiful for your business or home?
Check out:
I Love My Chair - upholstery & design services
Bespoke Backdrops - custom backdrops for videos, webinars and events.
or email me here.
xx Emma
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