This
week’s newsletter may not be easy to read; I’m discussing a difficult topic
that is painful to think about, but we can only achieve change by facing up to
things that are sometimes difficult and that can make us uncomfortable.
Too often in life, we let the urgent get in
the way of what’s important and we can’t always know what is important before
we consciously make the decision to identify what’s important.
Last
week was Dementia awareness week, a cause close to my heart and, as some of you
will know, with good reason, as it is a condition my own father suffers with so
I am, unfortunately, all too aware of how devastating it can be. Watching someone you love lose their
treasured memories, becoming frustrated because their confused or disorientated
and no longer being the same person you knew them to be, can be
devastating. However, in moments of
clarity, my Dad has some fantastic stories to share, he’s had a great life and
done some amazing things; being a soldier in the army, working in the airline
industry, running six successful, highly profitable businesses, being a boxing
champion in a team with Henry Cooper and raising a family of his own.
One
thing my Dad was always good at when he was in business was making time for
himself. This is something many modern
business owners struggle with. When we
first go into business, we believe we have to work exceptionally hard and make
sacrifices in order to succeed. In many
ways, this is true, but before long, working long hours and missing out on down
time with family, pursuing hobbies or working on your own development and
learning becomes a habit.
A
comforting thought that occurs to me, as I watch my Dad suffer with Dementia,
is that at least he has plenty of fantastic memories; it will take a while for
this horrid illness to take all of them away.
I’m well aware that it doesn’t truly work like this, but there are some
people who suffer with this illness that perhaps won’t have so much to hold on
to, or to lose. Those people who have
spent their entire lives working and who haven’t made the time to make
memories; that is truly tragic.
Many
business owners fall into the trap of believing “someday I’ll…” They promise themselves, and their families,
“Someday I’ll take that trip…” or “Someday I’ll be able to pick the kids up
from school and spend more time with them…” perhaps it’s “someday I’ll read
that book…” or even, “someday I’ll get to work on developing the business
instead of just keeping afloat…” maybe it’s even, “someday I’ll find the time
to work with a coach who can help me to grow my business,” but whatever the
promise is, the cruel fact of life is that SOMEDAY may never arrive.
Currently
1 in 20 people in the UK suffer with Dementia, approximately 850,000 and this
figure is set to rise to over a million within the next 10 years. The chances for those people to make new
memories and to remember their best days are being diminished every second, but
what excuses do the rest of us give ourselves? Don’t we owe it to ourselves to
make the most of everyday instead of just waiting for someday?
When
working with a client recently, I had a conversation about this very same
topic; I asked, “How is your work/life balance?” Their response was, “What
work/life balance? I don’t have time for
that.” This week’s newsletter has been
all about WHY we need to make time for this balance and too enjoy making new
memories. Next week, we will focus on
HOW we can achieve this.
Dedicated to your success
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