Spirituality for a Business Mind

As the holiday season rushes toward us, retailers, publishers, distributors, and others are already sharing a collective sigh at the increased volume of work and activity that the season occasions, including decisions about inventory, marketing, pricing, staffing, holiday events, and more. Many are already starting to think about their holiday business plans while enjoying the summer warmth. Yet, it is less than five months until Christmas. While holiday sales are often the financial backbone of many bookstores, gift shops, and other retail, its dynamics leave its owners feeling beleaguered on all levels.

Most of us begin our business days with tactical goals while attempting to implement strategic initiatives, all the while juggling our lists of to-do items. By the end of the day, we are feeling anxious that we weren’t able to do everything that needed doing. Often, this leads to falling into ‘fire-fighting mode,’ where we point ourselves at the most significant flare-up in our business day. Some may feel inadequate for their seeming lack of bandwidth, and maybe they feel ashamed at merely being human. Yet, it’s not possible to do it all every day. And we really shouldn’t try.

Embracing YOU

If that description feels familiar at least part of the time, I invite you to remember one very core idea. YOU. ARE. ENOUGH. I invite you to keep that in mind every single day. You are not your list, your financial status, your age, your looks, your health, or your occupation. Whether you are, whoever you are, whatever you are doing or not doing, you are enough, exactly as you are.

Accepting this straightforward concept opens internal doors to embrace what we previously considered as failures. It creates space around us and helps us flow through our business days and personal lives, knowing that we are already perfect. No matter if our goal is to pursue a new skill, eat better, sleep more, or live our lives with a more grateful heart! Or even if we never achieve any of them, we are still perfect exactly the way we are, worthy of love, kindness, and acceptance. You are already successful and valuable simply because you are YOU. Learn to respect and embrace yourself. Those goals demonstrate self-love and self-care.

Modern Times

In modern society, people believe that super achievements are the path to success, and the culture frequently implies that we should measure our value in subtle and overt ways. But the true measurement tools of success and value seldom start when we find happiness, serenity, and balance within. If we always remember that we are enough, we stop allowing our ego to beat us up. We can smile through the hard times and offer more compassion and acceptance to others. Combined with a couple of deep breaths, we can open mental doors to more creative thinking, help reduce stress, and realign expectations, which we also inadvertently impose upon others. Those three simple words – I am enough —  provide us tools to navigate difficulties and places those problems into perspective. It helps to remember that doing it all perfectly, every single day, is neither realistic nor expected. Perhaps we created (or are constantly creating) unrealistic goals, and now we find ourselves unhappy with our failure to realize them fully.

Deciding to adopt and accept the core value of what we as individuals offer means another wonderful event can happen – we create an opportunity to develop a generosity of spirit toward others and remember they, too, are enough.

So often, we project our issues on others entirely without realizing we’re doing it. When we understand the core value of acceptance, we can live a life with more compassion, kindness, and respect toward others just as they are, whether we like or understand their attitudes, choices, or decisions. A circle of caring and connection can be opened, relieving the need to judge. After all, if we’re both enough, what is left to judge? This can change our relationship with our business partners and employees, customers, suppliers, and the world.

As the holiday season approaches, I invite you to take a minute each day to stop and remember that no matter what is happening, no matter what list of tasks you are working to accomplish, your success is already established simply by being who you are. No matter what we believe are our defects or failures — you have everything you need due to the simple fact that you are you. Remember that energy is always following our thoughts. Celebrate that with your mantra of self-appreciation and acts of gratitude and watch your life and your business expand in response.