Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I have two primary school aged kids and a small business – the struggle is real! But ultimately, I feel we’ve done a disservice to working women with the proposition that if we try hard enough, we will achieve a static place of balance between work and family. It’s kind of a dangerous idea, because it sets us up for failure or guilt somewhere along the line. There will always be a push and pull between work and family – it is a constantly evolving beast, ebbing and flowing with the dynamic demands of your work, and the dynamic demands of your children. All you can do is be as present as you can, in whichever place you’re in, for that moment. And children are the absolute masters of doing that – we can all learn from them in that way! So, when I’m with my kids I make sure there’s some time where I’m not thinking about a client, or ordering supplements, or posting on social media. And don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of time that I am! (And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the kids seeing how much I get out of my work, either.) But I make sure that each day, they have all of me, wholeheartedly, for a chunk of time. (Plus, I have a really supportive partner who takes on a great deal of the shared responsibility of parenting our children and that definitely helps!).
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
On a personal level, I’ve had to face the sometimes-debilitating feeling that I’m inadequate as a practitioner. I’ve always struggled a little with imposter syndrome and building my confidence within the clinical setting meant I had to look some inner demons in the face. Whenever I took a booking in the beginning, after an initial feeling of elation, a feeling of paralysing fear would creep in and take over. Fear that I couldn’t do it, fear that I wasn’t good enough as a practitioner, fear that I would forget how to run a consultation. Ultimately though, my desire to work in clinical practice was bigger than the fear, plus, people kept showing up to their appointments, so I was simply forced to do it! I’ve learnt a lot about myself in the process of working through this, actually, and I’ve come to the realisation that humans hold far more resilience inside than what we give ourselves credit for.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are of course exactly what you would imagine them to be – flexible working conditions, the ability to run your own schedule, making all your own business decisions. And I find tremendous satisfaction in the feeling that I’m growing something that is meaningful to me into something sustainable – both personally and financially.
The cons are, of course, that if I’m not working, nobody else is paying my wage! And also, sometimes those decisions that only I have the freedom of making, are tough, too! What if I make the wrong one?
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Well, I think (possibly a little pathetically!), my dreams are rather small scale; I don’t feel the need to take over the world. I feel really fulfilled supporting parents to give their child a healthier life, one family at a time. But in terms of business growth, this year I’m venturing into running information seminars for parents – both online and in person, so that’s something I’m looking forward to (and terrified of – all at the same time!).
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