What is that tension trying to tell you?

You know that tension you feel inside of you? Like you're being pulled in two directions?

Yes. That. Look at that.

It's so easy to ignore that feeling. We can easily just tell ourselves we are tired and that things will settle down after we've recruited our next team member, taken a holiday, or when things have calmed down after a busy period.

When that tension doesn't ease, when it becomes something you just can't push through, pay attention to the tension. It's a message for you. It's information.

In fact, it's a gift, because it's telling you that something no longer fits, and trying to redirect you to a life and way of leading that honours more of you.

I wonder what that tension sounds like for you:

"I want a bit of freedom from the practice, but I just can't switch off."
"I want to keep growing the practice, but success seems to require more and more of me every year."
"I know I should delegate...but..."
"I really want to slow down, but I fear the business will suffer if I do."
"I feel so grateful for the practice I've built, but I also feel exhausted by the responsibility of it."
"I want to be available for the team, but I resent never having any uninterrupted thinking time."

I know how uncomfortable it is to sit in that tension. I did it for years. Yes, I knew something needed to change, but it felt soooo risky.

I'd tied so much of my identity to what I'd built that stepping back from, or letting go of, any part of it felt like I would disappear. "If I'm not this business, then who the heck am I??"

Looking back, I can see that I was protecting everything I believed that business gave me - security, importance, achievement, proof that I'd made something of myself.

The business wasn't just what I did, it had become who I believed I was. No wonder letting go felt impossible. 

If you can relate to this, I'd love to hear from you. 

What tension have you been trying to ignore?

Sometimes simply saying it out loud is the first step towards understanding what it's trying to tell you.