Hi Booth,

I got a big dose of my own medicine yesterday.

Oh, by the way . . . Hi!, I’m Booth and I haven’t written a newsletter in a while.

Late August through early November, I felt a lot like this:

I had the opportunity to travel near and far with dear friends, present on burnout for a global company and on suicide awareness for the US based employees of another company.

The Whole You: Returning Home Retreat was an incredible gathering of beautiful humans who spent time reconnecting with their own inner wisdom and tuning out all of the noise coming from their conditioning, entrepreneur hustle culture, and wider cultural norms around what it takes to be successful.

But the last seven weeks or so have felt a little bit like pandemic redux.

I have had at least one child at home sick, injured or suffering from migraines for the last seven weeks (as well as also being sick myself during two of those weeks).

This is the season too for all of the annual doctor and dentist appointments.

My sweet 12yo who is a total delight (and who also talks incessantly) has been an almost constant companion.

My oldest got home from college last week. And leaves for study abroad on January 4th. So I have an even greater sense of urgency around being able to be present with her.

I have felt very much like a full-time stay at home mom who just happens to work in three different business models–as a lawyer, a speaker and the founder of Whole You (where my business and individual coaching will ultimately live). And I have worked over 100 hours for the law firm (also known as my side-hustle) already this month with some “year-end” projects still on tap.

And somehow, along the way, I convinced myself that if I just worked some evenings and weekend days and maybe skipped some of my self-care practices and rituals that I would “catch up” and be able to take my foot off the gas for the holidays.
You know where this is going right?!

Yesterday, I hit the wall. A few more things got added to the pile and suddenly I went from “I’ve got this. I’ve got this.” to “I DON’T GOT THIS.”

And so, I told my family I was approaching meltdown. Had a little cry. Put the work on pause. And found a blanket and a nap. Thank goodness I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn this morning to get someone to school.

I know better. Truly I do.

I know that life is an ultra marathon and not a sprint and that pit stops and fuel are necessary.

I know that the to do’s are never really done.

I know that if I ignore my own needs I will eventually pay the price.

I know that if I say “yes” when I should have said “no,” I will be resentful.

I know that resting, staying grounded, and using all of the tools I have to support myself make me more resilient, creative, and nicer to be around.

And I also know that if I don’t choose my “no’s,” my body will eventually choose them for me.

If you sometimes convince yourself that “pushing through” is the best strategy, I see you. I AM you. And pushing is sometimes necessary.

But as I DM’d another entrepreneur with big dreams this week . . . Push. Rest. Push. Rest.

And by the way, abandoning what you know you need for things that seem more “urgent and important” will never have a long-term positive dividend.

So with humility, grace, and some self-compassion, I am resetting my expectations. Asking for what I need. And choosing to recalibrate the mix of exertion and restoration in my day-to-day.

If this is what you need too, here is your sign.

With all of my love,

Booth

p.s. Applications for my only 2023 group coaching cohort for women owned businesses opened last week. Applications submitted by December 31 are eligible for $1012.50 off of the full cost of the program. And if you pay before the end of the year, you can deduct the expense from your 2022 tax return. Additional discounts are available (and cumulative) for returning program or retreat participants and also if you pay-in-full. 3, 6 and 9 month payment plans are also available. Go here for all the details.