4 reasons why self-care may be one of the most important practices for your business

There are lots and lots of books out there about how to properly run the business of your dreams.

With topics ranging from things like how to draft the perfect marketing letter, to how to conduct the perfect cold emailing campaign, to how best to structure your daily calendar for optimal productivity. Self-care could be one of the most important practices for your business.

Certain productivity experts such as David Allen – creator of the famous Getting Things Done method for task and project management – have created thriving careers specifically around helping chronically busy professionals to achieve more, in less time, and to a high standard of organisation and orderliness.

Then, there are others such as Stephen Covey, who have published bestselling books focused on attempting to distil down the essential character traits of successful entrepreneurs.

But, out of all the different advice that you can find about how to be as successful as possible in running your own business venture, you properly won’t come across very much that tells you that self-care may be one of the most important practices to engage in if you want to succeed professionally.

So, here’s a article to buck the trend. Here are a few reasons why self-care may be one of the most important practices for the success of your business.

1. Because your creativity is greater when your health, enthusiasm and well-being are in better shape

In business, as in life, we are all confronted by problems on a regular basis that need sophisticated and creative solutions. It may be that a particular structural issue in your business can be resolved by utilising EPDM Rubber in a smart and nuanced way, or it might be that there’s a certain style of marketing campaign that would really increase the number of engagements you get from your prospects.

But, if you are highly sleep-deprived, malnourished, chronically ill, and generally jaded with your professional life as a whole, you’re probably not going to be in a decent position to churn out those kinds of creative solutions, or anything else that is very pioneering, or impactful.

As a rule, the type of work that people do when they are absolutely burned out can be characterised more or less as “grunt work.” That is, you’ll probably be able to go through the motions of filling in those TPS reports of yours, but you probably won’t be the guy or gal who comes up with the new “iPhone idea.”

Creativity is more or less a state of mental playfulness, that emerges when you are able to relax into your work, and to have a bit of fun with it. But if you are not engaging in a sufficient degree of self-care, your health, enthusiasm, and well-being are likely to be completely wrecked, and you may well find yourself chronically stressed to the point where all you can do is put one foot in front of the other.

Suffice to say, health, well-being, and creativity are a better combination for success than endless over-time, depression, and mental and physical fatigue.

2. Because just about everything ultimately depends on your energy levels

It’s all well and good to tell yourself that you will work as hard as you need to, for as long as you need to, in order to meet your professional goals, come hell or high water.

But, at the end of the day, you are still human, and you are subject to all the usual limitations that come along with being human.

Among other things, you’ll only be able to work so hard and for so long, before you do in fact crash and burn out in dramatic fashion. And, the work you do when you are in an exhausted and overwhelmed state isn’t going to be as good as the work you do when you are fresh, “bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed”.

Ultimately, just about everything depends on your energy levels to one degree or another. The more energy you have, the more work you’ll be able to do, the more efficiently you will be able to work, and the more capable you will be of tackling serious challenges head-on.

Your energy levels can more or less be directly correlated with your degree of overall health and wellness, which can in turn be quite highly correlated with your general self-care routine.

If you get lots of restful sleep each night, eat a nutritious and filling diet, deal with any nutrient deficiencies using supplements, and fill your weekends and evenings with fun and uplifting activities, your energy levels will likely be significantly higher.

On the other hand, if you are beating yourself up around the clock, constantly falling ill, and never getting enough rest, your energy levels are not likely to be great.

A good basic rule of thumb question for gauging whether or not your natural energy levels are good is; “can I make it through this day without a pot of coffee?”

3. Because if you are happy, and are selling a product or service that you are happy with, that will influence other people

Have you ever had someone trying to sell you a product or service, whilst simultaneously seeming as though they, themselves, had absolutely zero belief in the quality of the product or service?

If you have been in that situation, or even if you can just imagine it, you’ll realise that it’s basically impossible to be a successful marketer if you aren’t enthusiastic and engaged enough with what you’re doing.

If you neglect your overall self-care, your energy levels, mood, and general orientation towards the world, is not likely to be ideal, to say the least. But it’s not just that you, personally, will suffer because of this. The people who you are trying to market your goods or services to will also very likely pick up on your overall negative disposition and emotional cues, and will not be very predisposed to give you their money in exchange for whatever it is you’re offering.

If you do actually pay proper attention to your self-care, on the other hand, and enjoy the benefits to your mood and energy levels that this entails, then you can expect that you will be far more “magnetic” as a marketer, and as a salesperson in general.

When you seem like the kind of person who actually enjoys life, and believes in what it is they’re doing, you will likely be able to do a much better job of motivating other people to share in your vision and support what it is you’re doing.

4. Because persistence is one of the most important things for overall success – and it may have as much to do with self-care as it does with grit

Everyone basically knows that persistence is absolutely essential when it comes to making a success of any business venture over the long term. Just about anyone can work really hard for a brief sprint, but it’s typically only the people who can work hard for long stretches of time without breaking stride who actually become real success stories.

There’s a common idea that persistence in business is all about grit. That it’s just about getting your head down,, swallowing your frustration, and hammering through the work regardless of whether you feel like it or not, or anything else.

In fact, though, it may be that persistence ultimately has as much to do with self-care as it does with grit.

When you take proper care of yourself, and maintain balance in your life, you will be more emotionally resilient. You will be able to “play the long game” better and for longer, because you won’t be living in a state of perpetual misery, or pinning all your hopes on the fulfilment of a particular professional goal.

It’s just easier to work consistently, and persistently, when you’re not turning every other area of your life into a nightmare, arbitrarily.