0
0
Halloo,
The secret of working successfully with chronic pain is to know your limits.
I made this discovery in a hard way!
One of the things owning a small business did for me is to give me focus- something else to worry about apart from my never-ending pain.
My online small business is like a crutch, something that props me up in the morning, even on crappy days that I just don’t want to face the world.
You have no idea how grateful I am for this business and what it has taught, shown me, and gave me.
But, all these won’t have been possible, if I didn’t set down some rules for myself.
One of the rules is to strictly determine how many hours I can work a day. At the initial stage if my pain wasn’t too bad I will keep working until I am exhausted. Which is great, but…
I quickly discovered that doing this made me so wrecked that I may end up with really bad pain that made it impossible to work for weeks.
So, I work for just a few hours a day whether my pain is bad or not.
Another thing is I read a lot of books on small businesses, and I tried to follow the advice given in them, but I know that it will be detrimental to me to follow some of this advice, not because they are bad advice but my circumstances and health won’t go with that.
Like going to conferences, summits, and networking events. I hardly do these because, as beneficial as they are, I come back from these things exhausted, and disorientated. A feeling that could last for days.
I get lots of great suggestions and opportunities offering from Established Entrepreneurs, and I just know that most of it won’t be for me. I am wired differently.
But because of me knowing my limits and working within it, it seems I do a lot more than I really do.
Believe me, if you have a health condition that limits you in a certain way, please don’t sweat it.
Look at those things you can still do within your strength, it may not be a lot, but the satisfaction of doing something will do wonders for your confidence, self-esteem, health, and general happiness.
Our limits should be a guide to what to avoid, not things to dwell on.
One last word, please stay focused. Because as you progress in your journey, opportunities will come knocking, but you have to remember to always put it to the test- ‘is this within my limit?’
I get more joy from directing some of the opportunities that come my way to other small business owners who can benefit from them.
A lady once told me that those I am mentoring about starting small businesses and pointing out great opportunities to are just taking advantage of me as I don’t charge them any fee.
My explanation is simple- I share this information for my own personal growth, these ladies have the strength to go farther than I can. Just because I can’t doesn’t mean I should block those who can.
I celebrate their successes as if they were mine.
There is an African saying- The sky is wide and spacious enough for birds to fly without bumping into each other.
I am not in this space to compete. All I want to do is make my life counts for something, read my short write-up on this.
Lao Tze said ‘Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her.’
It is a no-brainer really if you are living with any form of chronic illness and want to start a business, have a career, or things like that, you really need to know your limits and work within it.
Those who have more strength than you do will be wondering how you get so much done.
Common, go for it!
Stay with me,
Ruka
[…] know that I was very very sick. In fact, this is the worst episode for me in years. I was at rock bottom health wise. Things were pretty messed […]
[…] it was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, and sometimes I doubt my sanity about this decision, but overall I think it was a good decision for […]
[…] is great to celebrate and encourage the people who have survived. But it will be encouraging too to cheer those still struggling because each day is a blessing and worth celebrating. It contributes to […]
[…] matter, others may have a different opinion. I have no other way to explain why a business owner copying the contents of another business to use on their website without permission or […]
[…] I find is that some of these people are actually looking for skin whitening, even though they deny it. Skin whitening is a world apart from skin lightening. I am not even […]
[…] you, I am going to rant, complain, whine, whinge, yap, all the works. I do these when I feel very passionately about an issue. But I promise to do all these with style. I will present my topics in a very logical, witty, […]
[…] Chronic Illness is tough enough without being surrounded by people who have emotionally checked out on you. It is worse than being alone. […]
[…] you don’t have Fibromyalgia or suffer from Chronic Pain or any Invisible Illnesses for that matter, I pray you never get to find out how draining these […]
[…] woman had dreams as a young girl. One of her dreams is about making her life remarkable. She was going to make her mark and leave her imprints in the […]
[…] learned to work with my pain. I developed a lot of coping strategies. This helped a great deal when I decided to go back to […]
[…] is not sad phishing or playing victim. It is the reality of life for many of us. Those who know me will tell you that I am far from being […]
[…] have chronic pain, you think on a really bad day I want to start typing and texting my worries to you? Absolutely […]
[…] my rough patches with Chronic Pain so that it will be a reminder to those who matter that not all that glitters is gold. That before they beat themselves up for not doing enough, or compare their lives to others, they […]
[…] Knowing your limits with Chronic Pain […]
[…] That is why we hear phrases like ‘Fake it till you make it’ which many people are finding fault with. I don’t. It is all about context. Confidence is all about attitude. […]
[…] you post reflects what you considered important, people can talk about marriage without having marital problems, but the mere fact that they hold […]