If you’re anything like me, there is a great cacophony of voices telling you what you should be doing, what you’re not doing correctly, how you’re not measuring up to anyone and everyone and maybe even asking you all those “why are you doing things that way?” questions. We’re raised in a world of external judgment and external validation. That can make it pretty tough to hear our own inner voice, and even harder to trust our own instincts!
I think running a home-based business really demands that we learn to trust our own instincts. We don’t really have bosses looking over our shoulders and all of the major (and minor) decisions fall on our shoulders. We have to be able to let our own inner voices guide us and learn how to let the doubts and doubters go.
Someone once told me that we can recognize our inner voice because he or she is NOT the one nagging and barking and telling us how we have failed. In fact, that is just an echo of all the outer voices. The inner voice is nurturing, quiet, wise–this voice is urging us on into more productive and peaceful places–NOT telling us what a loser we are. I liked that definition of the “inner voice” and decided that was a voice worth seeking out and listening for.
As for instincts, I think the older we get, sometimes the tougher it can be to go with our instincts. With all the bumbles and bumps of life, mistakes and failures make it harder and harder for us to trust our instincts and take risks and leaps. Starting and running a home-based business is all about risks and leaps. So, in order to keep moving forward, we need to stay in touch with that adventuresome spirit and those instincts that urged us to take the risk and go solo in our own businesses in the first place.
Listening to your inner voice and trusting your instincts–listening and trusting aren’t bad verbs to keep in mind as we juggle our businesses and our families, are they?!
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