Pausing to create profit in your business

Hey gorgeous! It's Lauren here! I am writing you while I'm chillin on the couch playing the old '90s Disney movie in the background (thank you Disney+) banging out some work.

 Also.... did I just write "chillin?" Oh boy.

This morning I woke up feeling SOOO creatively inspired, something I'll talk about in this blog post with all of you. I showed up for my Align Time Practice in my zen den, and then I got dressed and headed out to shop for plants and home decor from target (I am making my own little zen den space outside for the warm weather!)

It felt amazing to do something for myself. The old me would have felt incredibly guilty.

My ego sounded something like this:

"You should work more"

"What are you doing going to the store, you should be at your desk right now?"

"You want to make more money in your business and you're taking more time off? Are you nuts?!"

But, I feel like I am returning to my center of balance these days: Where I can work and perform in my business and also take lots of time to myself.

A powerful business woman believes that she can have both the empire and the self care she craves.

If you listened to the Lauren of Love podcast this week (EP170) you know that I recently made the decision to take 2 months off to heal my body from chronic lyme and all the physical symptoms I was having. It was a really big leap to take time off for so long and that honestly felt a little scary to me. "Will my business fall apart when I take this break?" Seriously, have you ever thought that before?

But I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do because even though it felt scary, it felt like there was an expansion or transformation waiting for me on the other side of that surrender.

And I learned so much in the process that I recorded an entire podcast episode on it!

You can listen here: 

There are a lot of big powerful lessons in there that I think you will find incredibly helpful for creating your own shifts and breakthroughs in your business including: how to boost your creativity, how to tap into your divine calling and the ways in which we often let fear get into our heads.

And that's one of my favorite parts about how I feel after this process: My creative channel feels like it is on FIRE!

Why? Because I took time to give it a good rest for a bit!

When you PAUSE - you can create a ton of clarity for yourself. Pausing creates deeper connection. Pausing creates opportunity. Pausing is what creates gratitude.

And without gratitude, we are building really negative businesses that cannot sustain themselves. Note: if you feel obligated to show up in your business all the time, you will only grow resentful.

Taking breaks in your business for internal pause and personal breakthrough is not a luxury. It is a necessity.

Now let me be clear: I am aware that not everyone has the availability to take a two month pause in their businesses, and I recognize that my opportunity to disconnect was a privilege that I am deeply grateful for. However, I firmly believe that anyone and everyone can create circumstances for themselves (or work towards them, for now) that will allow them the safe space to have balance in their life/business circumstances.

We all desire balance in our lives and businesses and it's something we deserve!

The old me was always overworking because she thought that once she created a certain level of success, then she could finally give herself permission to relax and feel good.

Sound familiar?

That approach was ass backwards. No matter how much money I made, I was constantly holding myself back from feeling good and it never felt like it was enough.

I used to work SO much you guys. I felt like I was constantly going and never stopping to relax, breathe or pause. It was incredibly unhealthy.

I realized over the last year, in this chapter of my own personal evolution, that disconnecting and really taking time to shut down my business for a bit is incredibly healthy, satisfying and transformational.

It creates a stronger more grounded me. And that in turn, creates more financial freedom.

These days, the more often I sprinkle those moments of pause into my lifestyle, the more frequently financial opportunity comes my way! 

When your head is clear, you are a true Channel for the million dollar ideas.

Yes I took 2 months off from my business, but your pause doesn't have to be as extreme. Shut your phone down at 5pm, take a weekend to put your phone in the cabinet to do a digital detox (I put mine in my underwear drawer), or take an afternoon off in the middle of a work week. Tell clients you don't answer messages after 5pm, don't check your email on Saturdays, take one day a week to shut off your business and go relax.

These are just ideas, but the more you incorporate these pauses into your life, the more results you will see. I promise.

The answers are in the pause, not the push.

My pause was incredible and one of the best things I did this year. To say I have found incredible answers for myself is an understatement! I walked away from business two months ago feeling burnt out, tired, and uninspired, and I came back with a ton of energy and a million ideas and a ton of energy to serve you guys! 

And that's not because I am special. It's because I honored myself. You can too.

Trust me. This pausing shit works.

Returning to work "refeeding" your business lifestyle.

Let me give you a powerful analogy sister.

So you guys know that part of my pause included some water fasting to heal my chronic Lyme disease. I did 21 days of water fasting, and now. I am on round two of a 14 day cycle. It's definitely a challenging thing to do! Only water for 14 days?! I felt like I was crazy for doing it, and most of my family did too. But I am seeing so many healing results from this practice.

Anyway, After any water fast, there is something called a refeeding process. This is when you slowly start to introduce food again. And when I say slowly I mean slowly.

First, you do a few days of juicing and broth, a few days of fruit and steamed veggies, and then slowly, when your ready, more dense foods.

You don't just jump back into your old way of living. That would entirely defeat the whole purpose of your cleanse!

You slowly go back to finding a new normal.

And the evolution of "returning to normal" takes time. And when I learned this about fasting, I found it eye opening and such a beautiful reminder of how we should all return to our work process after we "detox": SLOWLY.

If you take a long term detox or even just a few days of disconnecting from instagram, you should always come back slowly in a way that feels balanced, whole and connected to you. The entire point of detox/disconnection from social media or your business is to reset your mindset and to cleanse your energy of any overworked burnt out vibes.

We are not supposed to return to work full force the way we used to show up. We are slowly supposed to nourish our minds and our audience and return in a NEW way that feels good to US!

If you find yourself exhausted in the way you show up for your business, your doing it wrong.

Find a way of doing things that feels GOOD to you. Regardless of where you are in business right now, you should do your best to feel inspired, motivated and connected in your business as often as possible. Do your best to not feel like you are forcing things and find a process that feels good to you.

Does it feel good to do Facebook lives in the morning or in the evening? Do you like posting on instagram once in the morning or batch creating your work? Do you answer emails once a day, once a week, in the evenings or the mornings?

Find BALANCE. Do what feels aligned and connected to YOU babe.

So... that's what I am doing lately and it feels so good. I honor my creativity when it is present, and I run with my ideas, and then when my tank feels low (my energy level or inspiration starts to drop) I go and do other things that make me feel good and nourish my soul.

I go for walks. I go shopping. I watch Disney movies. I binge on Selling Sunset on Netflix (so so good.) I garden. I forest bathe. I chill. I GO BE A HUMAN.

This is the EBB and FLOW of creating a business that feels good to you.

Next week on the podcast I am going to be talking about balance and my strong belief about what that word means and how it is abused in the business world. Really excited about that episode.

But for now babe, I love you. I see you. Go pause.