For most online entrepreneurs our businesses our very near a dear to our hearts. My business is a piece of me and at times it can also seem fragile… or maybe I seem fragile.  Usually once a month I feel like I don’t know what the heck I’m doing but I can quickly chalk it up to my female hormones and get passed it. 

But this time it was different… you see I am a Jesus follower (hang with me even it your not because I  believe if you have ever felt the way I did then there is something in this post for you).

I just returned home from a church camp with a high school group I lead and though it wears me out the messages were great, I was getting spiritually filled but someone once told me when we I move in my faith I need to be on alert for the enemy… 

he is there ready to pounce on my weaknesses and this time it was my weakness of being so tired, worn out and sick. 

When I returned home ready to get back to work I discovered I had shingles…. which is a rash that can happen to anyone who has ever had chickenpox as a kid… except it’s more painful than itchy….. (now let me be clear, I do not believe the enemy made me sick, but he was super ready to pounce in my weakness).

The pain and lack of sleep were messing with my head and I began to feel down that I couldn’t be with my daughter after I just returned home… then I thought about all the times I was trying to focus on work instead of her and then in the midst of it all, I got my first hater comment! (I’ll talk more about that in another post).

Then I just started to spiral into a why am I doing any of this building my own business stuff……

I started having thoughts that I should just walk away from it all… but I knew deep down that was not the answer.

How do I stop spiraling?

I told myself to stop. Seriously in my head, I said STOP IT! I reminded myself I am sick and this was not the time to make big decisions about my business and I prayed for peace and guidance. After I had some time to clear my head I decided to turn all my thoughts into constructive criticism and kept praying through it. 

I’m not walking away from my business but maybe I do need to reevaluate some things. My daughter will be in kindergarten soon so I will have more time to work but I do want to focus on her and my husband more for the rest of the summer.

How Can I do that without the guilt?

I need a better schedule so that I’m not in a constant tug-of-war about whether I should be working or with my family or doing household things….. because that just results in feeling guilty about no matter which choice I make. Let me hear you in the comments if you feel the same.

A stricter schedule will actually be freeing. That is a hard concept to get as a free spirit, march to my own beat kind of gal. It will take practice, focus, and determination. 

I will be sharing the behind the scenes of how I set my schedule on Instagram so let’s connect over there: @katedaniellecreative

Okay, so what about my work…
where do I even begin… AGAIN!? 

I am going to jump back into work slowly, get organized, doing a brain dump of all the things I need to get done and giving myself so much grace.  I’m also focusing on the positive feedback I have gotten and if the negative comment I mentioned earlier had been something that merited fixing or reevaluating I would do that but it was just a mean comment which reflects WAY more on the person who made it than me… so I will refund and move on because I don’t need that in my life.

I will be covering all the steps I take in future posts and on Instagram. 

Also, I will constantly pray for guidance in my business and the direction I take it. I heard someone once say God is the CEO if her business and I’m adopting that mindset too.

How the Heck do I make God my CEO?

Well, I don’t fully know yet. Honestly, I often feel like my prayers are dull, fall flat and I don’t even know what to pray for when it comes to myself and my business so I am focusing my quiet time on reading more about prayer… currently I am reading Fervent by Priscilla Shirer.  (affiliate link)

and I continue to ask Him for guidance.

Let’s not miss a big lesson here…
How did I get sick in the first place?

Before I answer that I want to say I am fully aware that what I am dealing with a very temporary health issue and that many of you are fighting against bigger things. I can’t even imagine the toll it has taken on you but just know I am praying for you, your fight and your business.

I don’t know why I got Shingles. The doctor said it is often due to a low immune system or stress.  Which for me it could be either or both. I didn’t think I was stressed but when I look back I have had a lot going on so maybe there has been some underlying stress… I’m a pretty even-keeled girl so it is super easy for me to not realize how much something may affect me.  

Regardless, my health tends to not be a priority. 

When I am planning my day healthy habits often take a back seat to my work to-do list… whether it be skipping a quick work out or choosing a quick unhealthy meal way more often than I should. 

So my self-care will no longer take a back seat. In the long run, I am not saving time if it causes me to not be able to work for days that I was not prepared to have off.

Okay, time to wrap all of this up with some good thoughts!

This past week at the church camp my co-leader said that if we spend 15 seconds to really focus on the good things they can sink in. We are naturally prone to hang on to negative things and let them weigh more on us BUT if we just take 15 seconds we can give good things that same power and weight.

So here are my good things out of all of this…

This post started as something I needed to get out of my head and turned into something I felt I had to share.

I would love to know if anything resonates with you and what you’re struggling with in your business/ home life. Share below, it can really be so freeing to get it out there.  

As I mentioned I will over on Instagram sharing all the behind the scenes of how I transform my priorities, organize my life and get the freedom that was behind the whole reason why I started an online business in the first place.

All the Best, 
Kate Danielle