Mother Teresa speaks of two completely contrasting processes: judgment and love. This competition shows up everywhere in our lives. But it’s not just between people. It can be between you and situations, you and places, and even you and your business (or potential business).
So let’s expand upon that quote. If you judge your business, you have no time to love it.
What happens if you don’t love what you do? You end up resisting it, not doing everything it needs you to do, dragging your feet every time something comes up. Where’s the fun in that?
I Love You But I Hate You
That was me. I opened a business selling food earlier this year. I was excited, of course. It was a whole new adventure, something I’d never even considered doing just a year prior.
So there I was, bright-eyed and staring into the headlights of impending challenges. I knew they were there, I just didn’t know what they would be.
Fast-forward a few weeks and things settled down and started to get into a routine of “do this, then that, followed by this other thing and then close for the day”. These were the things I deemed necessary to get the business established and make as many new customers as possible considering the circumstances.
Once that was set, I began to resist the daily grind. I’d get up in the morning and think to myself, “Ugh, here we go again.” I liked my work, but I just couldn’t wait until it was established and frequent customers were coming to me, instead of me having to get all creative about building a sustainable customer base. Essentially, I ended up judging the very business I previously loved.
Now go back and read Mother Teresa again.
This is happening to YOU.
Maybe you’re already aware of that. Or you might be thinking, “Why would I judge my (potential) business? That’s absurd.” Well, it is absurd, but that doesn’t mean you’re not doing it.
If you’re not aware of it, you can at least take one step right now to rectify the judgments that are silently hurting your business and you.
Here’s what you can do. Be open to the idea that you are judging your business even if you’re not aware of it. That’s all.
Hello, My Name Is Taylor and I Judge My Business
Maybe you’re resisting this one simple step simply because you’re afraid of what you’ll find. That’s ok. You don’t have to be afraid of these hidden judgments because by the end of this process I’m walking you through, you’ll know how to handle them.
Just be OPEN to the possibility that these judgments exist.
Now here’s the second thing you can do. Identify areas of judgment in your business.
To help you out, here’s what judgments look like. They look like lack of clarity, resistance, fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, arrogance, you name it. So now look at your business in all possible aspects.
Do you see any ways in which negativity is affecting you? Are you worried about the finances of your business? That’s a judgment.
Once you’ve found that negativity, dig deeper. What is it about? Why are you experiencing that?
It might look like this. “I’m worried about my finances. If I don’t start signing more clients, I won’t be able to pay the bills”. That’s a common anxiety.
But how is that a judgment?
In this instance, you’re essentially saying to your business which loves and cares for you just as much as a living, breathing person, “Look at all I’ve done for you and you can’t bring me a few more measly clients?”
Come On Business, Help Me Out Here!
That’s what I was doing with my business. I didn’t feel it was returning the devotion I was showing it. Fortunately, I realized what was happening, and started thanking and dismissing those feelings. Now I see that my business was in fact showing me love and devotion the whole time.
If you’re feeling scared, frustrated, or desperate about the finances of your business, this is what your business is receiving from you.
Now what happens when you lash out at another human like that? They get defensive, angry, scared, flustered. That’s how your business is reacting.
Now you’re in a state where you can’t act out of your expertise because your energy is all devoted to perpetual negativity, and your business can’t operate at its best because it’s feeding off of the negativity you’re giving it. Neither of you are prepared to make any valuable decisions or even deliver your best to your current clients.
So what can you do? The first simple step you can take to let go of these hidden judgments is to thank them for sharing. This is what feelings are, they’re just messengers.
How would your business look if you didn’t have feelings to remind you to call one of your leads today, or to focus on your new product launch? These are all helpful reminders to keep us on course. But when we allow a feeling to scream at us and direct our thought processes for days or weeks at a time, we’re in for disaster.
That means when you feel anxiety creep up and remind you of your dismal financial state if you don’t sign more clients, receive its message, thank it, and send it on its way. It did its job, don’t allow it to be promoted from messenger boy to CEO.
The Big Wonderful Key
Just like Mother Teresa mentioned, this is where love comes into play. The antidote for judgment is love. So thank that emotion, show it love, and let it move on.
This is a practical step you can take any time you’ve identified a judgment. Once identified, allow those feelings to tell you they’re there, then thank those feelings for sharing, and let them go.
That is just one small thing you can do, but it helps you begin the process of expressing unconditional love to all things: yourself, others, situations, and your business. If you’re currently judging, this is positive action that will move you out of those destructive processes and open you to the full possibilities of your loving potential.
Taylor Vogt helps entrepreneurs harness their innate skills and strengths to better live by their own ideals, feel truer to themselves, and transform moments of struggle to effortlessness. Get updates from Taylor and you’ll receive information on how get the clarity you need to live the life you want.
Image Credit: en.paperblog.com
