Priorities

“If you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.” Greg McKeown

Starting a business, or in my case a traditional chinese medicine practice, is not easy. It entails a lot of work and long hours. When someone made a request for an appointment I never said no. I worked a thirteen hour day, starting at 7am and ending at 8pm. Not that I was fully booked, I also had gaps in my day. Sometimes big black holes that were even more exhausting than working straight through. But I made myself available between those times and that was a long, long day. I was afraid to say no. Afraid the person wouldn’t ask again and I would miss that opportunity. Self-employment is scary and the fear of not filling the calendar and making the rent was a huge one for me. However, there came a day when the practice ran smoothly. Still up and down depending on the month and weather, but with no more fear of paying the bills. It was no longer necessary to say yes to every request. It was time to set priorities. Because that was the hard part. My patients were so used to my being always available that the first time hearing “sorry, no, not possible”, was a shock. The shock then wears off, and what do you know, patients adjust and we find solutions. I have until now, not lost a single patient because of a no. I have been able to enjoy longer vacations (three weeks), an occasional quiet morning and even my own appointments with my favorite therapist. Prioritizing my life has been one of the hardest lessons to learn and I am still not very good at it. I just know, I don’t want to reach end of life and only remember that I worked hard. As much as I do like working hard at what I love to do, there is so much more I want to do.