"I'VE BEEN THERE AND WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE IS THAT THIS TOO SHALL PASS!"

I was recently literally bed-ridden for three full days (chronic back injury flared up on Saturday). Staring at the ceiling and unwillingly binging on Netflix for three days will make you a tad philosophical. 

However, "this too shall pass" has been a mantra of mine for years. I can think back about 10 years to a time when I had it written in large letters and posted on my refrigerator. It wasn’t there because I thought it was cute, it was there because I needed to be reminded, daily. 

There is something so liberating in the realization that whatever you are experiencing will pass.  

• Whatever physical pain you feel is temporary. 
• Whatever relationship challenges you have are temporary. 
• Whatever business stresses you have are temporary. 

Things feel so permanent in the middle of them. As much as this is a mantra for life it has actually served me even more consistently in my business. 

• I have been self-employed for over 16 years and there have been times when cash flow was tight. When I wasn’t certain if I would make payroll. Or if I could pay my staff, I wasn’t sure when I was going to get paid. 
• There have been moments when a process snafu created a potential compliance issue and it felt like the world was coming to an end. 
• There have been times in the lull after a successful run, that it felt like no one was ever going to hire me again. 

In hindsight, it is clear that each of those was a temporary stressor, but in those moment they didn’t feel temporary, they felt all encompassing and absolute. 

I don’t think we talk about the realities of being business owners enough. We talk about goals and metrics and strategies, but do we really talk about the deep stressors that can beset us? 

Did you know that Financial Advisors are in the top 5 professions most likely to commit suicide!? 

I didn’t realize this until I was co-presenting with Dr. Daniel Crosby at a Brinker Capital event and he mentioned it as part of his presentation. I couldn’t believe it. I was so taken aback that I raised my hand and asked him to elaborate. 

CLICK HERE for the article. 

So, even though we don’t spend any time talking about the stress and depression in our industry, maybe we should start! 

Maybe we should open a dialog with each other about the kinds of things that stress us and support each other with the message that, ”You know what? I’ve been there and what I know for sure is that this too shall pass!” 

I want to throw something out there. If you or someone you know is feeling lost in a deep hole and isn’t feeling certain about how to get out, email me! 

[email protected] 

Don’t sit proudly pretending everything is OK. Sometimes it isn’t OK and you need to talk to someone who has been there! 

With Purpose,

-Lucila

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