Episode 369: Don't quit
In this episode, Fiona shares a heartfelt poem “Don’t Quit.” She also talks about navigating year-end stress and burnout. Tune in!
Topics discussed in this episode:
Introduction
Coping with year-end overwhelm and burnout
Sharing a meaningful poem titled "Don't Quit"
Encouraging self-care
Embracing gratitude and perspective
Conclusion
Get in touch with My Daily Business
Resources and Recommendations mentioned in this episode:
Welcome to episode 369 of the My Daily Business Podcast. Today, it is a quick tip, and this one is quite personal, so stick around for it. Two things to mention before we get stuck in. I want to acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which I record this podcast, and that is the Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to their elders, past, and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. The other thing I wanted to mention is that we are getting to the end of the year, and if you are leaving your gifting sort of stuff for the last minute, know that you can always find digital amazing things to gift to your partner, friends, family, anyone around you who has a business, and that is all available at My Daily Business Shop.
You can find courses, you can find eBooks, and you can find my actual book, Passion, Purpose, Profit, although if you're reading this in real-time, it probably would not get there by Christmas. I would suggest that you find it at a small business owner's actual shop, and there are so many of them that sell. If you need help, just email us and we can find one near you that sells the book. But we have so many other things. We have courses, we have coaching programs, and you can just buy a gift voucher. There's so much stuff. That's all available at My Daily Business Shop, and you can even buy that stuff on the morning of the 25th of December if you celebrate that. Let's get into today's quick tip episode.
We are coming up towards the end of the year. Now, this is the eighth period towards the end of the year that I've worked with small business owners in my own business. I worked with many companies and have worked in marketing brands for a long time. But one thing that I recognize that comes up around this time every single year with many clients and other business owners that I chat with on Instagram or TikTok is this idea of, “I just want to quit. I just want everything to finish up. I'm so over it. I just want the year to finish.” I guess that there's this weird changeover for a lot of people mentally between December 31st and the 1st of January. It's almost like we can see that 1st of January, and I want to be in that mindset, even though you can choose to be in that mindset at any time of the year.
But one of the things that comes up a lot is that at this time of year, people are just feeling overwhelmed and burnt out, especially those in retail and those with product-based businesses and trying to hit targets. I was thinking about all of this, and obviously, there's also the state of the world. A lot of people are just really feeling it right now. I wanted to share a little poem that my mom gave me on one of those little laminated cards that I think she would've picked up from like a newsagent or a gift shop or something. I'm pretty sure that she gave this to me at least 10 years ago, if not more, like 15 or 20 even. I have come to use this poem so many times in my life that I have come back to it.
I used to keep this in my wallet and then I got a different wallet so it doesn't fit in there. Since then I've used it. It's been in our fridge. Anyway, today I was in a bit of a weird headspace this morning. I went for a walk to try and shake it out, couldn't get over it. I just happened to see this when I was getting a cup of tea. I mean, we have a lot of stuff in our fridge. We are definitely not a minimalist household. We have pictures and awards and a bunch of different magnets and all sorts of things, and Santa photos from the last four years. But we've always had this poem in the fridge and some things just stick out to you. Sometimes, I don't know if that's like the universe or if it's my mom.
My beautiful mom passed away about six years ago now, and I feel like I've used this poem so many times to reframe things, and it has helped me. I just thought that today, in today's quick tip episode, I'm sharing a tip and a tactic, which is this poem. Now I just want to say that it does have a little copyright notice on the back that says Lillian's pocket cards were designed and copyrighted, in 1992. Just going to read that out. But I just wanted to read this out because I don't know where you're at at the moment while you're reading this. I don't know where your mindset is at, but I do know that a lot of people if you're reading in real time, do feel very stressed and overwhelmed about this particular period in the calendar year. Whilst some of that is just, “That's it, that's the season, it's the crazy season, especially for retail or businesses where there are products and they're trying to get up to 50% of their overall income in this literally a quarter or a couple of months.”
That is part and parcel of some business operations and models. But I do think that there are things we can do to help ourselves. For me, as simple as it sounds, this poem and really reflecting on it has helped me countless times in my business, but also in my life and in personal matters where everything has just felt very overwhelming. This is it. It is called "Don't Quit.” “When things go wrong, as they sometimes will when the road you're trudging seems all uphill when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh when care is pressing you down a bit. Rest if you must, but do not quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns as every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow, you may succeed with another blow. Success is failure turned inside out the silver tint of the clouds of doubt. You never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it feels so far. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit. It's when things seem worse that you must not quit.” I know that that might sound a little cheesy to some or just like, “Really, this is what you're giving us on a business tip podcast.” But I cannot tell you how many times I've read those small, simple words, and it has changed the way that I feel. If you are feeling like that right now, if you're feeling in that headspace of just, “I need to just get to the end of the year and then I can relax, and then I can exhale,” just try and figure out how you might be able to do that sooner.
How you could take some time today, even just 20 minutes, and even go outside or go for a walk if you're able to, or sit and journal or just listen to some good music or just sit in silence. The other day I was in the car and I'm so used to listening to a podcast or music or my son's basketball pep-up playlist before he goes to basketball training or basketball, which is five days a week. I realized that I wasn't listening to anything, and I was like, “Just silence, this is nice.” There's no one asking me for anything. I'm not on a screen. I just literally took in the surroundings around me. I mean, I was driving, so I also had to concentrate on that, but it was just really nice to have that moment or a couple of moments of just stillness.
I think we don't give that to ourselves enough. It doesn't matter how busy you are at the moment. Every single one of us can take 5 to 10 minutes to just be still, close our eyes, and reset our nervous system. I think those words in particular, I've always loved when they said, “And you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems so far,” the number of times that I've wanted to throw in the towel about something, whether it's in business or my personal life. Then I've just kept going and not kept going in like this hustle mentality, but just “How can I keep going even if it's really slow, even if I pull right back, how can I just keep plotting along?” Then something will happen. Someone will call you out of the blue with this amazing job opportunity, or someone will send you the most beautiful email or DM about your podcast or your book or something that's really touched them.
It's like, the universe is out there and being like, “Hey, you need a little cheering up. We are here to give it to you.” That has happened. I feel like I know there's a lot out there about manifestation and I totally agree that some of that stuff could be amazing, but you also have to do the work yourself as well and meet the universe halfway. I feel like this Don't Quit Pros, the one that my mom gave me has helped me so many times. Just go, “Shake it off. What can you do? What small thing, what small step can you make right now towards whatever it is that you're working on without quitting? Yes, you can slow down for sure. Like it says, slow down, but just don't quit and rest if you must.”
I think it's just a really important reminder right now that we do have a couple more weeks left of this year, but don't like to write them off and don't just sort of rush through them. We only have to look around the world to know how incredibly thankful and lucky we are to be alive right now and to have the opportunity to work on a business, to be with family. We love to be safe, to be healthy, all of these things. I think by rushing through the end of the year, we are not allowing ourselves to just enjoy how fortunate we are. That is it for today's Quick Tip episode, A bit of a different one, but that poem again is just called Don't Quit. I'm sure you'll be able to find it online if you want to go through it again, but you will also be able to find it in our show notes, which you'll find for this episode at mydailybusiness.com/podcast/369.
I just want to say, that if you are struggling right now and everything feels far too much, please reach out for help. We'll also link some mental health links in the show notes. I just know here in Australia, we have so many options for this, and it may seem like you don't, but there are so many options. There's Beyond Blue, there's Lifeline. Beyond Blue also now offers six free mental health coaching sessions for anyone with an Australian Business Number. Check that out. Again, we'll leave links to that in the show notes, but also just look after yourself. It is a hard time for a lot of business owners, so be kind to yourself and also to others. See you next time. Bye.
