Life as a female entrepreneur is so busy, and it isn’t only related to the business side of things. I read an article one time that talked about why the market for products that sell business women “energy” is expanding so rapidly. The article pointed out something I had never considered but when I read it, I knew immediately they were right. Yes, as women, mothers, and entrepreneurs, we carry a great deal of responsibility, but what we also carry is most of the mental burden.
Hear Me Out On This
Even though my partner and I have a more modern relationship where we divide and conquer on all fronts, I am still in charge of remembering most of the details that allow our life to run smoothly. I refill the lunch accounts, I know when it’s superhero day at school, I schedule the haircuts, I keep track of the grocery list, I know when new shoes are in order, I know when the PTO is shorthanded, I know the school schedules and the homework schedules and the project schedules and the ceramics class schedules and the Girl Scouts schedules…
Mentally, my capacity to know and remember both the micro and the macro is really being tested on a daily basis. Because, in addition to all of the personal mental responsibilities, there’s also my business responsibilities (for our joint business) which includes but is not limited to appointments, preparing strategic plans, mining networks for joint venture relationships, speaking all over the world, keeping up the social media content, planning topics for three podcasts, making sure we pay our employees… I am exhausted just listing some of it!
Gratitude Is Amazing, But Doesn’t Bring Rest or Energy
Even though I really love this life, and feel gratitude every single day for what I’ve been able to build and how full my life is, I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t absolutely exhausting sometimes. And that mental burden is one of the most difficult aspects. Mainly because when we get into this habit of continuously thinking, processing, and overthinking to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. TM is teaching me to break this cycle and find silence, which, I can’t even tell you how precious that is.
I took my oldest daughter to see Taylor Swift one time, and the show was amazing (really!) but the decibel of which all screaming took place was trying. When we got to the car, I just sat for a moment. Do you hear that? Complete silence… ahhhh. It’s like that, practicing TM. Like all the noise in the world has been screaming in my face all day, and then there’s silence. The relief, the immediate tension that leaves my body, it’s actually amazing. But it’s even more than that. I have noticed more clarity, more decisiveness, less stress, and an overall more calmer feeling.
What Is TM?
Well, it depends on who you ask really because there are some who think it’s a cult, there are the masses of famous and successful elite who swear by it, and there are some (like me) who are reaping real benefits from incorporating this practice into my life. TM stands for Transcendental Meditation, a movement started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the early 60’s, in an effort to help people learn to exist in a higher state of mind, and ultimately for peace.
“It’s an effortless technique for “recharging your mind and body” — and creating a brighter, more positive state of mind. Hundreds of published research studies have found that TM is highly effective on stress and anxiety, brain function, and cardiovascular health.” TM.org
I Wasn’t Seeking Awareness
The biggest change I am noticing is awareness, which is something most self-help books try to sell in one package or another. The truth I am learning about awareness is that it can’t be bought in the intellectual knowledge packed in the pages of all these books or workshops. Awareness is something we have to look inward to find, and TM is helping me do that.
Is This Our Santa or Easter Bunny?
We, adults, are afraid to believe in anything that even sounds remotely magical or “hokey” or not mainstream. I am especially guilty of being over-analytical at times but TM is changing my perspective on this approach. This could be the grown up Easter Bunny, the magical and powerful world we tap into to find happiness, and energy, and pure love.
I’m still waiting for my cult of people to show up with torches (do cult members carry torches?) based on some of the stories I read online, but I’ve had no such luck yet. I guess I’ll just keep meditating and finding my own inner peace until they get here.