I don’t believe this is necessarily a ‘bad’ thing especially if comparing oneself with others inspires you on to bigger & better things for yourself. It can however be extremely detrimental and begin to erode the confidence of even the most confident person.

I’ve had a couple of recent experiences of this that I can recall…

The first one was as a holistic health coach & CHEK practitioner. As a member of the forum which is a way of getting & giving support from & to other practitioners around the world, I began to constantly question my own knowledge & abilities. Convinced that I didn’t know enough – nowhere near as much as many of the other forum members who shared their knowledge – I began to find that rather than stimulate & encourage me, it intimidated me and made me question my own abilities and therefore ‘worthiness’ to help other people.

My solution? Stop looking at the forum.

And again more recently, I find myself comparing my book to other books and wondering if it’s “good enough” & whether anyone will actually pay for something I’ve written (see, I told you this book was a struggle!!!). And my blogs…are they as good as so and so’s, is my writing as interesting, witty & readable?

My solution again? Stop reading the books & blogs which are starting to make me question myself and only read the ones that energise, inspire & motivate me.

I believe it is Michael Neill who talks about downward comparisons not being a negative thing (unless of course, you begin to gloat) but a great technique for bolstering your own confidence and proving to yourself how fabulous you are.

If you can’t or won’t stop comparing yourself to others (and I know a lot of people like this), and using others as a measure of your own success, then at least compare yourself to people who make you feel fabulous rather than those who don’t.

How many of the following bad habits do you succumb to in your quest for entrepreneurial success?

• You regularly go to bed after 11pm even though you sleep in till later.
• You drink coffee in the afternoon to keep you going into the early hours every morning.
• You never eat breakfast & get stuck straight into your work.
• You eat a badly balanced lunch and succumb to a mid-afternoon energy slump which requires a chocolate bar, bag of crips or several more cups of coffee to get through.
• You neglect to take some kind of exercise which gets you moving on a daily basis.
• The only things you drink throughout the day are cups of tea and/or coffee.
• You stare at your laptop screen for hours on end without a break.
• You let stress get to you and don’t step away from your screen and give yourself some breathing space & a relaxing break at regular intervals.

If you do any or all of the above and suffer from any or all of the following niggles…hayfever, weight problems, low blood sugar, eczema, menstrual problems, foggy head, poor memory, cellulite, aching joints, then you might like to try any or all of the following!!

• Get to bed by 10.30pm and lights out by 11pm every night.
• Always eat breakfast and ensure you include some form of good quality protein along with your carbs. This goes for lunch too – the classic symptom of not enough protein for lunch is a drowsy, energy slump a couple of hours after lunch.
• Try & drink your last cup of coffee no later than 3pm in the afternoon – caffeine stays in your system for up to 6 hours after consumption.
• Drink at least 2-3 litres of good quality water every day (that doesn’t include your tea or coffee intake).
• Take regular breaks away from your laptop screen and ideally do some form of exercise/movement that you enjoy daily.
• If you ever feel particularly stressed, take some time out to perform some deep breathing – or find something guaranteed to make you laugh. Breathing & laughing are two of the best, most effective stress relievers known to man.

Following on from doing just what I want for a day, we then had a lovely Friday afternoon ‘off’ yesterday and went to see an area called the beaches here in Toronto. It was gorgeous and was just what I needed…to lie on a bench by the beach soaking up the sun with a gorgeous view of Lake Ontario and a relaxing, very ‘beachified’ vibe in the air with friendly Torontonians rollerblading, jogging (or huffing & puffing rather a lot in some cases) and strolling along the boardwalk.

Running your own business & being self-employed can really take its toll sometimes. It can become an all-consuming affair from which it’s difficult to switch off & take a step back to view dispassionately.

It’s bitter-sweet – all your victories are completely your own. You are making money, people are paying you for doing what you enjoy and every single penny you earn is down to you. It’s great & there’s nothing like knowing that what you earn, you really do earn & deserve.

But on the flip side, your losses are also your own.

Every complaint, every problem is also down to you alone to solve. Your revenue & income can be unstable – and things can change so quickly. The momentum to keep going has to come from you – not your boss cracking the whip – and sometimes if you want to just relax, take it easy and just earn a guaranteed income, it’s not possible…if you’re not working, then you’re not earning. If you’re not careful and don’t set things up in the right way, what you once enjoyed can become just as much a grind as a ‘normal’ job. The buck stops with you.

Having said all that, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The only thing you have to remember to do is to take time away from the business, take some time off and stick to that resolve.

It’s so easy to switch on the laptop, be doing something for the business constantly and never actually switch off from it. Especially when you’re passionate about what you do, enjoy it and sometimes ‘live’ it. That’s a lesson I forgot recently and one of the reasons I ran myself down (that plus the fact we’re trying to do all this whilst travelling round the world!!).

So this month is all about flow.

I’ve done a lot of hard work, laid the foundations, set up the processes & systems. I’m not going to stress about getting new business, new clients or more income. That will all come when the timing is right. I’m going to stop pushing so hard, let things happen as they’re meant to and focus on relaxing, having more fun and enjoying what we’re doing.