I'm going to lay my cards on the table:
The news has been absolutely awful - what is happening in Ukraine is so distressing and my heart truly goes out to them. So posting upbeat news and messages on social media for work has felt hard: I'm torn between feeling it's all pointless and then on the flip side feeling I need to carry on and try to keep a sense of normality as much as possible. It's a tough one - have you felt this too?
Running a small business by yourself you need to be in a good place mentally: feel motivated and upbeat. It's important for the person who runs the business to have a good mindset and be moving forward, thinking to the future. This last few days, in all honesty, have been hard. I mean, really hard. There have been times when I've felt like throwing in the towel and giving up. Wondering what the point is. Finding it hard to fire up the enthusiasm to log in every day. I've worked so hard to build my little business, I strive to make everything about it as positive and good as I possibly can. I don't want to give it up, but it's hard to keep positive. But I must, and I think it's important that I do.
So I just wanted to say that if you're struggling mentally and feeling anxious, you're not alone. I am too - I think many of us are. My love, prayers and thoughts are with the people of Ukraine at the moment - but I also recognise that we, as a community, need to stay strong together. The last couple of years have been dire - some of us have been OK, some have been good at saying we're "OK". And what's happening now feels a bit like, "And now this?!". Yes, I know.
We are more resilient than we know, but let's make sure we look after ourselves and each other, support one another and keep going. Let's keep in mind the struggles we're all facing, let's be kind to others. Let's donate where we can. Let's spend wisely and conscientiously. Let's seek out joy and pleasure as much as we can. If one of us feels like we're starting to droop under the pressure, let's reach out - and let's be honest about our feelings (because we're all very good at pushing it down - which can be a good thing sometimes, but not constantly).
I've decided that I'm buggered if I'm going to ease up on the ethos I have for my business and give up on what I've worked for, in spite of the bad days when it feels hard to be motivated or creative. When being happy on social media isn't necessarily how things feel in real life - it doesn't matter, I'm still going to be here every day, doing the do, working the work, dreaming the dream...
I'm here if I can help. Let's stick together: community over conflict.
Sarah x
