I Let Myself Have the Reward First

My to-do list was missing happiness

I jumped on the Zoom call, to meet with my small group. My business coaching program, MasterHeart with George Kao, has us check in regularly to reaccess and net-care. (George taught us the concept of caring for our peers and clients, rather than ‘network’ them.) It was time for a check-in.

The four of us took turns sharing our struggles and successes. I shared my depletion at attempting to write, video, post, share, respond, reflect, collaborate, all while launching classes, finishing my book, and attempting to keep up with my self-care; napping, qigong, walking, cooking, cleaning, meditation, friends, etc. My teammates all nodded their heads emphatically.

Sophie, a solopreneur who lives in Cambridge U.K. shared,

“I used to say, if I finish all my work, THEN I would reward myself by walking down to the river for a swim. Swimming makes me so happy. But I realized, I was never getting all my work done, so I wasn’t swimming. Then I shifted my schedule, and now walking to the river for a swim is the FIRST thing I do in the morning.”

It surprised me to feel tears roll down my face. I had tried to get to the river three times already in the last six days, and I kept running out of time. I didn’t realize how sad this was making me.

The next morning, sipping my coffee as I looked at my schedule, I saw my usual menu: write, edit a video, publish, post, book appointments, and either work on my website, or my youtube, either my Insta or my Facebook business page.

My day felt heavy in front of me, but then I remembered the river! I grabbed my snorkel, put on my suit, and got myself to the Ichetucknee Springs. Going to the river became top priority on my list.

In western culture, we use our favorite thing