If you have looked at social media or the news at all lately you have seen headlines and posts about Simone Biles.

If you aren’t familiar with gymnastics you may not fully grasp what an earth shattering event it is for a gymnast to pull themselves from a competition especially at the Olympic level. 

Gymnastics is a sport where it is the norm for athletes to injury their bodies to try to gain a tenth of a point more than their competitors, where kinesiology tape is used to hold them together, where they are told to shake a potentially life-threatening mistake off and try again, all while wearing a skin-tight leotard while their every move is judged. 

Simone broke the norm.

She said ‘enough’ and you guys, she didn’t apologize or give a long detailed list of reasons why she had to step away. While you could see the disappointment on her face you also saw that she had confidence and peace with her decision. 

When I first started my business I was a solopreneur which meant I did EVERYTHING. This equaled a lot of late-nights, no personal life, and stress. While I was excited that my business quickly grew and I was making real money while working from home, I was exhausted. I was working all the time and I was starting to question my decision, at least at a traditional job I could clock out! I felt like I had to respond to my clients right away or give a detailed reason why I wouldn’t be available at certain times.

What can business owners learn from Simone?

In a society where we often get the message to ‘push through’ the busy season, the week or the project, let’s normalize stepping back. Let’s normalize protecting our mental health which in return protects our physical health. Let’s normalize stepping aside and letting someone else take a turn. 

You’re the boss

After a few months of ‘pushing through’ I realized that this was MY business, I didn’t have to play by anyone’s else’s rules. I could set boundaries while continuing to scaling my business. So I got to work, working on my business instead of in it! I began time blocking, creating systems and most importantly, paying attention to the work and the type of clients I enjoyed the most. Once I got clarity on that, I did something that changed the trajectory of my business forever, I outsourced. As I outsourced, I was able to grow my business by clearing space on my calendar (and my head) and focus on the revenue-generating tasks to move the needle forward. And the rest is history.

What things are you doing in your business just because you feel it’s the norm?

Are you ready to start setting boundaries and changing the trajectory of your business? Take the first step by downloading my free outsourcing guide.