Does this sort of question stress you as much as it does me?

by | Jul 24, 2020

I’m going to be very boring for a moment and ask, “Where did the time go?!”

How is it we’re already more than halfway through 2020?

Okay, that’s out of my system. I can continue with something valuable (fingers crossed)…

Actually, one more thought about time…I think I have a freakout moment like this every year, when we’re closer to the forthcoming Christmas than we are to the previous one, so this particular freakout (unlike others I’ve had this year) isn’t brought to me by COVID.

I suppose it’s because there’s so much pressure that stems from time—well, not time itself, but people who like to talk about time. 

People who say things like…

“We’re halfway through the year, how many of your goals have you achieved?”

and…

“How are you going to make this quarter better than the last quarter?”

or…

“Are you on track to achieve your first million/(insert desirable thing here) before you hit 40/(insert your next milestone age here)?”

Those people are the worst. Actually, that’s harsh. They could very well be lovely people. 

But their questions are the worst, for me at least, and I have a feeling I’m not alone in this.

Because these questions that are meant to motivate me into action?

All they do is stress me out. 

What they fail to recognize is that we all live by our own timeline, but they try to take that ownership away from us. 

They try to make us believe we should be working so many hours per day, making so much money per month, and we should be getting out of bed every morning with a song in our hearts and a skip in our step. 

But I know, that’s not how life works.

Especially, when you work for yourself. 

When you work for yourself, it’s easy to get caught up in your head and start thinking things like, “I should have more customers by now,” or “My email list should be bigger by now,” or “I should be getting more engagement on social media by now.”

Do you know how helpful these thoughts are?

Yep, not very.

Unless…unless they inspire you into action. 

And by action I mean steady, consistent content creation, because this is how you tell people about your business and get them to love you and what you do.

And the thing you have to be careful of is starting out all motivated and pumping out loads of content at once then…you start to…lose steam…when you don’t…get your desired results…straight away…so you…think that…what you’re doing…isn’t…working…so you…stop. 

And the unhelpful thoughts come back, with more bite this time because you feel like you’ve tried and failed. 

This is what happens to most people.

But you’re not going to be like most people, are you?

Because you know, time is on your side. And you know most highly profitable businesses don’t grow overnight.

Instead, their growth is consistently, steadily nurtured over time. 

So if you can hang in there, and not be misleadingly pressured into thinking you should be farther along than you are, and know that every piece of content you put out there is helping build your audience, you’ll one day find yourself ahead of the competition. 

If you would like some help with content creation for your business, reach out to us.

We love brainstorming ideas with business owners and coming up with a content strategy that works for them. 

If you want to see consistent content creation in action, sign up to our newsletter (or, if you’ve already signed up, thank you! Why not send this to a friend who might find it interesting?) 

The thing to remember, it’s never too late to start growing your business. So don’t let anyone (including yourself) ever make you think otherwise. 

Look at that, I guess I did end up writing about time after all.  

Marci Cornett

Marci Cornett

I’m a messaging strategist who helps small businesses rise above the blah. Very proud to have written for top industry publications including Copyhackers and DigitalMarketer. And to be one half of the award-winning digital marketing team Frank and Marci. Follow on LinkedIn