Get the Haircut

May 26

Yesterday I went to get a haircut.

I usually get a haircut every 6 to 8 weeks, but this time it had been 23 weeks. I didn't decide that I was going to rock a longer hairstyle – I just never got around to it. I didn't make it a priority, and it just kind of fell by the wayside. Everything else seemed to be more important, so I never scheduled it. Eventually, I forgot about it altogether. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Then I started to see that high-school hair starting to look back at me in the mirror. 😆

This had gone too far. I had neglected routine self-care.

I have a high level of put-up-with-ness (thanks Kevin Hart for the term), and if you are a business owner (or aspiring one), I'm sure you do, too. I can put up with discomfort, pain, difficult circumstances, and annoyances for extended periods of time. The problem is that I can tolerate these things in pursuit of what seems to be the higher priority and end up letting some of the "small" things get neglected for the big goals I have. I can skip the haircut to get a little bit more of an "efficient" work week. But I'm finding this is just short-game thinking.

Yesterday it became real to me in a more profound way that these small things really aren't that small.

Self-care isn't a distraction. It keeps you on your A-game.

I got my hair cut yesterday morning, got in the car afterward, looked in the rearview mirror, and did a double-take. It had been almost half a year since I had been to the barber. I looked more like myself. Almost like I could hear myself saying, "There you are Lane… you've been there the whole time, but you just got a bit distracted."

I once heard Bob Goff mention one of his favorite movie scenes is in the movie Hook where one of the lost boys holds Peter Pan’s face and says, "There you are, Peter.” (You can watch it here). I had a, “There you are, Lane," moment of my own.

I felt more like Lane after my haircut. I looked the part. I felt like myself, so it made more sense to do other "Lane" things that have also been hard to find time for. I got back home, laced up my shoes, and went for a run because Lane does that.

I saw my true self a little better yesterday after my haircut. It sounds a little weird, but its true. I'm guessing you may have some self-care that you have been putting off too.

Maybe it’s not a haircut for you.

Maybe it’s a spa day.

Maybe it’s the dentist.

Maybe it’s going surfing.

Maybe it’s the chiropractor.

Maybe it’s buying those shoes.

Maybe it’s going to a yoga class.

Maybe it’s refreshing your wardrobe.

Do it! Because that small self-care action might just be the first domino to spur some new life.

You might feel happy.

You might get inspired.

You might get motivated.

You might feel more like yourself.

You might start to feel a creativity flow.

You might have renewed perspective.

You might gain some confidence back.

Follow it. See where it leads.

What does this have to do with your business?

Everything. It’s all connected. When I’m more myself and firing on all cylinders, then my business improves. The same goes for you.

Business health and business owner health have a directly correlated relationship. When you take care of the health of one, you profit in the other.

Are you up for giving this a shot? Test it this week. What do you have to lose? Worst case you will get one self-care item done off your to-do list.

If you do something for yourself this week, shoot me an email at lane@hoffbeck.co. I’d love to hear about it, even if it seems small and insignificant, it all matters.

What I’m listening to: