February News from EWI Lethbridge

Can anyone relate to feeling overwhelmed with the demands of work? As a business owner since 2004, I have gotten used to the never-ending sense that there is always something important falling off the back of the truck; if I have a rare moment of feeling caught up on projects, then surely I am falling behind on sales, or networking, or advertising, or my web content, or....

Right now seems particularly hectic, and I had a couple of days last week that brought me to the brink of giving up in the face of what seems like an endless to-do pile. Perhaps you have had moments like this?

But thankfully, instead of reaching for the Help Wanted section of the Herald I happened to pick up a copy of "Work From the Inside Out" by Nancy O'Hara. In the introduction she suggests three concepts upon which the rest of the exercises are based:

- Keep it simple.

- Be patient.

- Be compassionate toward yourself.

That alone might help, but it wasn't until the chapter on Understanding and Acceptance that I started to feel better. She points out that, no matter how successful/unsuccessful, how busy/unbusy, how lazy or productive we might see ourselves in any given moment, we are not in control. 

I can't control time, my clients and their budgets, endless telephone tag, the part of the Alberta economy that affects my funding, or a million other unseen factors that might be contributing to my feelings of 'not-getting-enough-done'. In the moment of understanding this, I felt the weight lift knowing that all I can control is my choice to make this one phone call, write this one news release, attend one meeting. Ahhhh... these things I can do.

So, for this morning my task is... president's message... :-)

Thank you to Judy Holmes, Leanna Lomanski, Brenda Eaglesham and JoAnn Jurgens for pulling together the EWI display for the Chamber of Commerce Mix & Mingle last night. From all reports, it seems we were well received and generated a few new prospective members. Great job as EWI ambassadors!

And a HUGE thank you to Leanna Lomanski for the fabulous photo shoot which produced this cute picture that makes me feel like I really can take on the world!

Colette