Should You Work During a Flare Up?

You're listening to the She's Crafted to Thrive podcast, and this is your host Nikita Williams. On this show, we're talking about what it's like to start, grow, and scale a business while living with chronic illness. You will hear from other creatives and CEOs as they share their stories and the lessons that led them to learn to lean more into what works for them. You'll discover that success does not mean perfection, and fear, negative thoughts, and challenges are all a part of the journey, but there's always an abundance of wins. So stay tuned and you'll find the inspiration and tools you need to craft a life and business that thrives. Hey there, beautiful! I've got something for you. 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I am excited that you're here for this series, episode number 4 of the How to Grow a Sustainable Business While Living with Chronic Illness series., and this episode is about how to continue momentum while in a flare-up. And full disclosure, I am recording this from my bed in a flare-up during a ramp-up for a live event, um, that I've never done before with 3 amazing guests called It's Raining Dream Clients. Learn the 3 M's to growing an irresistible and sustainable business, and I am also hosting a masterclass shortly after that. So this is obviously not the first time where I have had a flare-up during like a really ramp-up period in my business, or when I'm enrolling lots of new clients, or I'm doing something new, doing a lot of media, different kind of events, and flare-ups show up.. And I used to beat myself up so much thinking, oh my gosh, it's because I've done something wrong. How come I can't control this? Quote unquote control in air quotes. And I realized that that thought process really never served my energy in actually accomplishing what I call and what many of you probably have heard is the MVP of getting things done in order to continue in the momentum period of time. The ramp up. You can call it ramp up time, very energy-based time, however you want to call it. So here are a couple of tips to help you that have helped me. One is stop and interrupt the negative thoughts that you are telling yourself and beating yourself up about this flare. So there's a reason why this is episode 4 and not episode 3. Episode 3, I really talked to you guys about how to shift your thoughts around what your body is doing, right? Why it's going through the flare-up, how it's actually a beautiful reminder that doesn't feel so great of tapping into, like, listening to your body and really managing your pace and your energy. And this is no different in a momentum time. Usually when you're a ramp up for a new course, a new, um, a new offer, a new event, whatever, or even it's not new, it's just the thing that's a cycle in your business. We don't give our bodies actually the space in that time to deal with the energy that's required that we expend to do those things. And we all have different energy flows. For some of us, we're energized by other people and being in this space. But you guys, even if you're like me, who's a complete extrovert, even though we're expending energy and we enjoy it and we receive energy back, we still are spending more that we're giving out than we're actually receiving. So we have to figure out a way to create a balance in our ramp-ups in our business that also honors our energy so that we can restore. And one of the ways we can do that is by interrupting the negative thoughts that we're telling ourselves. There's so many things that we tell ourselves when we're going through a flare-up, when we feel like it's inconvenient. Like, when is actually a flare-up ever convenient? Let's first say that. Like, when is being in a flare-up ever convenient? I've never experienced a time where it's been convenient. I don't want it to be there. So I have just learned to tap into the belief that, you know what, my body's telling me that no matter what time or day it is, I need to pay more attention to how I expend my energy and also how I believe or what I'm telling myself about what's going on with my body. So that's why number 3 in the series. If you haven't listened to it, I want you to go back and listen to that episode, which was titled How to Get Unstuck When You Feel Like Your Body Is. Okay, so number 4 in this— I'm sorry, not number 4— in this point about the energy and being yourself up, one of the ways that I have found to change or shift this is to interrupt the negative thoughts or feelings. And for me, that looks different. One of my coaches taught me is like, if you're sitting, stand up. If you're standing, sit down. That works sometimes. But for me, when I'm really conscious and aware of my thoughts, I choose to go to my list of things that I know that will get me out of the negative thought loop. So for me, it's texting a friend, it's calling, you know, calling someone that I know will just talk funny things. It will be, you know, telling my husband, hey, I'm having one of those negative spirals, whatever. Let's, let's do something fun. Let's do something spontaneous. I also keep a list of the things that I no, combat those negative thoughts, right? It's like I look at happy notes or testimonials from my clients and those are things that I star or save in my inbox that helps me. The other thing honestly that helps me the most is music. I turn on some music. I just start getting in a different funk, even if I'm in pain, like sitting here in bed right now in the flare. I will turn on some music and it will shift my thoughts and my energy. To focus more on what I would say is step number 2. So step number 2 is to prioritize your focus and your energy on the MVP, on the minimum viable product, or the minimum, minimum viable procedure, or whatever it is that you have to do. What is the least amount of energy that you need to expend to create the most effect? So whatever thing that's happening, whatever plan you're happening, is there a way that you can— what's the word— is, is there another way that you can repivot your energy to focus on the thing that makes the most difference for whatever it is that you're doing? So whether that's for your business, for a client, for opportunity where you need to show up, that might also mean that you need to tap into leveraging, which means leveraging other resources, asking for help, you guys. You can keep momentum as long as you are continually to move forward and realizing that, one, your thoughts have power. Two, you can't do it alone. That's huge, you guys. You have to recognize that no one can. No one can, even in their best physical shape. Um, if you are living with chronic illness, you need to have people that are in it with you in some way, shape, or form in your business. You don't have to pay them a full-time check. You don't have to pay them anything. They could just be the friends that you call on when you're doing— when you're going through these different times, and they know we're going to tap in for this and then we're tapping back out. For me, I've really developed, you know, a great relationship with my clients as well as my team, my virtual assistants. And if I need to tap into other resources like Fiverr or friends and family that I know that could help me, I'm not afraid to ask that question because I know in order for me to continue the momentum and the success that I want to see, I gotta be real, you know. I gotta, I gotta realize I can't do it on my own, and I definitely can't do it when a flare-up is in play. Okay, the other thing I want us to think about is this point, is that the path to more impact and income is not necessarily doing more. It can be about doing less. So that's going back to that point of the MVP. You can still have massive impact and growth in your business by doing less, but way more intentionally and way more, um, focused in on what works for you. And this also goes to like, if you're feeling like you're having momentum in your sales and you're feeling like, oh, now I need to pare down, or I need to I need to stop, whatever, whatever the crazy thoughts that are going on in your head about selling and being in a momentum, and then you're in a flare-up. I want you to identify the beliefs that you feel are holding you back emotionally and physically. Our actions are created by our thoughts, which can create a lasting but changeable impact or imprint on our nervous system. And what I, what I mean by that is that if we are in this period of time where we're in a momentum and we're going great and we always feel like we end up in a flare-up and we start going down the negative thought processes and thinking that, you know, oh, I need to change how I'm creating my business. I need to sell differently. I need to add more. I need to take away more. Whatever the thoughts are is that you're almost making an imprint and not almost, you are making an imprint into your nervous system. So the next time this happens, you are bound to create the same habit, you're bound to go down that same pathway. So make sure you're paying attention and being very aware and reflecting on what's happening and disrupting the thoughts that will not serve you now or in the future. And during a momentum time, you guys, it's so important that you incorporate a truly meaningful self-care routine. And what I mean by meaningful self-care routine is like beyond the physical of like Maybe getting your hair done and getting your nails done. And those are beautiful things, um, as well as, you know, soaking in a bath at night or having a meal that's been prepared for you that's very healthy and nourishing. I also mean having a meaningful self-care routine to deal with your thoughts and emotions that you're experiencing through this period of momentum and flare-up. So when you can find a time to write things down, journal or speak them out or share them with a friend, reflect and fill your cup back up with things that are nourishing, that are gratitude-inducing, like in the fact that makes you think of more things to be grateful for, the better. I really, really started to learn the importance of this while I was working with my coach Renee Hughes, who is the, um, founder of The Aroma Specialist and the program called the The Mood Makeover. And it's a process and a framework that she has that's absolutely beautiful. There'll be a share, um, show notes in the comments, but she really taught me the, the foundation of what I now have my own kind of spin on the Mood Makeover as the Aroma Mindset Reset. And so what that looks like for me about truly incorporating a meaningful self-care routine, and this is for any time, honestly, you can use this. I probably will create another episode just about the Aroma Mindset Reset and how that helps you. But this process helps, um, you really deal with the emotional ups and downs of the day in a way that doesn't take forever, right? And it also keeps you in awareness and in flow of respecting and honoring where you are in this process of dealing with a flare-up during a momentum time. So for me, the Aroma Mindset is really around processing and nourishing. And the reason why it's called aroma is because I use essential oils, obviously aromatherapy, in order to intensify the effects of how I'm rewiring my brain and nervous system to believe in the positive thoughts and to really see gratitude things, and also to release some of the thoughts and feelings that are not serving me. And so that's a practice that I make every day, if not every, you know, once or twice a week during a period of time where I'm in momentum or if I'm in a flare-up. Now, whatever the meaningful self-care routine is for you, I want you to find one that doesn't feel hard and you know exactly what you need to do when you do it. So for me, For me, it's taking a little like shower, bath, or whatever. It starts physically. I have some music playing. I'm doing my face. I'm doing all those different little things. I have actually a recording of this in a way on my Instagram that I'll have in the show notes, um, of a little reel of me doing this. I also have a cup of tea waiting for me and a journal, either if, if my hands are really, you know, flared up from carpal tunnel and pain, it's my— it may not be my journal, it may be my, um, personal audio journal that I keep. And in that one, what I'm doing is writing down all of the things and experiences that I had during the day, and also finding at the very end things that I'm grateful for. And using essential oils either to diffuse or doing some deep breathing exercises before I start that process helps me get so grounded and in touch with what I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. And I do this practice every day if possible during a really difficult time. Like, if I'm in like a busy time in my business and I'm also in a flare-up, y'all know I gots to do it. Like, my husband knows if it's that kind of time, I'm like— he knows I need my good 10-15 minutes. I'm in my room, I cannot be interrupted, I don't want to be interrupted. And it's because it's crucial in order for me to really harness my energy to focus on the things I have to complete in order to continue growing. So that's my challenge for you guys. So let me know if this was helpful. Stay tuned for the next episode where I'll be talking about why hustle culture is destroying your income potential as a chronic warrior. All right, y'all, that's a wrap. Thank you for listening, and I hope this conversation inspired you. Be sure to visit craftedtothrive.com to check out our show notes, connect with our guests, and grab some of those goodies. Join us for the next episode. And in the meantime, remember, yes, yes, yes, you are crafted to thrive.