It’s been a while since I have written on my blog. I have realised something about myself that surprised me. When I feel uncertain I withdraw. I don’t think I am the only one.
This is a very exciting stage in my life and there are a few changes happening, but with change, even if it is positive, it brings uncertainty. Things, even things that are no longer fruitful or useful can still be more comfortable than facing new and even exciting new paths, which bring uncertainty and this is a dangerous thing for growth, because we are often tempted to stop the growth and return to safety.
I have been reading Dr. Henry Cloud’s book “necessary endings”, which is fantastic by the way, especially if you are in business. It pertains to life too. He writes the importance of understanding and moving towards Necessary Endings in your life. He compares this to a Rose Bush and pruning and sites 3 reasons why you would prune,
- There is a stage of unruly growth, life produces life and rose bushes produce much more than the plant can actually sustain. Their needs to be a pruning so that the growth can be concentrated. The parts that remain can be directed to the desired path of growth.
- One needs to recognise a part of the bush that is sick and will not recover. This needs to be removed so that the sickness does not spread and draw any resources from the health parts.
- And thirdly, one needs to prune the dead branches.
I found this so interesting and it has been so helpful in recognising what needs to be pruned and why.
As Entrepreneurs we often have a NEVER QUIT attitude, but part of life (and business) is understanding when we need to make a Necessary Ending. This means we need to understand that there is a life cycle in our business and we also need to recognise the season that we are in too. There are seasons in the life of a business and if we fail to understand the stage at which the business is and which season we are in we will fail to do the appropriate actions that will ultimately lead to life.
Even in death, this creates space for more life. We need to be careful not be putting businesses or projects on life support instead of letting them die so that the new can come.
The problem is that we can misunderstand it and feel like we have failed instead of recognizing that it is just the end of the season and the project or business that you have nourished and care for and have enjoyed fruit from is now needing to be pulled from the garden and placed on the composed heap to now become that which will nourish the next crop.
So take care to watch the seasons, spring is about new beginnings and is busy and active and summer is about enjoying the sun and full bloom of your labours, then comes autumn where pruning takes place and then winter where things look like they are finished, this is where we prepare for the spring and sharpen our tools and repair our equipment.
I will chat about the life cycle of your business in my next blog, but I would like to encourage you to recognize which season your business (or even life) is in right now.
Why not let me know. What season do you think you are in now and why? How are you feeling about where you are and what do you think you should be doing right now?
