Too Much Noise!
I had got myself into a flat spin and then I realised there was just too much noise! Right at the beginning of Lockdown I really panicked. I was drawn into the spiralling frenzy of ‘You MUST diversify, you MUST change the way you run your business, and you MUST put everything ON LINE!!’
Right now. Do it NOW. Hurry hurry. It’s what people want. They need you to diversify. Hurry. Set up courses for art ON LINE, create meditation mp4s RIGHT NOW! People WILL buy them. It’s what they want.
Everyone was selling courses.
There were courses on line for how to build your own course online. Lots of courses to choose from. Choose wisely, choose well, diversify, keep your income. DO IT NOW!
I’m being quite shouty with this as that’s how it felt. Which one should I choose? How much will this cost me to set up? How long will it take? Oh, that’s ok, I have so much time on my hands, I’ll be able to set something up surely? I’m really good on social media, I have a mailing list already so I’ll just tell everyone and that will be a start.
What did I do?
Nothing. Well, that’s a lie. I just spent the first three weeks of lockdown worrying that I should be doing something. I had to cancel two art workshops so maybe I could offer one in real-time on line, and I could organise it through Face Book so I won’t have any set-up costs?
Or maybe, I would do nothing. Well, as you know, that’s not me at all! I decided to set up an art class on line, through face book, but my heart wasn’t really in it. Energy flows across time and space, so I should be able to teach through a screen with ‘live’ videos, shouldn’t I? In theory, yes, but my heart needed to be happy with it, and despite launching, and getting the schedule ready, I had no takers. No takers because I wasn’t sending out the right vibration. I was creating it because I’d been told that’s what we should be doing.
Joe Wicks was doing daily fitness, the lovely Katie Brindle – who inspire me into stocking her Guasha Stones – was doing a daily Qigong class, and if you had children, there was so much on line for them. Diversify NOW! So much of my day was spent wondering what I should do.
There was no need to worry!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my interaction on social media, but I work best with people. I have clients still waiting for new dates for the workshops I had to cancel. I was so worried that I had to give them a new date RIGHT NOW! I needed to know when we would be allowed to work again, so I could keep my clients informed and happy. What I didn’t anticipate was the kindness I encountered from everyone concerned. Not one person asked for a refund. Why? Because they still want to come to the workshops. They are happy to wait, and after all, we are all in the same boat! They want to experience the energy of a small group of people using mindfulness and breath work in their art.
Too much noise!
So I had to take a step back. The internet was just too noisy! I needed to stop panicking and pushing myself to do something that didn’t work for me. I spent so long exploring the possibility, and seeing what others were doing. I was even sucked in to the videos of how much money you can make selling courses on line, and how it’s so easy to only work a few hours a week and earn millions. 🙄
That’s brilliant for those who really want to work that way, and I’m not knocking it. Being off work for many was a great time to learn new things, and to do this we had to be online. Yoga teachers diversified to zoom classes, music teachers continued to teach one to one, and people who normally worked in offices found they could continue on line.
We do need to be on line.
During this time, I became very aware that the one thing I try to get people to switch off from – the Internet – became a massive lifeline for so many others. Our shopping, connecting with family, continuing to work and seeing what was going on in the world, all done on our phones and laptops. I could keep in touch with my clients, explaining how important it was to show gratitude for the things we have, as this raises our vibrations and helps our immune systems. The one thing I needed to be be grateful for was the internet, but there was SO MUCH NOISE!
It’s all about balance.
For me, this has been a huge learning curve, and I started to use my time in a different way to others. I rested and I gardened. I didn’t build an online course. I used my platforms to keep clients informed of salon information and did some videos of small mindful breathing exercises within a more regular newsletter and a great Face Book Group
I’ve been having the sabbatical I’d never have taken. I’ve been making bread, eating lunch every day and enjoying time. I’ve been able to paint when I wanted to and not just when I had a day free from clients. I could garden a A LOT!
Instagram enjoying a wonderful new audience. On line, but not teaching on line.
We painted the outside of the salon and the inside of the studio and treatment space will be done next month. Normally I would have to close to do this, or pay someone to do it when we are on holiday. Not now, this is a Lockdown bonus!
Know your path. Trust yourself.
The moral of this post is that you must explore different avenues, but you must also realise when the avenue isn’t for you. I don’t want to teach art via zoom. I want to teach amazing workshops in person. I want to sell my art and treat my clients.
Clients will return when we are given the go ahead. We are all so desperate for a massage – I know I am! The Lockdown has made people realise how much they need to take time out, how they can diversify and how they can appreciate even the smallest things. I could write a whole post about how the planet is recalibrating and teaching the global population so many lessons, but this one was about me and my realisation that Online courses aren’t for me!
If you’re waiting for a new date, or to see if the June events will go ahead, I will be in touch! In the meantime, I am open for viewing by appointment only. If you have seen something that takes your fancy on social media, you can see it in the flesh – Just observe the usual protocols!
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