The 14 things I learnt in hospital that relate to business
What was meant to be two weeks in hospital after a Whipples operation ended up being four weeks. As you can imagine, I did not plan to be that long out of action from my business. However, it did teach me a lot of valuable lessons.
The things I learnt in hospital are completely transferable into many elements of life, but for me, being a business owner, definitely taught me a lot to help me with my biz too.
Some of these you would have heard before, but I want you to note them down and reflect on whether you actually do these or not.
If you find value in this blog, make sure you share it with me on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram! Even better, share it with your audience! You can also listen to the episode below!
1. The people around you mean EVERYTHING
Whether it is my family sitting by your hospital bed, my friends flying to see me OR the amazing messages of support from IG - during this journey the people around me have been everything. This is the same with business. Doesn’t matter how well you know them or who they are, when you have people around you that light you up, are your biggest cheerleaders or help you in the journey, they mean everything to you. Never forget that! It isn’t a one woman/man show type of vibe (even if you are smashing it).
2. You have to have a level of surrender (not everything is in your control)
For me, it was surrendering to the fact that I didn’t know when I was getting out of hospital, but when it comes to business, remember you can’t control everything! There are loads of times we need to surrender. Maybe you had a good discovery call with a client and are waiting for them to decide whether they sign up - you have 0 control over that. Or maybe a tech platform is down and you can’t fix it, surrender.
3. Accept help
Always accept the help when you need it. When I was at the hospital I had people showering me, getting me things and helping me along the journey. Accepting that helped to ensure I recovered as I needed to. For you, it could make the difference in your business accepting the help of someone else.
4. Trust your team
Trust is everything. I had to put trust in a lot of people. The surgeon cutting me open, the ICU team gave me that pain relief I needed ASAP and the nurses on the ward. I had to trust all of the team around me to help my recovery. Not only that, I had to trust my business team (shout out to Cynthia and Shannon) to help keep my business running as best as it could without me. Putting that trust in the team around you empowers everyone involved.
5. Know when you have to step in
With that, there were times I had to ask the right questions and be in control of my own body. I remember the time I knew what would make me feel better (at this stage it was for my nose tube to come out and for an icy pole to hit my digestive system). When I told the Dr this, I knew it sounded silly, but I had to ask. In the end, just a few days after, that is exactly what I got and it worked. When it comes to business, there will be times you have to step in and ask for what you need.
6. Trust your gut
To continue on this point, also trusting your gut is key. Sometimes this can be hard, but when it doesn’t (or does) feel right, you must trust yourself. There was a moment in hospital I felt this lump in my stomach and thought to myself “that doesn’t seem right”. In the end, it was a pocket of fluid that was causing me a lot of pain. You will have loads of gut feelings in business, trust them. What do you have to lose? You will only learn from them.
7. Don't sweat the small stuff
Okay, I know, this can be easier said than done. But I know for sure, stress, when I was recovering, was NOT good for my health. Regardless of whether you have health issues or not, stress will always have negative impacts on your life. Go back to the “you can’t control everything” point. Some things will be out of your control, so don’t sweat the small stuff, it is never worth it. Remind yourself when you feel it coming on.
8. Remember setbacks are part of the journey and the lesson
Whenever I had a setback in the hospital there was always a lesson that came with it. Each and every time I gained more and more resilience and I know later down the track this will all serve more of a purpose. Maybe something happens in your business that at the moment doesn’t feel like a lesson and is a setback you wish you never had, but give it time. The lessons always come.
9. A bad day or week doesn't mean a bad life (or business)
I had some baddddd days in the hospital. Days where I couldn’t stop crying. But by the next day (or even that night), I would remind myself it was just a bad day. It didn’t mean my whole life is bad. When you have those days in a business where you feel like nothing can go right, just remember, it doesn’t mean a bad business. You will feel completely different in a week or months’ time.
10. It will pass
Which leads to a very important part. As Prince EA says “it will pass”. When I felt sick and helpless in the hospital, I reminded myself, everyday was one step closer. If you are having a hard time in business, remember it will pass. There will always be good days and there will always be bad ones too! Just do what you can on those bad days to get through.
11. Sometimes all you need is a good sleep
Sleep fixes a lot. It is a long period of time where we get to rest our bodies. When I felt ill or mentally couldn’t cope, sleep always helped (so did seeing the amazing sunrises). When you are stuck on something, don’t push through to the late hours of the night, get some sleep!!! Your body will thank you.
12. EAT
We all get busy. Sometimes in business, we might miss lunch because we are busy hustling away. NO, you need to eat. When I could eat myself in the hospital (and not through a tube) I felt my strength come through, I also felt better mentally. Food is so important and gives you the energy you need.
13. Money isn't the most important thing in life
I know we start a business to make money. But we also started it because we have a passion and we want purpose. Remind yourself of this regularly. As often as you can. When I laid in the hospital I realised money means nothing if you don’t have your health. Never take that for granted. Money will buy us the things we need, it will help us create a sense of freedom - you get a lot more from within paired up with some perspective.
14. Do the mindset work
If I hadn't done my mindset work before the hospital (and I had been doing this since 2017) I would have been a mess (well more of a mess). Honestly, it helped me in those dark times. This is the same in business. Maybe a client rejects you, someone gives you some negative feedback or you didn’t hit a business goal - that mindset work will save you in those moments.
Final thoughts
Those four weeks in hospital gave me a lot of time to reflect. It taught me a lot about myself and I honestly think will shape me and my business for the rest of my life.
One thing you always need to remember is, there are always lessons in life. No matter what has happened to you, there is something you can take away from it. Just be open-minded enough to see it.
Take these lessons and journal on them, think about them and see how you can implement them into your life and business to help you move forward.
If you found value in this blog, make sure you share it with me on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram! Even better, share it with your audience! You can also listen to the episode below!
