Ron’s Weekly Blog

Okay, let me explain. In my life I end up doing quite a bit of advising/consulting/coaching. One thing I press really hard is being responsible: fulfilling your commitments, living up to people’s expectations, doing conscientiously what’s expected of you.

But I also emphasize maintaining balance, not over-committing (otherwise, how can you fulfill your commitments), looking after your own needs so that you don’t become overwhelmed.

The big kicker was that my houseboat rental business took a major detour June 25 when a freak storm disabled the boat and it required major repairs. Insurance claims, repair contractors and delays, delays, delays, meant that, one by one, I had to cancel most of my rentals. In about half the cases I had to schedule and look after an alternative. Altogether, it meant about the same number of trips up to the Shuswap from the Fraser Valley as I would have had otherwise. But with more work and stress.

This coincided with a big uptick in the rent 2 own business. After many months of minimal results due to the crazy price escalation in the Fraser Valley, I had branched out into the interior: Kamloops, Merritt, and Salmon Arm areas. Suddenly, I had a plethora of quality applications come in from people who could actually afford the properties in those areas. By mid-summer, I was working on three home purchases simultaneously while also dealing with the sale of a property in the Fraser Valley.

The blog post was not a commitment to anyone, except myself. Yes, people might have expectations, based on the regularity of its arrival. But I did not owe it to anyone to show up in their Inboxes. I was not being irresponsible by taking a break. It would be irresponsible to neglect self-care.

I took a break from the other (West Adventures) blog post, too (Ron’s Best West blog). And I scaled back my rent 2 own marketing while I dealt with the three deals to which I was already committed.

I survived August. Houseboat and Adventure travel seasons are gradually coming to an end. The blog post is back.

And I’m probably in better shape than I would have been if I hadn’t relieved the pressure somewhat.

Sometimes you just have to take a step back, look at your life from all directions, and do what’s best for yourself, despite your desire to live up to others’ expectations. In the long run, you’ll do a better job meeting their expectations, as well.

At least, that’s how I see it . . .