Stop Chasing, Start Attracting: How to Weave Your Non-Negotiables Into the Core of Your Business Strategy

My client Nicole, a talented personal trainer, lost herself in her business. Her schedule left her with no time for her own training, with sessions starting as early as 5 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. She found herself chugging caffeine drinks and skipping meals; the exact opposite of the guidance she gave her clients.

I worked with her to help her understand she wouldn't dream of demanding a client work through illness or skip sleep, yet she forced herself to do it daily in the name of "hustle." Nicole was losing the very essence of why she started her business in the first place.

The solution isn't to continue on this path; it’s realigning yourself around your non-negotiables and values. Whether it’s sleep and daily movement, or ensuring you and your clients' time are being respected, these are foundations guiding you towards not only avoiding a go-go mentality, but ensuring your needs outside of your business are met.

Establish non-negotiables

Non-negotiables are activities throughout your day and week that focus on your wellbeing, both physically and mentally. These can include body movement, sleep, nutrition, unplanned time, and time outside. When your non-negotiables are in the driver's seat, you have the capacity to be intentional. You are not yourself if your non-negotiables aren’t being met. And when you aren’t fully able to show up, your clients, both current and prospective, feel that.

A way for you to explore your own non-negotiables is to write out a list and check off which of these are met and not being met.

Establish values

Values should serve as your north star, and they are guiding principles to allow others to gravitate around your energy. If one of your core values is respecting others' time and you have clients that are repeatedly and unapologetically late, that is a value misalignment, and they are often clients that you don’t feel fulfilled working with. In searching for values, two activities that could help you on your discovery are to:

• Go through your week and note down anything that annoys you.
• Watch reality television and see how their actions and how you would handle situations differ. Pick out the themes around communication, security, autonomy, etc. to see what feels the most important to you.

With non-negotiables and values at the forefront, it opens you up to allowing those much-needed breaks and avoiding the energy drainer that is the hustle mindset. Your business is important, but so is your energy and time outside of work. Instead of thinking about when that eventual break will come, you know you have time set aside for something relaxing and recharging. Instead of wondering how to deal with values out of alignment with a client, you have solved your own scenarios to how to tackle those situations.

Related article by Tristen Stawicki:

Legit or Full of It? 5 Red Flags That Reveal an Unqualified Coach

‍