When I am talking to entrepreneurs, I come across various versions of the same conversation.  It goes something like this:

Them:  "There is something wrong here!"
Me:  "What's wrong here?"
Them:  "I am too slow/lazy/ tired or I am in a slump!  This is NOT HOW I THINK IT SHOULD BE."
Me: So you think you should be operating at 100% all of the time?
Them: *Ponders*

You see, we humans have a peculiar tendency. We often believe that we can reach a stage in life where it becomes effortlessly smooth. We think we are built to always operate from a constant level of energy and that this is a system that once in place,  requires no further adjustments to ensure everything functions as desired.

In other words, we create an expectation for life that every day is a full on performing day!

It is very common in business circles to romanticize the 'hustler' mentality, which at times can be useful (if we're up against a deadline for instance), but most of the time it's not!

But if we look at any other system in nature, we find nothing works this way.  The year has seasons, the day has phases, animals hunt and then rest and they are more active in summer, and less active in winter.  Tribes work with the seasons too, not against them.

When I worked as a dancer, we would have idea time, practice/rehearsal time, performance time, recovery activity and rest time.  Nobody expected us to perform every day.

It isn't smart and it doesn't work.

Natural systems preserve energy; they don't burn it all at once. But we forget that we are a natural system, and as such we have highs and lows when it comes to energy.  But many entrepreneurs are so focused on their end goal, that they assume that they need to work at 100% capacity all of the time to achieve success.

Truth bomb: IT WILL NOT WORK.

The faster you start to embrace that, just as the year has its cyclical seasons, so do you.  There are times when you need rest and recover, and you'll also have days when you're fired up!  Once you realize that this is how you're meant to work,  you'll be able to find the natural rhythms that empower you, not burn you out.

Embracing this, instead of resisting your 'down' days , opens the doors for flow and being in tune with yourself, whilst at the same time getting stuff done!