Financial instability can take its toll on relationships at work and at home. Surviving under pressure becomes the game. It’s a game I’m all too familiar with. It’s easier some days, or it’s tartarus and the never-ending pit of hell on others.
Today was a good and bad day. That pretty much sums up most days. It can change from an hour or a minute to a second of highs and lows. But it’s not even a very high high or a very low low. It’s like smiles and frowns, not laughter and tears.
Tonight our conversation at home went something like this. “Do you think you’ll be in Boston next year? What is the exit plan if you can’t sustain working for your startup with no income? I know you think I’m nagging but i just want some predictability in income”.
That, by the way, was me asking the questions. My spouse is also an entrepreneur so it’s a lot of chaos in our household, not a lot of stability on the work front. We both have been fortunate enough to pull money in to keep the cash-flow going, but it’s not without it’s set backs and the need for a lot of positive energy.
Make no mistake, it’s really really hard to be positive when we are trying to find the truth in a world of unpredictability – where our answers are mere forecasts. And yet we need to be aware, and self-aware of our issues, and we need to be open and vulnerable enough to lay them all out on the table in any partnership – work or home. By confronting each issue, it allows us to see different perspectives and maybe even more possibilities, so we can better understand how to tackle each one. It is essential we let down our barriers of fear, our defensive stance and remain open to one another. Being open to feedback, unconditional love and even (constructive) criticism is essential in our evolution so we can be our best selves.
We need to find ways to get even more curious under pressure, and to really be mindful of how we can emotionally support each other. Sometimes the two things I love hearing are “how are you doing with…?” and “I’m listening”. It’s okay that we don’t have all the answers, but we shouldn’t shy away from being an emotional pillar during the ups and downs.
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