Sean Blanda’s reflection on one year of running his business has been on my mind the past few weeks, particularly his reflection on ego:

I have had a wandering eye — which in my case, means roughly six domains were registered with good intentions and I was late in the process with a few companies for full time roles before backing out.

But then a friend challenged me: “What if you took the energy you spent exploring other things and put it into your business? Into your clients?”    

Working alone on your own business is like sitting in a hall of mirrors everyday. You see all of the best and worst parts of your psychology reflected back to you.

And I realized that while my various explorations and side projects taught me something, my business — the actual thing paying my bills — was reactive. The market was telling me that my consultancy was the most valuable thing I was doing. 

And yet, I was protecting my ego by not committing to one thing. Especially something as difficult as growing a service business. If something didn’t work out, I could always shrug and say “well, I didn’t give it 100% of my mental commitment, so no big deal.”

Creating more options is great. It’s where freedom comes from. Sometimes though, when your ego is pushing you to create a new option or backup plan, you need to listen carefully: are you looking for an excuse? 

When you know you need to put in the hard work it takes to make your main plan work, it’s tempting to look for an easier way out. 

Before you run away, maybe it’s time to pause and reflect. Where do you think this new option will take you? What will choosing it help you accomplish?