LegatoGelato
Smooth
Taste…Island Pace
Keeping
Positive
Being positive has been a challenge as
we’ve set up the dairy in 2011 and as we launch the gelato business.
Some people are naturally perky and
happy. I’m not one of them. I have been told I am over-sensitive and need to
grow a thicker skin. Easier said than done. It’s probably from being raised
with a very volatile parent that I have developed a hypersensitivity to those
around me – sort of a survival tactic I suppose. Many times this almost
intuitive gift has helped me avoid trouble and tune into people. Many times I
have been hurt as well, mostly by people who have not had the intention to
hurt. Once I have gotten over the hurt I can see that but during – not so much.
It is just suffering and a dark blanket of negative effect on all my thoughts. I
have learned to talk about it and get some external interpretation and that has
proved invaluable to my overall perspective.
In business dealings I get a strong
sense of whether a person can be trusted or not, and if they have other
agendas. Doesn’t change the business dealings but it makes me more careful and
I make sure everything is documented/written down. Even email has come in handy
when referring to an agreement over a handshake. I am a believer in “listening
to my gut”, all part of the innate gifts we are born with but tend to ignore.
Every second day there seems to be
some sort of challenge or set back with launching the gelato. It’s a
complicated process. If we were to only make gelato from purchased milk and
mixes it would be straightforward. A machine and a commercial kitchen and good
to go, just get labels and containers and start selling. But we have a different
vision. We are going to use our own goat milk. It must be pasteurized in a
provincially licensed milk process plant. The rules and regulations are legion.
There have been many delays with the plant being approved and it has been a
roller coaster. I can’t imagine what the owners of the plant are going through.
We will just be using it to pasteurize our milk and make the gelato.
I seemed to have reached a point in my
life where I can generally separate the problems I can control and the ones I
have no control over. It has helped in the assigning of worry. If I have no
control then I can take a positive spin and hope for the best & let it go. Like
the dairy plant. I would love to be able to make it happen but can’t – so I
keep informed but not worry about it.
Things
I have partial control over are not so easy. Like labels – we have a label
company and a marketing/designer and it’s been surprising difficult to get
anything happening. I am also restricted in time as I have a full time job that
doesn’t appreciate me working on my business while I am working for them.
Completely fair and understandable but inconvenient for me.
To
counteract getting down, I actively try to catch myself thinking negatively or
angrily and turn it into action or examine the thought. Action is great – gets
work done, moves us ahead and keeps the wheels turning in the right direction.
Examining a thought takes practice but it provides me with some insight,
dissects the idea and helps to validate or invalidate it. It also helps me
figure out when I have done enough, am overtired and need to just stop for
awhile. Napping or walking for a break goes along way to recharge my batteries,
clear my head and push the dark thoughts away, into their proper place.
You
don’t need to be Pollyanna to start or run a business, just be prepared to take
the necessary steps to care for yourself. And remember you only fail if you
give up.
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