The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." These three Latin words mean "Swifter, Higher, Stronger."

Baron de Coubertin borrowed the motto from Father Henri Martin Dideon, the headmaster of Arcueil College in Paris. Father Dideon used the motto to describe the great achievements of the athletes at his school. Coubertin felt it could be used to describe the goals of great athletes all over the World.

Small business owner have unconsciously taken this motto to heart with a business busyness spin

Bigger, better, faster.

Having been convinced by the sales talk of the last few decades that more is better and even more is even more better (Sorry for the grammar) business owners become their own worst enemy.

In the quest for wealth, possession, power, fame and more every achievement is no sooner achieved than it is discarded. Why? Because it’s time for the next goal.

All of this pressure fed by the culture or speed rather than pausing to reflect, review and celebrate. I’ve written previously about Celebrating Small Wins which forms a strong foundation for my view that seasonality is important, even more important in today’s business overwhelm.

Three core questions have always remained on my mind as I review client’s actions in this area.

• Why do business owners behave in this manner?
• Is this instant discarding of success or achievement inevitable?
• Is there some middle ground rather than walking away?

Been there done that bought the t-shirt

Achieving success, attaining goals and enjoying the outcome doesn’t count for anything anymore.

How sad is that? You set out to achieve something and upon attaining it you discard it as being baggage and not worth savouring. Essentially this process is a rejection of achievement as not

It’s not that much different for a child coming home from school and saying … “hey I did this today” and their parents saying “great ... but we now expect this from you … “

You think that sounds far fetched? Think again because it’s how many bosses behave. Achieve this, and your reward will be a new bigger target, to be achieved in a shorter time. Many people buy into this and apply it to everything for the rest of their lives … and they wonder why they feel burnt out, unhappy and unfulfilled.

The natural process can be best highlighted by wild animals. Do you see them catching their prey, then rushing off to hunt again? No they eat, relax, sleep and take time before they move on.

Kerosene lanterns and horse drawn carriages are not the alternative

The alternative is to take time out, savor the moment, and praise your staff and yourself for what’s been achieved.

Appreciate what has been achieved … appreciation is so imperative when it comes to valuing what we have and what we have achieved.

Take time to appreciate life … before you rush off to the next big thing.

This life you have, is the only one you’ll have, so if you rush through it from one goal to the next, never pausing to appreciate anything, you’ll reach the stage of suddenly realising you’ve achieved lots and enjoyed little.

That doesn’t seem much of a life goal, does it?