I’m definitely not a biologist. In fact, I’ve killed almost every plant I’ve owned! You name it, I’ve probably killed it: even the plants that most people consider un-killable like mint, bamboo, and rosemary…

But recently I got a small succulent garden and learned something that I realized translates to being a business owner.

The Business Owner as a Plant Analogy

If you live in Central Texas like me, you know that the water here is extremely hard. There are minerals and lime and microscopic rocks in the water that are horrible for your skin, hair, and digestive system. So most people have water softening systems: an in-house system that removes all of those materials from the water in order to preserve the lifespan of your appliances as well as improve your quality of life.

Except plants need all those things.

See, I discovered that my plants die pretty quickly if I give them water from the inside faucet. But if I go outside to get the hard water from our lawn spigot, they thrive!

Honestly? I’ve known this for a while.

But when you’re busy and constantly trying to juggle a thousand different things, going outside to bring water inside for your plants seems like an incredibly time-consuming and difficult chore.

For the longest time I would go through periods where I’d say “I’ll go outside tomorrow” and then one day realize that the plants were drying out. But in my effort to quickly water them, I would take the water from the inside faucet. Ultimately, it was probably what ended up killing them. And I say probably because, well, I’m not a great gardener!

Connecting Nature and Business

So how does this relate to business?

This morning I was watering my succulent with the spigot water and had an “ah-hah!” moment. The plants need water, but they need the right kind of water if they are going to survive and thrive. Could they survive on softened water? Possibly, if it wasn’t what was used to water them every single time. But would they thrive? Definitely not.

A Little of the Science:

I did look some of this up. And apparently, plants actually get nutrients from the minerals and lime in the hard water. Softened water might be moisturizing the plants, but it’s starving them of the resources they need to create energy and survive.

Too many times, we cheat ourselves like I cheated my plants.

How many times have you invested in yourself and come out of that just as exhausted as you were before? If we look at the facts, it’s obvious that it’s because it didn’t feed you the way you needed. We can be attending networking events and masterminds and working with as many coaches as we want, but if it isn’t the right kind of supplies we need… Well, it’s going to drown you while seeming to help.

If you are here, then stop!

Take time to check and see if you’re giving yourself softened water instead of the nutrient-rich water that you need. The what of your self-care is just as important as the frequency of it. So pull out the stuff that isn’t working, that isn’t helping you, and start implementing activities that give you what you truly need to thrive.

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