On Sunday we celebrated Centred Meditation’s 4th Birthday! Who did we celebrate with? Our unbelievable team of course. I can’t believe it’s been four whole years since we opened our doors. I remember so vividly those first few weeks. We’d wake up early in the morning, get ready, make our way to the studio, brew the tea, set up, and then wait at the door hoping someone would rock up. When nobody did, we’d close the door and go lie down for a sleep! We had four people attend the studio in our first week of operation. Only four! But I recall something a friend remarked to me in that first week: “big things grow slow”. And he was right.
People often ask me, “what’s it like working with your partner”? They usually follow it up with “I could never work with mine, we’d kill each other”! So I thought I would reflect on the question this week and note down my thoughts here.
I know it sounds corny, but put simply, it’s incredible and I wouldn’t have it any other way. At the core of our relationship is a deep well of love for one another. From this well bubbles up our shared values in life: to become our best selves, to make a profound difference in the world, to perceive problems as challenges and life as an adventure (a direct quote from our marriage contract). I think it helps that Centred Meditation doesn’t feel like ‘work’ to us. It feels like an extension of ourselves. It’s our passion. And to be able to share my life’s passion with my life partner is more than I could possibly ask for.
Is it easy all of the time? No. Did it take some figuring out? Yes. We had to learn how to work well together. What our strengths were in the business world and how to best utilise them. What our boundaries were (e.g. no speaking about Centred Meditation after dinner) and when it’s necessary to break them, even if the other person might get upset. The importance of clearly defining roles. And that it’s vital to take and give ownership over certain parts of the business.
We realised that the success of our business depends on the success of our relationship. And that the cornerstone of a successful relationship is when each party heavily engages in self-development. Learning not to blame ourselves for everything, yet being able to own and master our input to certain issues. Building confidence and stepping up, even when it’s uncomfortable (like going on Shark Tank despite hating public speaking). Learning to have tough conversations without being either actively or passively aggressive.
And most of all, we discovered that it’s ok to seek advice. When the going gets tough, we have Walter and Shana Bellin as mentors to turn to. Not only are they experts in this field, but they are a living demonstration of how a successful life depends on the success of all of our relationships. In fact, that’s why we asked them to come and facilitate a two-day seminar in our studio purely on relationships in a weeks time. So if you would like to improve your ability to really listen, learn techniques for communicating with integrity and authenticity, and identify and untangle the ways in which you contribute to problems in your relationship, then we would love you to join us. Get in touch now to reserve your spot! I know it’s made a world of difference for us!
