Addictions Can Hurt Your Business

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

March 3 2011

All Psyched Up. | | Addictions Can Hurt Your Business | by Dr. Linda Hancock | Published March 3 2011 | Revised July 3 2022

© 2022, Dr. Linda Hancock INC.

Every week I see clients who have been involved in some form of addiction and sadly listen as they tell me about the problems they have been experiencing because of it. There are so many parts of a life that are negatively impacted by addictions as follows:

1. Relationships - It is hard to be faithful to people when your first love is alcohol or drugs. Sometimes an addiction leads to communication problems due to lying and often escalate to the point of divorce or dissociation with the people who care the most

2. Finances - When you are putting money into gambling activities it doesn't take long until the bills aren't being paid and the savings is drained. Those who are buying substances also see their finances disappear quickly.

3. Health - If a person isn't doing self-care and making sure that needs are met, illness or accidents can steal good physical health. And, over time, the stress of addictions can also take away good mental health.

Think about how important it is to have good relationships, finances and health in order to be able to focus on starting and building a business. You cannot have a healthy business if you aren't healthy! Every business person must be able to invest time, energy and attention into daily operations. You see, there is no such thing as maintenance. Either things are improving or they are deteriorating. You cannot neglect your business and, at the same time, expect to see is prosper.

Let's use gardening as an example. What would happen if you planted seeds but then never watered, weeded or protected it. You likely wouldn't have much of a harvest, would you? Well, it is the same thing with running a business. If you do not water, weed and protect it, you will not have a good harvest!

Sometimes we just have to get honest with ourselves and do a full evaluation of our actions and the consequences. If you are finding that people in your life complain that you are making poor choices and you notice that either your money or your health is suffering, it is time to seriously look at the situation. Decide to do something about it before you find yourself alone, penniless and sick. Oh, and by the time that you reach that point, remember, you likely won't have a business either!

Kind of scary! But the good news is that is you are willing to get honest with yourself, decide to make some serious changes and follow through with determined action, you will not be facing such a bleak future. In fact, you will likely enjoy prosperity in all areas of your life.

All Psyched Up. | | Addictions Can Hurt Your Business | by Dr. Linda Hancock | Published March 3 2011 | Revised July 3 2022

© 2022, Dr. Linda Hancock INC.