I’m writing to you from an unexpected classroom.  The physical therapy clinic where I’ve spent most of July recovering from hand surgery. What started as a necessary step toward regaining full mobility has become one of the most profound learning experiences, and I couldn’t wait to share these insights with you.

It all began with a simple question I posed to my therapist: “So, is it really ‘no pain, no gain’?” Her response stopped me in my tracks. “In my opinion, that’s very old and tired thinking,” she said with gentle conviction. “I believe our bodies tell us when we’ve had enough, and if we listen to our bodies, we’ll come out right.”  

I fell in love with her wisdom in that moment, not because it was revolutionary, but because it echoed the very message I share with my own clients every day. Here were two people from completely different industries, with entirely different backgrounds, discovering the same fundamental truth:

Listen and trust yourself

As the weeks progressed, I began to notice striking parallels between rehabilitation and business success. Both follow the same essential formula: establish your desired outcome, identify the best tactics to get there, then execute consistently, day in and day out. You measure progress at regular intervals, comparing where you are now to where you started, and adjust your effort accordingly. Simple, right?  

But here’s where it gets challenging – and where the real lessons emerge.   Rehabilitation, like building a business, comes with two significant obstacles that test our resolve. First, repetition is mind-numbingly dull. The same exercises, the same movements, the same incremental progress day after day. Second, consistency demands an entirely different skill set than innovation or creativity – skills many of us naturally gravitate toward.  

Perhaps most frustrating of all, neither our bodies nor our businesses come with guarantees about timing. There’s no universal rule for how long it takes to reach the other side of healthy, successful, or fulfilled. This uncertainty can be maddening. The waiting. The repetition. The not knowing when breakthrough will come. These are traits most of us instinctively resist.  

But I’ve discovered something powerful: the only way I can navigate both the monotony of rehabilitation and the uncertainty of business building is through JOY.  

For me, joy isn’t just an emotion – it’s a deliberate state of being that I can cultivate, especially when circumstances feel challenging. It shows up in three specific ways:

Connection

Becomes my anchor. I make it a point to truly engage with the people around me – my therapist, fellow patients, team members, clients. I ask deeper questions, share parts of myself authentically, and remember that every interaction is an opportunity to create genuine human connection.  

Energy awareness

Keeps me grounded. I’ve learned to check in with my own vibration throughout the day. When I notice pain, frustration, or that familiar feeling of “ennui” creeping in, I acknowledge it fully – then consciously choose to shift my energy in a direction that serves me better.  

Laughter

Is my medicine. I actively seek humour in the absurdity, the hilarity, even the banality of difficult moments. Whether it’s the ridiculousness of doing the same wrist exercise for the hundredth time or the predicament of explaining why a project is taking longer than expected, I look for opportunities to find genuine amusement in the situation.  

Do these practices work 100% of the time? Honestly, no. But I’m consistently hitting 90% to 95% success with this approach, and those odds feel pretty good to me.  

If you’re feeling in your business what I sometimes feel in rehab – wondering “When is this going to click?” or “How much longer?” or even “I feel good, I am good, so why aren’t my results reflecting the success I deserve?” then I want to offer you this invitation:  

Consider adding joy to your process.  

And if joy feels too far away right now, consider finding yourself a holistic advisor or mentor who can help you rediscover it.  

Because here’s what both rehabilitation and business have taught me: neither was ever meant to be an exercise in suffering. The old paradigms of “hustle, hustle” and  “no pain, no gain” are exactly what my therapist called it.  Old and tired thinking.   You have permission to let go of that lie. You have permission to build something that works beautifully for you, in a way that honours both your ambitions and your well-being.  

Trust your body. Trust your instincts. Trust the process. And above all, find ways to infuse genuine joy into the journey.  

Your success – and your sanity – depend on it.