Wednesday Wisdom: Make Your Own Sunshine

Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Small Businesses

Faced with another dismal weather day, where the grey sky meets the dark brown landscape this time of year, there was a choice before me to either allow the sunless panoramic to set the tone for the day or make my own sunshine. Remembering how the good ole Mainers in Kennebunkport would walk along the crashing winter waves taking in fog and midst from the ocean, I bundled up and headed out for one of my 9-mile bike rides at lunchtime since the snow only left a wet surface. I knew I’d get a long brown stain up the back of my jacket, making me look ridiculous but who cares when you’re outside getting dirty. Isn’t that why someone created washing machines?


Reading our local newspaper, with sad weekly updates on the restaurants and establishments closed due to the pandemic, was another moment when I had a choice to either allow the bleak news to weigh me down or to create more PR sunshine for my members, who are all small woman-owned businesses who have taken a financial hit. Remembering how my grandparent’s generation survived the Great Depression by rationing, working, gardening, and cooking enough food to feed anyone who needed it, I buckled down at my desk and got working on creating more PR benefits for my members to use in 2021.

Listening to the daily radio reports of more Covid-19 deaths, England back in lock down and examples of exhausted medical workers, I choose to focus on how blessed my family and members have been escaping the disease and saw the illumination of sun rays around my family and friends protecting them from harm. My choice once again was to look for the positive in the situation, to do what I could do to control positive change in my own business community, and not let fear of catching the disease stop me from living and working. As my friend Kathrine Switzer said to me once, “Tracy, when you are fearless, you are free,” wise words from one of my favorite women as I committed to run the 2017 Boston Marathon with her and 100 other women. 


Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is to inspire you to create your own sunshine in any situation you face today – whether it is fear for your health, anxiety about your business surviving, political worries, or personal concerns. I have learned the best action to take when you don’t feel great about your scenario is to do something, anything you can, to change it and make yourself feel better. It might be as easy as walking in the rain, turning off the television, praying more, reading inspiring stories of extraordinary people who suffered more than we are experiencing now, or re-working your business plans by doing an audit to set new goals to excite yourself again.

When I think of taking control of something out of my hands, it means finding some sunshine in my day, plans or life to give me exactly what I need. I hope you are inspired to do the same.