Life is good, when you’re good to yourself

To get our weekly posts directly in your inbox, sign up for the Training for Translators mailing list!

Greetings, Training for Translators subscribers, and happy 2025!

Overheard recently, from a teacher at the yoga studio I go to: “It was a great year, largely because I was great to myself.” To which someone else responded, “Right, but don’t you feel guilty when you take all this time for yourself?” Response (get ready, it’s good!): “No, actually, I feel guilty when I’m horrible to the people around me because I’m being horrible to myself.”

It’s a simple but profound message that I think is really important to us as freelancers: life is good, when you’re good to yourself. How can you do more of that this year, in a way that nourishes you as a person, and thus as a businessperson? How to do this really depends on the phase of life and business that you’re in:

• When I was a beginning freelancer and the mom of a tiny human, I made very little money ($9,000 my first year!) and I was either working or taking care of my daughter nearly every moment of the day. Traditional ideas of self-care (Get your nails done! Treat yourself to a night at a fancy hotel!) were honestly ludicrous. At times, my dream for the day was to cut my nails. I looked forward to going to the dentist, because it meant that I got to lie down and listen to music for an hour with no one talking to me. But even if you’re a freelancer and a parent, being good to yourself is still possible! At least, remind yourself that you’re doing your best in a tough situation, and that you’re intentionally prioritizing what is important to you. Those things are really important!
• These days, I try to be my own “best boss.” If I’ve been working too much, my boss says that I should take Friday afternoon off. I get a year-end bonus (this year, probably cello camp!). I avoid working with clients whose values don’t align with mine, and I focus on work that I find meaningful, interesting, or both (if it’s neither, I don’t say yes to it!).
• I relentlessly remind myself that I Am The Business. If I crumble, the business crumbles. This means that keeping myself physically and mentally healthy is the main priority in my business.

I also notice and nurture little things in the “being good to myself” department: I feel better when I dress better. I let myself spend as much money as I want on books. At least twice a day, I shut the lights off in my office and lie on the floor and just breathe or listen to a meditation podcast. I pat myself on the back for saying “no” to things that aren’t a priority for me. It all adds up: every year, my goal is to feel happier than the year before.

Let’s all make this one of our guiding principles for 2025: Life is good, when you’re good to yourself. If you commit to this, I think you’ll see the benefits in your freelance business this year! I’m excited for everything that we’re all going to aim for.