Balancing Out Work You Love With Your RA
A new (or even older) diagnosis of RA can surely put a crimp into the days of an entrepreneur and business owner, can’t it?
At the same time, lessons learned from one experience can bring wisdom to another, that seems often true. This same might be true for dedicated professionals of all kinds, anyone who loves their work.
How have you balanced all this? What have you learned? Have you found any kind of gift in finding yourself with both of these on a daily basis?
Great topic you started. I know you're waiting for other community members to weigh-in. There is an older, but good(!) thread where community members share their experience. I think for some with RA - battling work and fatigue is extremely difficult. Now that is mostly from looking at it as being an employee rather than a business owner. But I imagine as a business owner it could be difficult in the aspect that when you're tired, there isn't anyone else to rely on. The thread may interest you, here (https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/trying-balance-work-life-exhausting). Love this topic! Thanks for starting it. - Reggie (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team Member) Thanks
! Yah, let's keep this going. I've just signed into a collection of RA groups to see where some good conversations can happen. I want to support others and realize how much this supports me as well. Have a wonderful day! RHall, i sense you are an administrator here ... just received a lovely reply and responded to it, then didn't see my reply. I see mine here, so expected to. Waited a bit, then re-wrote it. Copied my rewrite and I still don't see it. Learning here! 😊
Thanks for letting us know. We'll pass this on to our tech team! ~Monica (team member)
I've been asked why I haven't expanded my small business over the last 30 years. The answer is simple, though I don't share it with other professionals in my field: "I don't have the energy."
What I've learned:
1. Be passionate about what you do. It will be a distraction from pain.
2. Only take on manageable contracts that are not likely to be overly stressful.
3. Employ people who share your passion and mentor them so that they can learn and take over.
4. [And probably the most important:] Give 110%. Knowing you've done the job well bolsters your sense of worth.This is so wonderful, makes me want to hear more! ❤️ 
Hi
. Thanks for writing. These are some great points. A couple of things jumped out at me. One is the energy/fatigue factor. I'm sure this won't come as much of a surprise to you or others here, but one of our contributors wrote here about a study that confirms that RA fatigue adversely affects work - sometimes it is good to see the validation: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/fatigue-adversely-affects-work.
A second item is the question of how much to say about the impact of RA and to whom. There are some obvious differences between employees and business owners, but also certainly some similarities. Our contributor David wrote here about talking about RA in the workplace: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/work-limitations. Do you have any particular ways you approach conversations, including depending on the particular situation? Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)
I've been asked why I haven't expanded my small business over the last 30 years. The answer is simple, though I don't share it with other professionals in my field: "I don't have the energy."
What I've learned:
1. Be passionate about what you do. It will be a distraction from pain.
2. Only take on manageable contracts that are not likely to be overly stressful.
3. Employ people who share your passion and mentor them so that they can learn and take over.
4. [And probably the most important:] Give 110%. Knowing you've done the job well bolsters your sense of worth.
