NEW: Emma Brown

If you’re anything like me, you’ve turned your nose up at anything that even looks like chocolate this week. What else do I do that I know I shouldn’t?

I know I shouldn’t do that!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve turned your nose up at anything that even looks like chocolate this week. If you’re anything like me, you gorged yourself over the Easter weekend, graciously accepting eggs from your staff, friends and family who had thought enough to buy you one (or five), only to promise yourself you’d never eat that much chocolate ever again.

But I can guarantee you that when Easter rolls around next year, you’ll be at it again (as will I). How quickly we forget the bad things we do, the actions that we know we shouldn’t take, and the pain we cause ourselves because of it.

It got me to thinking… What else do I do that I know I shouldn’t? What else do I do that I know is going to be difficult to recover from, or get myself out of?

We’re all told that we should work on our businesses and not in our businesses. For me, where and how I work has a direct correlation to how strategic I am. When I’m in my office, I’m in the doing – I’m checking and responding diligently to my emails; I’m spending time solving problems; I’m getting involved – when I know full well that my team are completely competent and able to manage.

When I’m away from my office and travelling, I’m all strategy. I ask myself questions like “What could I do to improve my value proposition?” “Who do I know who could help me with that?” “Where’s this business going to be in three years?”

I want you to ask yourself the question – what are you doing that you know you shouldn’t be? Who can do that for you? Why do you do it? What’s the fear behind it? Inevitably, we’re only putting off things because we’re afraid of something. If we can conquer that fear, then a lot of stuff shifts.

Make this the week of self-realisation and self-study. Watch your behavior, where you practice avoidance, and what you’re running away from. Take a minute now to ask yourself what you could give up and what would change if you did.

I’m starting with giving up chocolate. I’ve redeemed myself at a few “body attack” aerobics classes this week, and figure I have until next Easter to repent for my sins.

Emma Brown, at 27, has bought two businesses and sold one. She is Chief Chick of Business Chicks, Australia’s leading community for women. She’s on the board of Entrepreneurs Organisation, and lives in Sydney with her fellow entrepreneur partner.

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