Here's what I learned and how you can avoid this!
I’m sure we’ve all heard the trending sound: “I didn’t want to work a 9 to 5….so now I work 24/7”
And as a business owner, this really is quite a huge issue.
If you’re not careful, you can quickly go from being super motivated and ready to take on your business, to feeling completely burnt out, not sure where to go next, and wondering why you willingly put yourself through this.
MY EXPERIENCE
Over the last two years, I went from pursuing a completely different degree and career path, to making a 180 flip and starting my own business in design. This entire switch was quite the stressful experience, as I had to leave my path in an entirely different field and completely step into the unknown (and have to deal with the judgement and disappointment of my family, friends, and teachers).
After the switch into my new path, I quickly jumped in and learned as much as I could, as quickly as I could. As someone who places pretty high expectations on myself, I constantly rushed my perception of ‘success’ and felt inadequate as soon as I didn’t seem to meet my super unrealistic expectations.
I took on way too much, worked all hours of the day, was working 3 jobs at the same time, and never took ANY time to take care of myself.
I said yes to absolutely everything and never thought to set boundaries or tell people that I was at (aka: past) my limit.
After living like this for at least a year…It’s safe to say I felt like absolute sh*t.
I felt dread waking up, could never relax (even when I was supposed to be on a relaxing weekend trip), I felt anxious, like I HAD to do everything, and that I would never be successful.
I wasn’t focusing on my health or my happiness…which actually ended up negatively impacting my business as a result (despite all the hard work I felt I was putting into it).
HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED & HOW YOU CAN AVOID BURNING OUT AS A BIZ OWNER
It came to a point were I realized I was doing absolutely NOTHING for myself, and that I was doing things based on the sole fact that I felt “I had to” do them…
I realized that this was no way to live and decided that I needed to live for ME. I decided that I was not going to do things because I felt I ‘had to’ or that I ‘should do’…and that if it wasn’t a HELL YES, it was a HELL NO!
I had to connect back to why I started my business in the first place and really think about what kind of life I was looking for.
I decided that from then on, I would choose to do things that brought me joy, would bring me closer to my desires, and that brought me fulfillment and happiness. No more saying YES to everything, and no more feeling guilty around honouring my body and relaxation time.
From my experience, this is how I’d suggest avoiding burnout as a biz owner:
(1) Listening to your body and your intuition
A huge thing leading me to a life of burning out, was ignoring what my body and intuition were telling me. When something is not right, your body will tell you. You just have to choose to listen.
I would wake up feeling anxious and my body felt like crap…My body was telling me, BEGGING ME to make a change.
When you ignore your passions and purpose in this world, and only choose to pursue the things that you feel you ‘ought to do’… your body will tell you through feelings of dread, anxiety, and a lack of fulfilment.
Once you choose to listen to what your body and intuition are telling you, is when you will truly start to live a life that aligns with your purpose and that will bring you joy. Once you start living life for YOU and not the naysayers, society, or the expectations of anyone else…is when you will really become more fulfilled and empowered than you ever thought was possible.
So, next time you’re feeling dread or your body is feeling not so great…really listen and think about what your body is trying to tell you...
- Are you setting boundaries?
- Do you move your body enough?
- Are you saying HELL YES to things that are really a HELL NO to you?
You already know all the answers you need, you just need to tap into your intuition and learn to trust yourself and the process.
(2) Managing your time and priorities
As a business owner it can be easy to catch yourself working for hours and hours with zero breaks or time to just sit back and relax. A lack of rest and prioritizing my down time was a huge factor that led me to burnout.
Get clear on the things that bring you joy - but have NO relation to making money or your business. Maybe its having a sweltering hot bath and watching 90210…maybe it’s reading a romance novel, journalling, or playing volleyball with your best friends.
Figure out the the things that on the surface may appear ‘unproductive’ but actually bring you a lot of joy and relaxation…and start implementing more of those things into your every day life.
NOW…prioritizing you time will be competitive ineffective if you feel guilty the entire time…
So, you need to dig deep and let go of whatever fears are driving this feeling. Journal it out and let go of the limiting beliefs and are holding you back.
When you start to see these activities as actually filling your cup (instead of a waste of time), you’ll actually become more productive and empowered when it comes time to get back to work, because you’ll be rested and ready to kick some ass!
(3) Being okay with not doing it all
When I started my business I really though that I could do it all. I thought that success only comes to those who work their butts off and who are willing and able to do every single thing.
Once I realized that no super successful person does it all…is when my mindset really changed. How many millionaires do you see running every single aspect of their business? NONE!
Start to let go of the feeling that you need to do it all…and start focusing on what things bring you the most joy and fulfillment, and the things that are your expertise!
You will only be able to step into the next level once you let go of the fear of saying ‘no’.
Start thinking about the things that you truly love and that bring you closer to your business goals, and start being okay with saying no to things that don’t align wth your vision.
Start getting acquainted with the idea of outsourcing and hiring out tasks that don’t bring you joy or that aren’t your expertise.
You can either do a bunch of little things at 50%, or you can focus on your area of genius at 110%…the choice is up to you.
Once I started to invest my time and money into the things that will make my processes more seamless and that will make me more money, the more at ease I became.
(4) Getting crystal clear on your purpose and vision
For a while, I was super unsure of what my path might be…I knew I wanted to be creative in this business, but I didn’t know much else.
I decided to look at others and what they did, and went form there. This led me down a path of following what other people said to do, instead of focusing on my unique qualities, expertise, and personal superpowers!
Ignoring my unique purpose and path really led me to these feelings of misalignment and a feeling of ‘something is super off but I don’t know what it is”…
Only once I sat back and really reflected on my unique purpose and vision, and started to highlight and step into my personal superpowers and expertise is when I started to feel like I was really living a life of purpose and alignment.
So, please….stop living based on what you think others want, what other people are doing, or what your friend’s sister’s mom said you should do…
Live for YOU and what you were born to bring to the world. You are special, and being like everyone else is not going to share that with the world OR make your business successful.
Get crystal clear on your greatest desires and start living as if you are there NOW. Start taking action on things that will make that your reality NOW, instead of wishing you were where you’re not and not doing anything about it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After going through this, I have decided that I will never let it happen again and make sure that I am always doing everything in my power to live a life that feels right and aligned to me.
Remember, only you always have the power to change your life and circumstances.
A completely different life is only one decision away. It is up to YOU to decide how you live your life.
If it is not a HELL YES, it’s a HELL NO.
You were born to show the world your uniqueness and to live a life that is led by desire and passion. You were born to be abundant and successful. So, let go the fear of ‘what if’ and step into your power NOW.
I’m rooting for you, go get em’!
xoxo,
Holly
Hollgrafix
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