Honesty Hour: What’s Stopping You From Launching Your Business?
Before we level up and make the decision to put ourselves and our business idea out there, there often comes a stuck feeling.
To me it feels like looking over a ledge. Almost like the feeling i’d imagine you would get before bungee jumping or skydiving - though I’ve never done it before.
The primal brain kicks in and our subconscious mind initiates every action or limiting belief it can to keep us safe.
This still happens sometimes before I take even small actions in my business that make me feel vulnerable.
These feelings are generally rooted in fear.
Signs that fear is captaining your ship:
You notice yourself complaining about the current situation or environment
You notice yourself being critical of yourself and others
You find your schedule is suddenly packed and busy so you aren’t able to work on your business
Worry about the worst possible outcome arises anytime you anticipate taking action
A feeling like the other shoe is going to drop persists
Not to worry! There are ways to work with our fear and actually use it to help us get where we want to go! Getting uncomfortable with something we really want to do for ourselves is a brilliant sign that we are growing. So let’s embrace it shall we?
First of all,
Forgive yourself and be kind in your self talk. We are human and we aren’t perfect. You can be kind to yourself and your humanness and then move through the fear to still create what you desire for yourself.
When I feel stuck, these are the steps I follow to break through:
Thank the fear and dance with it:
When stretching yourself out of your comfort zone, the brain’s instinct to protect kicks in. I acknowledge this feeling with gratitude. The reality is this instinct keeps us safe in a lot of scenarios in life. For example, thanks to this instinct I won’t put my hand through fire or try to hug a bear.
But in these scenarios, fear need not apply. I thank my fear for showing up and looking after me, and then I reassure my fear and myself that I am safe and that launching my business/doing the sales call/posting on social media is something that will get me where I want to go.
At this point I usually have a dance party with myself. I have Natalia Benson to thank for this simple and powerful tool.
Feel where the fear is in your body and as you dance to a song that inspires you and lifts you up, feel the fear move through and out of the body.Take a breath:
Slow down. It is difficult to make clear decisions and move through fear when we are frantic and stressed. It’s rare that we make good decisions when in a state of flight or flight.
Calm the central nervous system by rooting your feet on the ground, closing your eyes, sitting up tall with shoulders back, and taking deep breaths for about 2 minutes. That is all it will take to regroup you. While you breath it is essential that you keep in mind the next step:
Visualize the positive outcome:
Tony Robbins says that if you want better answers, we must ask better questions. If we ask bad questions, we will receive a bad answer.
Ask yourself, “What are potential positive outcomes from me sharing my podcast/launching my website/pitching my services?”
Think about how you will feel when you say yes to your potential. Think about the people you will help and support and let that reason be bigger than your fear. This leads me to my next point:
Think of others:
It’s really easy to attract less than ideal outcomes, not see results, or never even start in the first place when it’s the me, me, me show.
I’ll be honest, at the beginning of my business, I focused solely on what I could get. “How can I get more money? How can I book this website? How can I create what I want for myself?” Everything was very centered around me.
Last year I discovered that my blocks to success were wanting it so badly for myself.
Everything changed when I started thinking about how I could serve others. How can I help people get what they want? How can I make life easier for other small business owners? How can I use my skills to make a positive difference and offering in my business community?
Suddenly a value I developed became “how can I leave every interaction better than how I found it?”
Adopting this mentality leads me to overcome my fear with much more ease. Some days are easier than others, but ultimately I have made the decision that my fear won’t be the reason why a potential client doesn’t get what they need.
Think of a business that has made a huge positive impact in your life. What if they had decided to never start because of their fear of embarrassing themselves, fear of failure, or fear of success?
Take the leap and let it be an adventure
There will always be a million reasons not to do something, but what’s the fun in that?
As a citizen of this earth we were NOT just put here to consume and die. We are creative and emotional beings meant to create. When we do this, we are an extension of the universe as it is intended to be: beautiful, peaceful, prosperous, abundant, and full of life.
Let your life be a beautiful and exciting adventure.
You’re desires exist for a reason and there is also a reason why desires are unique to each person. Each person has a purpose and a set of desires.
You are meant to follow them and know that because you desire them, that mean it exists for you.
Allow the good in. Allow what inspires you to take shape. Watch miracles happen.
