Anxiety and the importance of honesty

Irrational niggling anxiety...

I want to talk about something that doesn’t get mentioned enough in the solopreneur world. Anxiety. When I read blogs, watch videos and listen to podcasts by entrepreneurs they present one of two extremes. Either, they are extremely capable OR they are dealing with extreme burnout. We don’t hear about the irrational niggling anxiety that creeps in from time to time when you are on the raw nub of running your own business.

This week (research)

Now that I’ve decided on a general direction that I want to go in with the business I’m in research mode. This means that this week I’ve been drinking from the fire hydrant of information about growing a business, selling a business, running a business, using AI to improve your business. I’ve joined an online mastermind group. I’ve reached out to various business friends.

There are so many things I could be doing to improve my business. How do these people do all of them all the time?????

Yes, you can probably tell that I have overstimulated myself.

I literally feel sick as if I’ve eaten too much rich food or stayed up too late while drinking too much coffee.

Overstimulation

I’ve recognised a pattern in my life ever since I discovered Pat Flynn and his “Smart Passive Income” blog a decade ago.

First step, I discover something inspiring and get very excited about the possibilities of me trying It out.

Second step, instead of trying it out I consume more of this inspirational content.

Third step, I start to feel sick because I’m not achieving enough when compared to these “inspirational” bloggers, podcasters and vloggers.

This has happened multiple times over the past 14 years of business. So much so that my wife has implemented a “no non-fiction” in bed policy lest I get overexcited, stay up all night and wake her up at 4am due to my anxiety.

Pulling Myself Out (turning off the input)

Fortunately, I’ve been through this cycle a few times and remind myself that I know how to get out of it. The first step is to switch off the input. This means stopping consuming business and marketing podcasts, reading blogs and doing endless research.

Next, pick one job and do it. I have a lot of things I want to achieve in my business over the next couple of years but I can only work on one thing at a time. I can’t accomplish any of the goals I have if I don’t remove myself from customer support in the business.

I now have the space and direction needed to work towards my goal (singular).

We don’t talk enough about the daily anxiety that can creep in when you run your own business.

Thinking about too many things I could be doing rather than focussing on one thing leads to a lot of stress and inaction.

I need to be more efficient.

Some inspiration is good.

Be careful about how much input you allow.

Work on one thing at a time.

Do you get overwhelmed by everything you could be working on in your business? Comment below on what your triggers are.