Controversial: Burnout is ALWAYS self inflicted

I thought it was just me… but turns out it isn’t! 

I started my first business in 2006 having “failed” at employment as a physio. More so, I concludedI was actually “unemployable” which I guess is an in-built trait of any entrepreneur!

10 years ago I was still utterly trapped in the vortex of “do well” and “die trying!”

My business had plateaued in the multi 6 figures and I was EXHAUSTED! Mentally, emotionally and physically. F**ked. 

Being a business owner / operator is full on. It is DELUSIONAL to think it’s all sunshine, flow and rainbows.  

You probably have a lot of demands and responsibilities screaming for your attention and pulling you in all directions.

However, the REAL reason for chronic, overwhelming stress that never seems to go away, or that only subsides for brief periods, is NOT the external stuff…

It’s not the lead flow

It’s not the cash flow

It’s not the staff problems

It’s not the marketing

It’s not the clients needs

It’s not the unseen setbacks & problems

Yes these things matter.

Yes these things need to be handled.

But the REAL cause of chronic stress, overwhelm & burnout is all the hidden programmes which are subconsciously controlling your thoughts, feelings, reactions and responses. 

Things like:

• Low self worth, low self esteem & not feeling good enough
• Perfectionism
• Overthinking and over analysing
• People pleasing and being unable to say no, to be assertive, or to set boundaries without guilt
• Completion addiction
• The inability to disconnect at will
• The inability to handle uncertainty
• The human doing
• Externalised self worth
• The campaign lifestyle
• Indecision
• Imposter syndrome
• Monkey mind, where you mind is constantly jumping around all over the place
• The fear of failure
• The fear of judgement

I didn’t know it at the time but I was a slave to perfectionism, a workaholic and a stress addict. Although I may have appeared “confident” on the outside I NEEDED to work to feel any sense of worth and control. An addictive and vicious trap few seem to understand and certainly have no clue how to manage and get out. 

Here’s the deal - by the time you’re 35 years old, 95% of how you think, how you feel, and how you act and react is all AUTOMATED. 

Essentially, you’re being run by these subconscious programmes. Until you break free from these constraints, at best you’ll be playing at a level that is beneath you, and at worst…?

At worst it will be the downfall of your business.

Personally I came to the end of the road. I was unavailable for playing at a level that was beneath me, quitting or finding employment. I had to deal with my personal and emotional s**t that I DIDN’T THINK was an issue! After all - I was already reading all the personal development books and attending courses. 

The problem with blindspots is that they are… well… blindspots! What you THINK is the real problem, isn’t the real problem. Otherwise you’d have fixed it by now… right?! 

Rachel x