29 Oct Playing Big and Burning Out
Playing Big and Burning Out
Playing big and burning out in business is a risk, that is true. Clients sometimes mention that they feel like they are playing small in business, that something is holding them back. That something is sometimes a fear of burning out. I’ve noticed that this is often amongst those people who have burned out in the past, and are now fearful of it happening again. If this is you, you may have tried self-help books, even programmes and mastermind groups, but the problem persists.
Where does it come from?
I do use a really useful technique called an Affect Bridge which helps us notice times in the past when this template of fear may have been put down. For some, this can be enough for things to shift. If not, we can work on creating a new template, one where you can play bigger and stay resilient to burning out.
Critical voices
Many of us have critical voices in our heads, holding us back and making sure we are playing small in business. Some people call these limiting beliefs, or the inner critic. They might be quite noticeable, saying things like “I don’t deserve this”, or “you can’t really keep this up for long.” Sometimes they are more subtle than that, and can sabotage us with thoughts like needing to get even more qualifications, or just finesse your website before really going for it. Even these voices can be enough to leave us feeling exhausted, especially if we have to push against them all the time.
Our work together often involves pin-pointing these types of thoughts and assessing how to best deal with them. This will be different for everyone. However, the one thing they have in common is that the thoughts are almost always a method of protection.
Behavioural patterns and habits
Creating new habits and experimenting with new behaviours is an important part of our work together. This might mean reviewing not only the way you work, but how you prep for work, as well as where and when you work.
Reviewing your environment
Creating the right environment to play bigger is important. Who is around to support you, to inspire and guide you? Who might be holding you back, sometimes even for good reasons?
Trauma
Occasionally, clients are held back due to a past trauma. This could be a bad experience with a bullying boss or team where they felt undermined. It could be a horrendous mistake they’ve made, or a more traditional trauma such as a car accident or life threatening situation that has sent their amygdala into overdrive. Consequently they now operate from a place of heightened emotion and fear. It could even be a bad episode of burnout in the past. This is not good for playing bigger.
I bring my therapeutic skills and address the trauma through a gentle but effective method called Rewind which unhooks the strong emotions from the memories of the trauma or traumas. You still have the memories, but they lose their power to haunt you or hold you back.
Attitude to risk
Our approach to risk can be hugely important too, especially for those of us brought up in very risk averse families. We can address your attitude to risk, and slowly but surely tweak it.
Confidence and playing bigger in business
I love working with my clients around confidence, whether it’s speaking up in meetings or feeling more able to post on social media. Our first step is to address how you’d like to see that confidence manifest, but we also work on building confidence generally, something that will help you in all aspects of your life.
I work with entrepreneurs and business owners who would like to play bigger in their businesses, without burning out. Book a free session with me here to see if we would be a good fit for working together, or contact me here.
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