Procrastination.
Perfectionism.
Burning Bridges.
Not showing up.
There’s a lot of talk about self-sabotage in the entrepreneurial world… and what to do when you realize you’re self-sabotaging. Typically, you’re asked to look at what you may be afraid of… to identify WHY you may be AFRAID of ACHIEVING the exact goal you’re pursuing. Worthy pursuits, for sure.
But, I am starting to ABHOR circular patterns. I have no interest in the EXCITED — STALLING — INNER WORK — EXCITED AGAIN treadmill. So, let’s talk about PREVENTING self-sabotaging behaviors… nipping them in the bud before they have a chance to take root in your business and your heart and derail your progress. (By the way, if you are a COACH, struggling to make even a DECENT living coaching, I have a free gift for you. NO opt in, NO fee. Just pure, unadulterated truth about how to make money as a coach. CLICK HERE TO MAKE MONEY AS A COACH.)
For me, this is all about designing my day — EVERY ASPECT OF MY DAY — in a way that keeps me motivated, inspired, and excited about the work I do. It’s TRULY about designing my business around my core needs as a woman, as a person… really. Here’s a list of things you may wish to consider “designing DELIBERATELY” to support forward movement — and prevent self-sabotage — in your own business.
MAKE YOUR ENVIRONMENT ONE THAT INSPIRES YOU. I remember the days of working in a cubicle. It sucked. I had no control of noise, smells, lighting, space. Ugh….. Today, I have a deliberately designed office space with a small “working area,” complete with a video “studio” for Facebook LIVES, easy access to too many books that inspire me, a desk I can write notes on, a retro lamp that I love, inspirational notes, pictures and phrases EVERYWHERE and a sitting area for when I just want to get out of the “work area” and stretch my legs a bit. The Women Who WOW (WomenWhoWOW.com) office was actually featured in an article about Home Office Set Up by FitSmallBusiness.com which was a huge surprise!
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SCHEDULE. The flow of my day is incredibly important to me. I want my morning to be spent on my most important tasks. For me, this includes MOVING (exercise), Bible, journaling, messaging (blogging and live streaming) and reaching out to the media on behalf of myself and my clients/members. Your “perfect day” will be very different than mine, but I urge you to start carving out and protecting chunks of time that NO ONE has access to, where you can do your BEST work.
CHOOSE CLIENTS (very) CAREFULLY. If you work one-on-one with clients, customers or patients, choose them carefully. Not everyone who can pay you is a good client. I wrote about soul mates a while back, referring to my Mister and also to my best friend, but I also look for soul mate clients. HOW DO YOU KNOW? Do you look forward to hearing from them? Do you ENJOY working with them? If not, they need to go. Quickly. The WRONG clients will have you in such a funk that you self-sabotage all over the place. Let them go, in a hurry and — THIS IS IMPORTANT — with a blessing. Let them go so they can find THEIR soul mate service provider. Better to have NO clients at all than even ONE “wrong” client that you dread hearing from.
IN SHORT, TAKE CARE OF THE BOSS — FIRST. If you want to be in the BEST possible energy for success… if you want to PREVENT not only self-sabotage but also BURN OUT… take care of you, first. Give yourself everything you need — the right environment, the preferred schedule, the totally aligned clients — to thrive in this chosen business, niche, and industry you’ve chosen.
For MORE on “unexpected ways” to eliminate self-sabotage, read this article from iNLP center, focused on neuro-linguistic programming and life coach certification training.
