From Self-Sabotage to Success: Conquering The Top 5 Most Destructive Thoughts and Behaviors in Entrepreneurship

Do you ever feel trapped in a cycle of self-doubt and fear that's holding you back from reaching your true potential as an entrepreneur? I'm Jamie, CEO and experienced business owner, and I'm here to guide you on the journey to overcoming these mental hurdles and transforming them into a path towards fulfillment and success. On this episode of Blissful Biz Adventures, we shine a light on the top five self-demolishing thoughts and behaviors that could be causing you to procrastinate, burn out, and overall sabotage your progress as an entrepreneur. Together, we will delve into the depths of fear of failure, impostor syndrome, perfectionism, negative self-talk, and harmful comparison, providing practical solutions to these common pitfalls.

But we don't stop there. In the hustle and bustle of entrepreneurship, it's also easy to fall into harmful behaviors such as overworking, ignoring self-care, isolating yourself, and disregarding feedback. If you're feeling burnt out, unproductive, and unhappy, we're here to help. We provide effective strategies for managing your time, establishing boundaries, prioritizing well-being, and building a strong support network. We place emphasis on the crucial role of feedback in personal growth and the creation of a sustainable business, guiding you towards embracing your strengths, facing your fears, and moving forward with confidence. Get ready to embark on this transformative journey and unleash your true potential!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Blissful Biz Adventures, succeeding without sacrificing happiness. Ready to discover the path to success and fulfillment, join a vibrant community of dreamers excelling in both realms. I'm Jamie, a CEO and multi-business owner, leading a growing group practice of 12-plus dieticians. Let's embark on a transformative journey where contentment and success go hand in hand. Top 5 destructive thoughts and behaviors when it comes to being a business owner. Today we're going to uncover the entrepreneurial journey, the destructive thoughts that we have along it and the destructive behaviors that we all have encountered and may still be in right now. So I want to talk about this because I want you to have that awareness, to get out of those destructive behaviors, to get rid of those destructive thoughts, so you can be on the path to more success, more joy in business owning.

Speaker 1: 1:01

I personally love these types of podcasts because I love just hearing what I might not know. I'm always wanting to learn and when it comes to these top things that not only I'm experiencing but others are too, I want to see what's common because most likely, that's something that I'm doing and I want to be aware of it so I can do my best to shift and do my best for myself in my practice. So, without further ado, let's talk about the top 5 self-sabotaging and destructive thoughts of entrepreneurs. So we're going to go through the thoughts and then the behaviors. The first thought is that thought of fear of failure and, yes, this is destructive. Many entrepreneurs worry about failing and they view it as this reflection of their abilities and their self-worth. And this fear is destructive and self-sabotaging because it can prevent you from taking risks, from pursuing innovative ideas, from being creative, from ultimately, you can ultimately limit your potential for yourself, for your success of your business, for what your business looks like. When we are fearful, we avoid right. When we're fearful, we get stuck in just negative thought patterns. We might not take care of ourselves as well. We are feeding off the fear rather than the hope and the opportunity. So that fear of failure definitely keeps people back.

Speaker 1: 2:43

When I chat with new business owners and they ask me about starting the journey, whether they are becoming a private practice, when I chat with business owners making big decisions to grow, expand, just with a new creative idea, one of the things I ask them first is you know what are their fears with moving forward? Because that, ultimately, is what's holding them back and what is going to hold them back as they move into that new venture. So when people are considering growing their group practice and they want to go from solo to group or a small group to a larger group, the thing that I tell them that holds most people back is the fear of what's ahead, the fear of failing with what's ahead, the fear of the challenges ahead that they're going to encounter. It is fear because I tell them, if you start and you keep going and you continue to pick yourself up after those quote-unquote failures, then you will most likely get there and can find what you are looking for and meet those goals. But if we are not starting, we're never going to see if it's possible. So failure is part of it. Failure is not something we should be afraid of because it's going to happen very, very often as a business owner. So the fear of failure is something that's super self-destructive and something you absolutely want to identify, be ahead of and be aware so you can acknowledge that fear of failure and continue moving forward without it holding you back from where you want to go.

Speaker 1: 4:26

The next destructive thought is those thoughts of imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome can be so strong as a human, as a provider, as in a lot of careers as a mom, as a parent, as a partner, I mean imposter syndrome is can be very strong in a lot of areas of life. I do see imposter syndrome hitting entrepreneurs really hard in really negative ways. So if you're not familiar with imposter syndrome, imposter syndrome is the feeling that one is not deserving of their success and they're going to be exposed as fraud, or that one cannot, it is not a leader or not a business owner and they're going to again be exposed as a fraud for doing what they're doing. It's very important to constantly be evaluating your strengths, your weaknesses, how you're doing, your abilities, the growth that is needed, and that is just. That's a really wonderful thing. You don't know it all, you're never going to know it all, but the belief that you are imposter and you shouldn't be doing this, that is very harmful. It's much better to rephrase it as I am always learning and growing, but I deserve to be here. I am doing a good job, I am celebrating what I'm able to do, I am taking the word of other folks who believe in me, who think I'm doing a good job right, and just to take that in as well and not just these feelings of being an imposter.

Speaker 1: 6:06

It's really common for entrepreneurs to doubt their skills because they are in charge of a lot, there's a lot of responsibility and there's also constant comparison to others, and it really leads to self-doubt and insecurity. And self-doubt and insecurity keep you stuck and paralyzed. So imposter syndrome can be super self-sabotaging in your success, in your growth and in your peace as a practice owner. Next self-sabotaging thought is perfectionism. Aren't we all too familiar with perfectionism? Entrepreneurs often strive for perfection in their work, in their products, in their services, and this can lead to a few things that are really negative for us. It can lead to procrastination and not doing the thing at all, not offering the new service, not trying the new thing, not being creative, and creates this inability to move forward. Perfectionism can also really result in burnout and high stress, high anxiety, as entrepreneurs continually try and push themselves to these unrealistic standards.

Speaker 1: 7:18

We are humans. In business, humans are not perfect. You're constantly going to be learning, growing, quote, unquote, failing, looking back on your work and feeling embarrassed, feeling like you would have totally done that differently. And hey, that is part of it, something that I was told as I just started my first blog. Right, I didn't have a service. I didn't have a business, I didn't have an LLC. This was when I was just starting to get on social media. Years and years ago I was told if you want to start a blog, do it. That's the best piece of advice. Just do it, go out and start. You have to start somewhere and if you're waiting to put something out once it's perfect, you are going to be waiting forever and no one's going to get that awesome service that you are trying to provide. No one's going to be able to benefit from your education, your knowledge, what you have to offer. So don't let perfectionism be the killer of joy and the just keep you from moving forward and of success. So don't let perfect be the enemy of great or good or wonderful right, because perfect is an impossible, an impossible destination. It's just impossible. So be aware of when your perfectionism comes up, because I know it comes up in one way or the other.

Speaker 1: 8:47

The next unhelpful thought that really creates some destructive behaviors and destruction in the business is negative self-talk. I'm going to say that again Negative self-talk. How are you all speaking to yourself? Just think back on today. How did your day go as a business owner? How were you speaking to yourself today, were the things you're saying to yourself. Were they positive, were they hopeful, were they celebratory, were they compassionate or were they defeating?

Speaker 1: 9:21

Negative, critical, hopeless Entrepreneurs often face really high levels of stress and pressure, understandably so. And that can really contribute to this negative self-talk, because we feel like that inner critic can really help us stay on track right, keep us in control, keep us on edge, keep us just making sure everything's going well, right, if we have that inner critic telling us all the things that are wrong, it's going to help us. Right, no, wrong, wrong. That is the killer of passion, that's the killer of sustainability, of creativity. That inner critic can really undermine your confidence, your motivation, the sustainability of your practice, the success of your practice, making it really difficult to persevere in the face of challenges, because we need to be our own best friend. And when the person who is talking to you In those, in when you're facing challenges, is this negative, hopeless person with you, that is going to really defeat you and make you want to give up. So when you're with yourself, when you are going through all these challenges, celebrating these new milestones, going after a new creative project, with that negative self-talk that you have, it's going to absolutely stifle your growth. So you want to be your own best friend when it comes to the good things and the hard things. And Lastly, the last thought are those comparison thoughts, comparing yourself to others.

Speaker 1: 10:53

This is a no-brainer. Constantly comparing yourself to one's progress and success, or perceived progress and success, is going to be very destructive. Of course we compare for a lot of reasons and it is helpful and it is something we we can take in and do in a helpful way, like hey, this person is doing this cool thing and it's something that I thought about doing and I think I would really find joy in I, I, I want to look to that as inspiration and that this person can do it, so maybe I can as well. But if you're comparing yourself to others, saying I mean first, it's going to be really Ungrounding because people I see them Deciding to go off on these ventures and say I'm going to have a group practice, right, or I'm going to have a private practice, and they don't ever consider what they actually want and why they want to go after that goal. They just think they need it and it's going to make them happy because they're seeing someone else. What else is perceived success when really it was never a good fit for them in the first place and it's not what's going to bring them the most joy in their career?

Speaker 1: 11:56

So constantly comparing yourself in a way that is negative or you're not using it as information, but you're using it to measure your own success, your own happiness, to give you an understanding of when you can slow down, when you reach the goals of others, whatever it might be. That is going to be exhausting, so Super, super unhelpful. It can lead to Just more anxiety and be feelings of inadequacy and just totally take you out off the path that you're meant to be on. So Be really aware of that one as well. Okay, now that we chatted on the different thoughts that are also common, I'm sure you are, you can say you have experienced all of those, if not today, this week or this month, and I hope also you have seen throughout your business growth that these are getting, they. You have become more aware and they're getting weaker and not stronger. But if they haven't, hey, that's okay. You're on your journey. This is a time to reflect on it right now and ask how are these thoughts helpful? How are they harmful? What are they doing? What are they going to do to me and and the practice in the future, and start considering it today. There's no better time than now.

Speaker 1: 13:13

Okay, moving into the top five destructive behaviors. Number one procrastination. Entrepreneurs really delay, can. They can really tend to delay important tasks, decisions and a lot of these. This procrastination is due to those thoughts that we just chatted about, like the negative self-talk, like the negative self-talk, like perfectionism and imposter syndrome, right, all leading to this behavior of procrastination and continuing to push off important tasks, continuing to push off those needle movers, those things that you want to address yesterday, those things that that you really need to be putting your energy into. And this leads to missed opportunities, increased stress, the lack of success. It can hinder productivity and overall growth of your business. So I want to ask you right now, before you move into the next behavior are you procrastinating? If so, what are you procrastinating on? And then, last question why are you procrastinating on that specific item? What do you need in order to be successful in accomplishing that task? Or looking at that thing you need to look at what can you do today to beat that procrastination or get one step closer to decreasing the amount of time you're procrastinating with that thing.

Speaker 1: 14:42

Next item, next behavior, is going to be overworking. So many people think this is helpful, that overworking till you're exhausted, until you have literally all the last piece of energy has left your body and you you put in a certain amount of hours right, you use your successful because you put in 12, 14 hours right in that day and you consider that a good day. Overworking really can be extremely harmful because working excessively long hours without adequate rest can lead to your business not being sustainable. Burnout. You're impacting your mental health, your physical health, your perspective. It can also reduce creativity and productivity in the short term and the long run. Okay. So overworking a lot of people think this is like a badge of honor, but it's not actually helping you. And if you are to assess what you did in that day, I can guarantee you you had four or five productive hours to maybe semi productive hours and the rest was very hard to focus, hard to have that perspective, maybe wasted time because you weren't taking care of yourself. And this is, you know, overworking. It's a tough one to, because there's gonna be some days when you have long hours. Absolutely, that's business owning, that is running a group practice. However, if you're consistently overworking and you feel that you need to clock in a certain amount of hours in order to be worthy, in order to find success, that is something we want to question, because overworking actually leads to the opposite someone burning out, not wanting to do this anymore, not taking good care of themselves, so they're unable to make good decisions for themselves and the business.

Speaker 1: 16:29

Next behavior is neglecting self care kind of goes in a hand in hand here. Entrepreneurs often prioritize their business over their well being. They neglect exercise, they neglect nourishment, sleep, mental health, their joys, and a lot of business owners are very unhappy. A lot of successful people quote unquote, successful people, right, a lot of wealthy people. They're very unhappy because they get to this like end point without considering the journey and how it felt and what they might be sacrificing. Ignoring yourself care is going to lead to a lot of those issues and it's not going to lead you down that blissful biz adventure. You need to be looking at the journey and how you're feeling in the journey, because then what's the point? What's the point? So ignoring self care is going to lead to a lot of health issues, issues in general, and then so not only issues for yourself, but also issues for the business, reduced effectiveness in running the business and longevity of the business.

Speaker 1: 17:37

Next behavior is isolation. A lot of entrepreneurs isolate themselves from their friends, their family, social activities because their primary focus is on their business and they're overworking and they can really lead to loneliness, decrease what mental well being and, as mentioned before, like your perspective, becomes just a skew. It's not. You're not getting other perspectives you're not taking, you're isolating yourself, you're not stepping away to get outside perspectives. And last behavior I will leave you with today is ignoring feedback, ignoring the feedback you're getting from your body, ignoring feedback you're getting from others, from customers, from mentors, from your team. If you dismiss or ignore that constructive feedback and if you're not asking for it, that is going to Definitely impact your business and impact you. Okay, if you fail to adapt and improve and ask for that feedback, this is gonna lead to stagnation, decreased customer satisfaction, employees being unhappy, your team, your team not getting the support they need and growing in the wrong direction and in the wrong way. We wanna constantly be asking our team, ourselves, our bodies, all the different parts of our health, our mental health, our physical health how are we doing. What's the feedback we're getting from what we're doing right now with the business?

Speaker 1: 19:12

Super important in a behavior a lot of people, a lot of entrepreneurs, fall into. So again, those behaviors are procrastination, overworking, neglecting self-care, isolation and ignoring feedback. Now I'm not gonna leave you with just that. We're gonna talk about just a few things you can do to address these destructive thoughts and these destructive behaviors. Number one practice time management. Develop that effective time management techniques so you can combat that procrastination and work more efficiently. If you don't do time blocking, block off times in your calendar of when you are gonna work on things and block that time off where it's a hard boundary. Find those hard boundaries and find those flexible boundaries for when you are done for the day and when you will allow yourself to keep working if needed. Okay, so practice that time management and I'm gonna add in practice those boundaries. Next one is going to be set work-life balance and set work-life boundaries. Establish really clear boundaries between work and personal life so you can prevent overworking.

Speaker 1: 20:20

Prioritize self-care. Prioritize other things in your life, get other perspectives. Have a good balance so you can be successful and content in life and business. Prioritize your wellbeing is the next one. Make self-care, exercise, healthy lifestyles a priority to maintain your mental health, your physical health. Make sure you're continuing to nourish yourself, not skipping meals right. Prioritize your wellbeing. That is more important than your business and it's gonna impact your business. If you need a reason, if you need another reason, it's gonna impact your business, if not today, tomorrow. So prioritize your wellbeing to both support yourself as a person, as a whole person, not just a business owner, and also to support your business and the longevity, success and sustainability of it.

Speaker 1: 21:11

Seek a support network. So build a network of friends, mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, business coaches, to combat that isolation and gain knowledge, gain perspective. Okay, don't go about this alone. You don't have to. It can be a very lonely journey, so don't go about it alone. Embrace feedback. If you're not asking for feedback, start asking. Send out surveys to your team, to your clients. Ask for opportunity for growth and improvement in both your personal and business aspects, okay.

Speaker 1: 21:51

Next one is practice self-awareness. Recognize when these unhelpful thoughts that we talked about, notice and recognize when they arise and how they impact your decisions and your emotions. How does that self-sabotaging thought of perfectionism actually impact the decisions you're making, the emotions you're having, your ability to enjoy your practice, the decisions you're making in your practice, what is happening there. So raise self-awareness. Start a journal. You can't change what you don't know, so start raising awareness around how these behaviors and thoughts are impacting you.

Speaker 1: 22:33

Next thing is celebrate. And lastly, and really important one I want to leave you with is celebrate achievements. It's so easy to get caught up in where we wanna go, the things we wanna do, our lack right. That's a road to nowhere. It's gonna be so unhelpful for you. You. We want to celebrate your achievements, no matter how.

Speaker 1: 22:58

Quote, unquote small acknowledge and celebrate your successes. This helps you boost self-esteem. It helps you to counteract in imposter syndrome. It helps you to battle those negative self, that negative self talk. It helps you to continue to grow, because you're speaking kindly to yourself. So celebrate those achievements. Something you can really easily do is, when you wake up, before you start your day, or as before you're going to bed, you can either say it out loud or journal or think about it and just tell yourself what you're proud of for that day. What are you proud of when it comes to how you made decisions, how you led your team, something you developed a new, creative idea, how you took care of yourself, how you were able to cope during a hard challenge.

Speaker 1: 23:51

Celebrate those achievements, because they are no small feat. Those are what makes up every day. All those small moments make up the whole entrepreneur journey. So celebrate them. Celebrating them are going to help you to be more resilient and to help create more celebrations, more successes, that you can celebrate in the future. So with that, I will go ahead and leave you with those thoughts, with something to ponder when are you at on your journey? What destructive thoughts may you be experiencing? What destructive behaviors are you stumbling into? You are not alone. It is okay. It is great that you are here just raising awareness around all of these hard things, and I believe in you. So have a wonderful day. I hope you find peace and joy in your success today. Until next time. Thanks for joining Blissful Biz Adventures, succeeding without sacrificing happiness. Stay connected with our vibrant community by subscribing. Together, we'll uplift and support each other on this blissful journey. Until next time. Always remember that in your business, you have the potential to not just survive but to truly thrive.