Happy July! Before you start wondering if I have totally lost it and that I’m about to give you gardening advice…just hang in there for a minute it will all make sense!
I’ve talked to a lot of business owners lately that are experiencing a lot of stress, anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt. Some days to the point where it is paralyzing and preventing them from taking the actions needed to grow their business.
It’s stopping them from picking up the phone to follow up with potential clients, from booking speaking gigs, from being powerful in sales conversations, or from showing up as their authentic powerful self networking.
A lot of them have gotten so used to feeling this way, that they have come to think it’s “normal” or that they just have to accept it!
Well, that is NOT true!
I want to share some insight into the underlying issue that is causing the stress, anxiety, worry, and doubt so that you can feel empowered to do something about it. Sound good?
The way that YOU respond to anything is based on your past experiences. The way you respond to an opportunity to speak to a larger audience, a client agreeing to work with you, a potential client saying no to working with you, when your business is slow, when your business is rapidly expanding is all shaped by the experiences you have had in the past. No two people will respond the same. Beliefs about God/The Universe, beliefs about yourself and others, and sometimes even fears develop from each experience. Your past experiences can either empower and support you or limit you.
Here’s the thing, you can have “traumatic” or difficult past experiences that empower and support IF you have healed from them. But, if you have not healed from these experiences they will be the source of stress, anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt.
Think about it this way. For each past experience that had an negative impact you that is NOT healed…it’s like having weeds in your garden. The weeds represent fears, sabotaging patterns (like procrastination), limiting beliefs about not being supported, not being good enough, not deserving the success you desire, not feeling safe to stand out and shine! The more unhealed past traumas you have, the more weeds you have in your garden…the more stress, anxiety, worry, fear, and doubt you will experience on a regular basis.
These weeds (fears and limiting beliefs) are SUCKING THE LIFE out of your garden! They are preventing the seeds (leads in your business) that you have planted and nurtured from growing to their full potential.
Having a garden overgrown with weeds will also prevent you from planting new seeds. Most of your time, energy, and effort goes to the weeds! So you feel exhausted with effort but very little to show for all of it! This can lead to anger and frustration that will keep you in a vicious cycle. Maybe you didn’t even realize what was causing all the stress, anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt! It’s because the weeds that I am talking about on the inside can be invisible to you.
On the other hand, you may be aware that you have weeds in your garden. But, the tools that you have been using may not be pulling the weed out at the root…so it keeps coming back!
It’s a temporary fix.
I want you to honestly ask yourself what does your garden look like? Have any weeds taken over?
Imagine what it would be like if your garden didn’t have any weeds? If all of your time, energy, and effort went 100% to nurturing the seeds that you have planted (your leads)? How much easier and FUN would growing your business (garden) be?
With Courage,
Colleen
