Summary: Today we are going to talk about What’s Really Behind the Overwhelm? 3 Steps to Discovering Why You May Be Sabotaging Your Success. Business owners are especially prone to overwhelm because it’s not uncommon for them to juggle multiple aspects of their business at any one time. But how much of what you think you need to handle do you actually need to handle? What if overwhelm is actually part of your self-sabotaging behavior being played out? Overwhelm is not a necessary evil of being an entrepreneur - it’s a symptom of an underlying issue. In three easy steps, you can find out if self-sabotaging behavior is creating unnecessary overwhelm in your business and life. Step #1: Consider the Why When you understand why you do anything, you discover why you do everything. From understanding the “why,” it’s possible to see the patterns of self-sabotaging behavior being played out in your everyday life. (Yes, creating overwhelm is one of those self-sabotaging behaviors.) If you frequently or consistently struggle with overwhelm, there may be a self-sabotaging behavior behind it. The trick is to identify the “why” behind the self-sabotage. Common reasons for overwhelm may include: - Behavior based in limiting beliefs - Fear of failure/success - Lack of focus/discipline - Avoidance/procrastination - Lack of interest/inspiration/motivation - Refusal to give up total control/delegate There is a “why” behind everything you do - or don’t do. The question is are you engaging in behavior being driven by limiting beliefs that lead to self-sabotage or empowering beliefs that lead to success? It’s pretty simple: if you’re not producing results you want, you can bet there are self-sabotaging behaviors being played out in your personal or professional life. First, let’s establish that everyone has self-sabotaging behaviors - even peak performers like professional athletes and Olympic competitors (which is why they hire professional coaches!). These specialized coaches help them identify (and shift) the behaviors that keep them from achieving optimal performance. When you know the self-sabotaging behaviors that are keeping you from achieving the best results, you know which behaviors must change in order to create even better results. It’s fairly easy to know what you should be doing…it’s not always so easy to discipline yourself to do those things. However, if you can identify self-sabotaging behaviors and discipline yourself to change them, success will come easier and faster. Step #2. There Is Another Way Overwhelm is not a necessary evil of being an entrepreneur, it’s a symptom of an underlying issue. Most people are stuck in self-sabotaging behaviors because they can’t see that there is another way. It’s the definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results. The distance between where you are and where you want to be can be a short and straight path when you know the right actions to take - at the right time, and on a consistent basis. It’s when you’re not taking the right steps that the path to success feels like a constant zig-zag path of push-and-pull, struggle and frustration. This is when taking different actions (or non-actions) next time around and observing how your results change is invaluable. Are the results better or worse? Log your progress in a simple tracking sheet to determine what’s working and what isn’t working. Keep doing what works well, while continuing to tweak what doesn’t. Eventually, you’ll learn the right things you need to do at the right time to produce the shortest, straightest path between where you are and where you want to be. Step #3. Focus on the NEXT Step Another common reason for overwhelm is focusing on everything. In other words, you may be focused on the massive undertaking of the big picture - and everything that must be accomplished to reach your goal. Of course you’re going to feel overwhelm when you think about the responsibility, work, risk, and commitme
