This past weekend I went to a Halloween party at my best friend’s house where I was also spending the night. About halfway through the party, I decided I that I was done.
So I took a shower and went to bed. In the middle of the party.
I chose to take care of myself first. I wasn’t worried about the other guests, what my host would think, or if it was okay for me to leave the party.
I just did it.
If this behavior seems selfish or foreign to you that is fine. Two years ago, I would’ve never done any of those things. I would’ve had tons of excuses why I couldn’t do what would serve me best.
And I believe that is one of the major reasons why I burned out in my business.
A New Level of Burnout
We have all experienced burnout at some level before. From being burnout at work, exhausted after semester finals, or family burnout after the holidays.
My entrepreneurial burnout was on a whole different level.
I took a week off with no responsibilities, to ‘get over burnout.’ At the end of the week, I was more tired than at the beginning. Going to the grocery store felt like preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
And I wanted to walk away from my business and drop everything.
3 Beliefs To Watch Out For
In order to help you not get to my same level of burnout, I’m going to show you three limiting beliefs to watch out for. I’ll show you how these beliefs can show up in your business and how they can lead to burnout.
Belief #1: “I need to always be available for my clients.”
You get to choose how available you want to be for your clients. Everyone has a different level that they are comfortable with.
There is a line between being available and putting your clients’ needs before your own.
How This Can Lead to Burnout
I used to believe that I had to be available all the time for my clients because that was providing good customer service. I assumed that if I didn’t have good customer service then they would leave me, which was not true.
After years of putting my clients first, I got to the point where I couldn’t stand getting an email from them. This meant that I became extremely cynical and I wasn’t able to support them.
Belief #2: “I committed to going to that event so I have to do it”
Most likely you coach clients on this all the time: commitment.
And as coaches, we can get caught up in the same pull that our clients can. We believe that we have to attend every event because we might miss a potential client.
How This Can Lead to Burnout
We all have a limit to our energy. At some point, I believe our bodies will shut down and we will either get sick or burn out.
When I was in burnout, I felt like I was constantly recovering from a cold. I would have minimal energy, feel extremely sluggish, and I had no idea why.
This meant that I was showing up fake and not being present for my clients. This also meant that my motivation and creativity dried up.
Belief #3: “What more can I do?”
As a business owner, when you are starting out there is a tendency to want to see results faster.
So you ask yourself “What more can I do?”
You find additional groups to join, social media platforms to be on, and more projects to do.
One day you’ll realize that you can’t do anymore. You need to release something…but what?
How This Can Lead to Burnout
I used to believe that it was okay that I was tired all the time because I was successful and making good money.
This belief didn’t serve me. I was just focused on survival and hoping that one day I might make enough money to walk away from the craziness.
This meant that I never took time for myself and I was jealous of people who did.
What You Can Do to Prevent Burnout
Here are three ways you can combat burnout showing up in your coaching business.
1. Set boundaries with clients
2. Do the things that give you energy
3. Take time for yourself
You won’t be able to serve your clients or fulfill your purpose as a coach if you are in burnout.
Continuing to give when your cup is empty just doesn’t work.
Instead, I like to think about filling my cup up by doing things for myself first. When it is overflowing, I can use the extra to help support my clients, my business, and my personal relationships.
And that is the reason why I was taking a shower in the middle of a party.
I knew that I needed to take care of myself first and everyone respected me for doing that.
And it felt great.
I hope you show up the same way in your business.
About Nikole:
Nikole is an Intuition Coach that helps successful entrepreneurs who feel unfulfilled and struggle to get out of bed in the morning to connect with their intuition so that they can work through burnout and prosper in their businesses again.
Nikole believes that being a successful entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you have to be tired all the time and that taking time for yourself in one of the most important ways to prevent entrepreneurial burnout.
If you would like to receive support from Nikole you can visit www.myintuitioncoach.com to learn more.
