A few weeks ago, I shared on the blog my thoughts about dealing with the pressure of business and how to handle it when you’re not seeing the desired outcome. Needless to say, I wasn’t handling it well mentally. Whether you’re just starting, or you’ve been in business for a while, the entrepreneurial life can most certainly feel like a roller coaster. I also had mentioned that I was in the process of clearing my mind to gain perspective. I didn’t know when that perspective might come, but I believe I received at least a nugget of it a couple of weeks later.
To explain this perspective, let me tell you a story of an appointment I had that helped me receive some clarity. During this appointment, the professional and I had differing viewpoints of how to handle headaches that I would occasionally have. We clearly had different thoughts about how to handle it, which is fine—it's my life, and I should be able to seek answers that align with my beliefs and what is best for me (as everyone should). However, I was a bit annoyed with the scenario and called my mother to vent and express my frustration with the discussion. Later that evening, I had a thought that I am no longer accepting the headaches, which were generally brought on by stress and/or hormonal changes.
A few months ago, I had been reading a book that discussed how our bodies continue to respond to scenarios and situations based on how we first experience them. Our mind captures that response and uses it again to respond similarly the next time we experience something. The book explained that we might need to tell our mind to respond differently if we don’t want the same scenario to occur again. I thought to myself, I should try that with these headaches. I can remember the first time I got a migraine, and it was primarily due to a very stressful situation combined with hormonal changes. I then wondered if my body had been responding to intense stressful situations thereafter with intense headaches that I accepted as “normal” for too long.
Fast forward to today, and I had already told myself after recovering from my last bad headache that I’m not getting these anymore. I wanted to practice changing that scenario for myself. I think I have changed that narrative, or at least I’m in the process of changing it. This narrative I’m changing for my mental stress affected me physically, and I am learning to let go of intense stress and channel it into a healthier outcome for myself, which may be through clearing my mind and further practice of meditation. I can’t remember the last time I had a migraine, but I do know it was a few months ago when I told myself, “We’re not doing this anymore,” and “Mind, let’s change this.”
In the midst of these thoughts and discussion with my mom, I realized that this is the same for business and any other scenario you may be seeking to change. We have to change the narrative. Even if we’ve been doing everything right, or everything we think is right, and what all the gurus say, if that process isn’t working, we need to change the narrative for ourselves and our process. Then we can achieve a different, desirable outcome, like that multi-million-dollar business goal—or whatever goal you have for your business. Something so simple, and probably heard a bazillion times, but this time it clicked: change the narrative. A game changer. That’s what my goal is now to change my narrative about my paths and see how it affects my mental state as well as how my businesses progress to the next level (as well as my headaches!).
Have any of you had a similar mindset shift or breakthrough? If so, please share with me in the comments or email me at info@empowerher.ventures. I’d love to hear your perspectives and how you changed your narrative.
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