This is Note to Self, a series of mini-lessons from two high-impact entrepreneurs to their former, present and future selves. As entrepreneurs ourselves, my co-host Nicola and I understand how genuinely triggering entrepreneurship and business ownership can be to our nervous system, and set out to find a way to cope with that in this week’s episode.
In this mini-lesson, we cover:
- The triggering reality of entrepreneurship
- Regulating your nervous system in real-time
“It’s one of the things I coach on the most, that people are least aware of how [their nervous system] fits on their journey.” – Hailey
Entrepreneurship, no matter what industry we’re in or products we’re selling, requires consistent massive action on our part. Because of this consistent action, the amount of work we do is often massively triggering and upsetting to our nervous system. We deal with high-stress situations and a great deal of responsibility every single day, and our bodies can react extremely negatively to that if we don’t learn proper coping and regulating strategies. Many of my clients and Nicola’s clients initially misunderstand the importance of these strategies and risk burnout by constantly going, going, going and getting stuck in a hypo or hyper anxious state.
“Our nervous system was designed to process a certain threshold of stress. But as an entrepreneur, you tenfold that threshold overnight.” – Nicola
Our nervous system has multiple dimensions to it, and each dimension supports us and helps us build the amazing work we take pride in as entrepreneurs. However, when our nervous system is overloaded by stimulation and stress, we can no longer feel that support and help, instead feeling caught up in stress, panic, anxiety, and depression about our work. Instead of forcing ourselves to push through this stress we’re trying to cope with, it’s important to ground yourself and activate your senses in a soothing and calming way. Be conscious of your breath and your being, and listen to what your body and your brain are telling you in these often intense and traumatic moments.
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Connect with Nicola on LinkedIn and the Kokoro website.
Connect with Hailey through her website and Instagram.
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