Self-Sabotage, Blender-Brain and the Entrepreneur by Guest Author Kathleen Aston

WHOA! Why can’t my brain latch on to a single thought? I’m feeling nauseous…sick…I gotta sit down! Oh, wait. I am sitting down. Are you guilty of self-sabotage?

So often the best and most brilliant entrepreneurs get stuck, in what I like to call “Blender-Brain.” It’s that mind-spin of all your ideas, to-dos, responsibilities and goals set on puree in the thought-blender. Although I make fun (mostly of myself) about this condition, it’s actually incredibly painful and distressing and makes a gigantic mess of your business and life.

So how do we stop the blender? How do we find priorities in this medley-mush that threatens to consume us?

Stop the Chaos by Walking Away

That’s right…but don’t go far. Just physically move to a separate location. Bring with you a sheet of paper and a pencil. Now ask yourself, “What is the ONE thing I need to do today to ensure the survival of my business or my life?” Write down the answer.

Read The One Thing by Gary Keller, the real estate guy behind Keller and Williams.

Maybe your one thing is sales calls on attorneys. Maybe you need to do your books. Whatever it is, it is the ONE BIG CLOG in the blender that keeps making everything else ooze over the edge.

Once you have that “ONE” thing, go back to your desk. Shut off the phone and close out your email and the web. Just do that one thing today–don’t stop until that one task is complete.

Tomorrow you will have a little less in the blender and you can start this process all over again.

TWO WARNINGS

1. Don’t you dare add anything else into the blender;
2. Only take out of the blender what you can DO that day.Or you will be guilty of self-sabotage. Before you know it, what’s in the blender will start to dissipate, and your brain will start to reprocess at a slower, healthier, more productive speed.

Dump the Blender Out on Paper Towels

OK…you can’t really dump out your brain…or can you? Yes, you can. Make three columns on a sheet of paper.

• At the top of column 1: IMPORTANT. These are big goals that have long-term impact on your business and life.
• At the top of column 2: URGENT. These items have immediate impact, but are usually more task oriented, or they are garbage you’ve accumulated from procrastinating.
• The last column is TO-DO.

These items can be delegated; pushed out; or better yet–forgotten, for now anyway. This is your brain dumped out on paper. Now you can choose what is absolutely essential to complete from the URGENT column and one item from the IMPORTANT column to work on ensuring your business longevity. See, that wasn’t so messy after all.

Acknowledge if You’re In a Constant State of Chaos

If you find that every day is like running a marathon…if you find yourself breathless in your business and your life, chances are you are engaged in self-sabotage warfare. In this state, you’ve probably bitten off more than you can chew. (Yes, even the best of us can find ourselves choking on all our brilliant ideas.)

You’re also not likely to be completing many of your initiatives and therefore not having effective impact. Falling short of your goals negatively affects your self-esteem and confidence. And the pressure of what you need to do and how to do it leaves you stressed, distressed, fearful and exhausted.

Here’s where you scream, HELP! Procrastination, inaction, lack of motivation, distraction–I could go on forever–are all forms of self-sabotage that are stopping you from enjoying the success you really want in your life.

You need to do some real inner work on why you are afraid to succeed. Yep, you heard that right. “What are you really afraid of, Missy?” Spend time thinking about this. If you can find the answer (let’s be honest), you can start to work on the problem. After all, you’ve put a lot into this business. You deserve to get a lot out of it.

Get practical strategies about dealing with blender brain and self-sabotage by watching the replay of Kathleen Aston’s webinar: Boost Your Business Skills: How to Develop More Self-Confidence.