Are you sabotaging your own business?
Fear is inevitable
There is no way to avoid the inevitable_ FEAR. Our minds are wired to protect ourselves from any perceived danger. As we pursue new levels of success in our career and approach entrepreneurship, we fear being embarrassed, making mistakes, public humiliation, exposure, failing in front of an audience. Fear can take over if we do not get control of our thoughts and actions.
Holding yourself back
In an effort to avoid feeling uncomfortable, people make excuses, avoid, distract and procrastinate. You pass up opportunities for growth and exposure. You resist change and refuse to invest the time and money required. You know the deadline is in two weeks, but wait til the day before. You know what to do and how to do it, but you still don’t do the actions required to get the results you want. And worst, you find some way to shift blame to someone else for why you didn’t get something done. These are all forms of self-sabotage. Perhaps, you’re struggling with mindset and motivation that you are able to achieve anything you put your mind to.
Motivation in motion picture
We all have limits, but we all don’t have excuses. Stay focused on the reason you started. Your why?
I took my daughter to see the movie “Hidden Figures” (You NEED to see this movie). This movie is about 3 African-American women worked as “human computers” for NASA in 1961, in the segregated south. Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson were major contributors to the USA space missions.
Many of my friends have taken their daughters to see this movie, because it was so much more than a movie. This was a cinematic presentation of possibility, perseverance and determination. It is still so relevant to the current political, socio-economic and racial climate in America in 2017.
Hope and faith were busting through every scene, in every line, in every song in this movie. I told myself that every time, I feel like moaning and groaning about my life not being fair, or something is too hard, or someone hurting my feelings, I will review this movie.
With tears flowing down my face, I watched these 3 phenomenal women, bust open stereotypes and break through barriers like super women. I looked over at my daughter, in the dark theater, watching this huge screen attentively… I realized, that I needed to walk my talk.
“If I was going to tell my daughter that she CAN be anyone she wants to be and do anything she wants, I had to lead the way.”
I saw aspects of myself in all three of those women:
I saw myself first as a woman with a desire to be the change and make a difference.
I saw myself as a black person, trying to fit into the mainstream American dream, where I am required to work twice as hard to prove I am not whatever stereotype I am labeled or assumed to be.
I saw myself as the single mother, feeling the guilt and weight of juggling a balanced life at home and work.
I saw myself as the first of the family to push boundaries and push past the tradition of what it means to be a black woman.
My tears flowed, because as I watched, I was reminded that these black women were knocking down barriers in the 1950-60s when segregation was law, women were not allowed, coloreds were not allowed, but they were “colored women” bending the rules and eventually dismantling those oppressive laws. Thank you, Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson for breaking glass ceilings.
Removing mindset blocks for success
“You are responsible for your life. You can’t keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is about moving on. If you’re sitting around, waiting on somebody to save you, to fix you, to even help you, you are wasting your time. Only you have the power to move your life forward.”
Oprah, is my auntie, (in my head) and some of her quotes are like a cool glass of water on a scorching hot day, exactly what you need, when you need it.
Although, I know this quote is true, there are disruptive patterns of thinking that have blocked my some of my success, over my lifetime. But, because I know, that all disruptive thinking can be changed with a mindset shift, I got to work on my mindset management.
What is blocking you from breaking your glass ceilings? Why have you struggled with feeling stuck? How will you change this?
Your answer: ________?
Shut the But Up and Get Your Shift Together
“There is always going to be a “but” and some reason or excuse why you can’t do something. Will you choose to focus on what you can’t or what you can?”
Watching this movie, reminded me I need to shut the but up and get my shift together, not just for me, but for my daughter, my niece, all the girls coming up behind me. I needed to step up, so I could reach back for them, just like Octavia Spencer’s character in the movie, helped the women behind her.
Over time, I got so tired of my disruptive thinking, I started working on my mindset shift, every day, all the time, until it worked. I prayed for wisdom, for clarity, for courage.
We all have some obstacle, barrier, people or environment, that can pose a challenge to our progress in life.
However, as Oprah states, we are responsible for what we choose to do with those obstacles. I encourage you to watch this movie, start working on your mindset shift now. We get to decide, how we will respond, what thought we will have, what plan we will put into action.
When are you going to shut the but up and get your shift together?
About The Author:
Seneca Williams, LMHC (Ask Coach Sen) is "The Entrepreneurs’ Therapist". She is an online therapist, speaker and international coach for entrepreneurs, ready to breakthrough business anxiety & beat business burnout so they can build businesses that match and replace their 9-5 income. The mission is to provide a mental health positive community, for women entrepreneurs, to cultivate "mental wealth" & conquer their business!