I want to shed some light on the experience of fear and what that looks like in relation to burnout and success.
When I was getting started in practice I used to have this massive mindset block around the fear of success. It came with thoughts like:
- I don’t know enough
- I’ll turn into a cranky cow
- What if I’m a Scrooge McDuck?
- Maybe I’ll become snobby
We have all of these amazing projections about what fear of success looks like from seeing people who are in perceived successful roles and what comes along with that.
Unless we have a conversation about it and bring that fear into the light, it becomes a hidden, unspoken thing that whenever we go all ‘yes for success,’ we’re actually twisting it in the background into ‘I’m going to become Scrooge McDuck,’ or ‘we’re all going to be burnt out and twisted.’
What if I become so successful I become burnt out again?
A big fear that I hear a lot and that I had myself until I explored it was, ‘what happens if I become so successful that I get burnt out again?‘
Who has been burnt out before? Who’s had:
- a spectacular case of adrenal fatigue or,
- exhausted in the mornings and then eat lunch early or,
- need a nap in the afternoon or,
- would kill for somebody else to look after everybody at night
Many of us think that Success = Crazy, Manic, Busy
It’s a great exploration to actually notice if that’s the story that’s going on in your head.
As you may know, I went through burnout years ago, and my version of burnout was being:
- exhausted
- tired
- cranky
- not knowing what to do
- having recurrent thoughts
And then body systems started to shut down.
I know a whole bunch of our practitioners have had stories of chronic adrenal fatigue.
The person you were, is not the person you are now.
The thing is, the person that you were to get to that spot of burnout – whatever that burnout looked like – mental, physical, emotional or whatever – that person who got to that stage is not who you currently are.
It’s not who you perceive yourself to be in the future that turns into this successful person.
That person was there at that moment and learnt some really interesting stuff about:
- burnout
- how far you can push things
- things you did that weren’t necessarily in alignment with you – with your head or your heart
Burnout doesn’t have to be physical. It could be parental (too busy to show up for your kids), or something else.
What if success…
… Is actually really easy?
… Looks like a very spacious schedule?
… Means looking after yourself?
Don’t pull your past into your future
The fascinating thing is that what you’re doing is actually grabbing a past version of yourself and whacking it into your future. What we know about the past is that it’s happened and generally it happens for a reason. Usually a lesson or an experience.
So the person who was burnt out or turned into a cranky cow for her kids or had those physical signs and symptoms that they didn’t think they would have – that person is not the person that you currently are in this moment.
Current you is creating a future. But if you drag all of that into the future, you’re creating a future based on your past. So, of course, a variation of that past is going to occur for you again because you’re literally projecting it into the future.
But the person you currently are right now, with the tools, talents, skills, awareness of knowing about your fear, the wisdom that you have, the experiences and learnings that you had from your last version of burnout – that particular person would experience burnout in a totally different way.
The person you are now will experience success in a different way
So if this person – right now – with all of the new skills, talents, and awarenesses is creating a future, that person will create a very different future than that old burnt-out person.
The reason that we experience all of these different types of burnout is to learn lessons, have experiences and – in this moment (not the moment when you were burnt out but at this moment) – those skills, talents, lessons, and learnings make you a different person creating a future that is different from your past.
So when you are thinking, “I’m going to have this massively successful, awesome future!” but there’s an underlying fear of success and that it will cause burnout, it’s based on a whole bunch of stuff from your past. Lessons that you’ve already learned and experiences you’ve gained wisdom from.
Don’t ignore who you are now
If you’re focusing on your past experience and project that into your future, you’re ignoring who you are now and how you’ve grown.
In this present moment, you have all of the skills, talents, and experience to move forward and create success that is anything you want it to be.
Not the past you that:
- went through burnout
- listened to their family member or business orientated friend who told you burnout goes with success
- or believed that working hard is required to be successful
None of that is you currently, at this moment.
What I know to be true about the fear of success
This is what I know to be true about the fear of success because it may cause burnout.
In those moments where that fear is in your face, that it becomes a reality for you, realise that:
- You’re ignoring that you are a different person now from the person that you used to be.
- In every single moment, you’re a very different person than the previous moment. You have very different skills, talents wisdom, and experiences. And if you harness those things for good and be responsible with them rather than just react to them, you can create success however you want it to be. You can create any picture of success and what it looks like for you, and it can be based on you NOW.
Don’t react, respond.
If you don’t think you have the skills, talents, or wisdom, there’s a chance that you’re reacting to the past instead of responding to that new information.
When we’re reacting, it’s kind of like a childlike experience. It’s a bit like throwing a tantrum and saying “No! It won’t work for me!”
Remember that you’re not alone. Just about everyone has experienced some type of burnout. I had to close my clinic 3 different times because of burnout. But each time, I came out on the other side having learned something new.
When I:
- recognised what I really had a passion for and went for it with all my heart
- brought in all of my skills and talents and didn’t ignore the other things I knew
- was surrounded by people who could hold me to account to keep going after what I wanted
then success began to look like me:
- sitting at an aerodrome about to fly a helicopter
- about to take the next steps to bring Nutraceuticals and natural therapies to places that don’t usually get them
Your journey to success – without burnout!
I want to acknowledge everybody who is going through the process of understanding where their fears are taking them.
If you don’t think you have the skills and talents, or you’re not surrounded by people who can hold you accountable, I want to invite you to come and join us in the Natupreneur Journey.
Because this is the type of life that we live as humans and as practitioners. If you’re doing it alone and don’t know how to process this information, we have conversations like this every day. We’ve also got a whole bunch of tools to:
- help you see what’s happening now
- coach you through and
- get to those next moments so that you’re not stuck or pushing back against success
If you haven’t checked it out yet and you aren’t part of the Natupreneur Journey, my invitation is to go and check it out at TammyGuest.com/NatupreneurJourney. We’d love to have you along for the ride and of course all the other bonuses that go with that!
Your version of success doesn’t have to be cookie cutter to every other person’s version of success. You can create exactly what you want in line with your head and your heart when you know what that actually is.
Go do that thing, feel the fear and do it anyway!
Leave A Comment