Entrepreneur anxiety can be overwhelming, causing decision-making and progress to stall. Even the best individuals can feel paralyzed by “What if…” thoughts. However, with the right tools, it is possible to move past fear and regain control.
Face your fears as if your life depends on it, because living in fear keeps you from living. —Jeanette Coron
Three entrepreneurs and one executive leader reached out to me this week. Each requested one of the free, 30-minute consultations I offer.
All of them reported being steeped in debilitating fear — entrepreneur anxiety.
Entrepreneur anxiety is that gnawing sense of fear and doubt that sneaks in as you navigate the ups and downs of running a business. It’s driven by the pressure to succeed, fear of failure, and uncertainty, which can spiral into sleepless nights, indecision, and a loss of confidence in your ability to lead.
“What If…”: The Trap That Keeps You Stuck in Fear
As I spoke with them in private sessions via Zoom, I could see panic in their eyes and faces. Caught in the deadly undertow of catastrophizing, “What if…” thinking, these superstars were uncharacteristically paralyzed by their brains’ relentless, mean thoughts.
Here is a sample of the thoughts their brains were cranking out:
“What if I don’t recover?”
“What if my sales don’t improve?”
“What if my marriage ends?”
“What if we lose the deal?”
“What if my daughter doesn’t get into the school of her choice?”
And here is a sample of the knock-on effects that followed their “What if…” thoughts:
“I don’t know what’s happening to me, Susie. I cannot get in front of this terrible fear.”
“I haven’t really slept since mid-August.”
“All my healthy habits and rituals have fallen by the wayside.”
“I see images of my imminent demise in my mind 24 hours a day.”
“I feel like I’m caught in a mental loop of worst-case scenarios.”
These nastygrams from the brain may seem over the top at first glance. But if we take a moment and do a quick inventory of the greatest hits our brains have been playing over the last couple of weeks, most likely we’ll discover some doozies of our own.
These kinds of thoughts are a part of all of us. It’s what the brain does as a matter of course in its approach to helping us survive and stay safe.
These thoughts often stem from things like limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome, and the fear of taking risks. While our brain’s intentions are to protect us, these patterns can keep us trapped in anxiety and prevent us from reaching our true potential.
Conquer Your Entrepreneur Anxiety with This Simple Journaling Practice
I have created a very simple journaling exercise that each of us can do in as little as ten minutes when icky thoughts land and threaten to conquer our will, success, and happiness.
1) Grab your journal and a pen.
2) Set a timer for 5 minutes.
3) Ask yourself what the thoughts are that have you by the tail. Now, write each thought down in a “What if” format.
For example, if you are afraid your sales will never improve, write the thought something like this: “What if my sales never improve and my company goes under?” Leave several blank lines beneath each thought.
4) Now, go back to each painful thought you have written down, and in the space below each, convert the thought into an “Even if…” statement.
For example, let’s say your painful thought is “What if my daughter doesn’t get into the college of her choice, and she never finds her way in her life?” Beneath that thought, convert it into a better-feeling thought (that still feels true for you) beginning with “Even if…”
One such statement for this thought could be “Even if my daughter doesn’t get into the college of her choice, she has plenty of options in front of her. She may elect to take a gap year and travel, apply to other schools, find a fun and resume-building internship, or start her own enterprise. In any case, she is not doomed. It may not be her favorite thing to be denied the school of her choice, but it is certainly survivable.”
5) Read through your entire list of painful thoughts and their empowering counterparts. Can you feel the immediate relief this practice brings? Notice how we are becoming champions of our brains as we transmute fear into faith.
Reclaim Your Time and Energy from Entrepreneur Anxiety
None of us gets a pass from a brain that is hell-bent on pumping out scary thoughts, especially when we’re faced with fear and entrepreneur anxiety. We don’t have to surrender to the torrent, though.
We have a stalwart defense in the form of our journaling practice. Even if we do not journal each morning (gasp!), we can always dust off our journal and deploy its magical powers anytime we desire.
If we think back to all the moments we have wasted stuck in fear and cowering under the weight of entrepreneur anxiety and frightening thoughts, we might be saddened that we won’t get that time back.
We can end this squandering of precious time and energy right now. Let’s take enormous comfort in knowing that we can be at the helm of our brains and can find relief and agency at any moment we reach for it.
