Episdoe 20: How To Tell If You Are A Burnt Out Service Based Entrepreneur

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:00.598 --> 00:00:08.458
We hear the term burnout all the time. But what does that actually mean? And are you actually burned out or not?

00:00:08.999 --> 00:00:24.719
Well, on today's episode, I'm about to share with you the signs and symptoms that tell you whether or not you are a burnt out service based entrepreneur or not. That's all coming up here next on breaking the entrepreneur burnout cycle podcast, so stay tuned.

00:00:31.410 --> 00:00:58.350
Welcome to breaking the entrepreneur burnout cycle, your go to resource helping service based entrepreneurs break free from burnout. Each week, you will learn how to identify and eliminate subconscious habits so that you can create a thriving business with greater income, greater impact, and the freedom to live life to the fullest while having your time, energy and health. This is breaking the entrepreneur burnout cycle.

00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:58.650
Hey, everyone, welcome into another episode. I'm your host, Dr. Reana, Mulcahy. And today we are talking all about what are the signs and symptoms of burnout? How do I even know if I am a burnt out service based entrepreneur or not? And the reason we're talking about this is because the other day, I got off of a podcast interview. And during that podcast interview, the host asked me a really great question that I think a lot of us don't actually know the answer to or that a lot of us don't actually take the time to explain. And that question was, how do I actually know if I am a burnt out service based entrepreneur or not? And I wanted to talk about that today.

00:01:58.650 --> 00:03:10.259
Because let's be honest, how often do you hear the word burnout? Right? It's kind of become this, like buzzword, this hot buzzer word where we hear people use this term burnout all the time. And we hear it being used all the time by entrepreneurs, and really just anyone who has hit adult life, because let's be real sometimes adulting can be hard, right? And all jokes aside, I still think that it's an important topic to discuss the signs and symptoms, not just of entrepreneurs who are at the point of burnout, but also the early signs and symptoms, because the reality is that burnout isn't just like happening, something like something that's happening overnight. Right? Burnout is a progressive thing. It acts like a progressive illness where it doesn't just happen overnight, but rather it happens over a period of time. And during those periods of times, there are signs and symptoms that can help you catch it early, just like any progressive illness, right.

00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:30.240
And so, understanding the spectrum of burnout, I think can be extremely helpful. So that it doesn't require you to get to 10 out of 10 burnout, until you start realizing Holy crap, I need to do something, right.

00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:42.810
Because at that point, just like if you caught a, you know, progressive illness later on, like cancer, for example, right it when you catch it late, it becomes a lot harder to treat.

00:03:38.819 --> 00:05:59.819
And the same thing is true with burnout, where if you catch your burnout, late to the point where you are already at a 10 out of 10. It can be a lot harder to treat, than if you were to have tret excuse me, if you were to have treated it earlier on by catching the early signs and symptoms. And so I wanted to talk about this because if there is anything that I know about entrepreneurs, it's that you most likely consider yourself a high achiever, am I right? And while that is an amazing thing, and while I love that about you, I know that on the flip side of the coin, I see this all the time that on the flip side of the High Achiever coin, it also means that you have a very high pain tolerance, for stress and for the symptoms of burnout, which, while that's a good thing and a bad thing, right, the bad part of it is that it oftentimes causes so many service based entrepreneurs to ignore the signs to ignore the symptoms that are trying to communicate with them. That Hey, this is not working And we are on the path to burnout. Right? We are in the spectrum. And ultimately, they end up waiting until it's gotten to the worst possible point, simply because many times we often don't actually know what burnout should look like. And, you know, we've learned and been indoctrinated in this idea that burnout looks a certain way, and that it's kind of like the extremes of burnout. And as a result, we ignore many of the early signs. And I don't want that to be you. Which is why today I'm talking all about how to know whether or not you are a burned out entrepreneur, so that you can take action now, rather than waiting till you get to that 10 out of 10 point where you're unable to function. And you're just kind of like, you don't care about things you can't even recognize yourself.

00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:04.620
Because the things that used to be joyful, are no longer joyful.

00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:24.870
And, you know, at this point, many entrepreneurs either throw in the towel in their business, or they're considering it. And I don't want that to be used. So this is what we're going to be talking about. Now. Most entrepreneurs believe that burnout is an extreme definition. How do I know that?

00:06:20.550 --> 00:08:54.750
Well, I know that because most entrepreneurs ignore the signs and symptoms. And they say things all the time to justify their exhaustion and their signs of stress by saying things like, I'm fine, or I'm not burnt out, I'm just in a busy season. And I know that this will pass. Or they say things like, that's just part of business, being in business is hard, right. And they use this to justify why they're feeling exhausted, or why they're feeling chronically stressed. And operating from this belief is very dangerous, because it is analogous to like ignoring the check engine light on your car, when it goes off, where even though the car can still run and still get you from point A to B, it doesn't mean that you are potentially not doing irreversible damage to the engine. And the same thing is true for you and your own physical, mental, emotional well being not just as a business owner, but as a person as a, you know, a wife, a husband, a parent, a friend. And, in fact, the statements that I hear people say all the time about being fine. And the symptoms being a normal part of life. And a normal part of entrepreneurship is actually a cop out. It's a cop out, it's an excuse, or a way to justify why this is okay. And these are merely ways to continue kind of avoiding looking at the problem, because it's just easier that way. Right. But just like in the analogy of the car, continuing to ignore it doesn't mean the problem goes away. In fact, if there's anything we know about ignoring the check engine light, it's that it most likely gets worse over time. So the same is true for you and your business and your health and your well being. And yet, we're treating it as if we are this like invincible. machines that can never break. And so you're probably at this point, like, Yeah, I know, I've been ignoring it. But I'm not sure. And so what are the signs and symptoms that might indicate that you're in the early phases of burnout?

00:08:49.620 --> 00:09:04.259
Or do you relate to the analogy where your check engine light has gone on? Now, for the early phases, I've kind of categorized them into two categories. Okay.

00:09:04.710 --> 00:09:09.000
Now, the first category is what I call a stressed entrepreneur.

00:09:09.750 --> 00:09:53.129
And if you are in this category, then I am willing to bet that you are still very much in love with your business and what you do. You're still extremely motivated and excited about the vision that you're working towards. But you might have noticed maybe one or more of the signs. One of the signs is you've got so much to get done in your business, that you're beginning to work extra hours, like instead of eight hours, you're now working 10 to 12 hours in order to meet deadlines. And because of that you're missing out on family dinners or weekend outings with friends or whatever it is.

00:09:54.720 --> 00:10:32.820
Another sign that I've seen is that you notice some clients questions and be behaviors irritate you, or they upset you, or they get under your skin, right? But you're still able to let it go easily, and not let it fester. Like you can still function, you can still go on with your day. And it doesn't really impact the well being of yourself during the day. Okay, or maybe it's, you've noticed that it takes you at least 30 minutes to fall asleep, because it feels like your brain is going a million miles an hour.

00:10:29.250 --> 00:13:38.730
And you can't shut your brain off. Because you're constantly like, either replaying scenarios and thinking of things that you need to get done. But once you do fall asleep, you know, at this point, you're still able to stay asleep and, you know, wake up the next morning, and get on with your day. Now, that would be one or more of these, you know, would be considered the early phase called the stressed entrepreneur. Now, the second category that I've created is the chronically stressed entrepreneur, okay? If you are in this category, then I'm willing to bet that you're able to function, you're able to get things done in your business, you still love what you do. But you're starting to notice yourself, saying more of the things like I'm exhausted, or, and you're saying I'm exhausted almost on a daily during the week. Or you might have noticed one or more of these things where even when you're not working, your mind just can't seem to stop racing, right? Like you're constantly in your mind planning and trying to solve problems. And that keeps you from falling be aiming for excuse me fully being able to relax. Another one is even the smallest things are setting you off, where you snap over something as small as like a misplace item at home and, or traffic. And you just really struggle to keep a calm tone during conversations. And you kind of just feel like this ticking time bomb of frustration and irritability. Or maybe it's you've begun to notice that not only does it take you at least 30 minutes to fall asleep. But you're also noticing that you've been waking up in the middle of the night, at least two times a week, right. And these two categories, right, the problem I see when entrepreneurs are in these early phases of burnout is that they just push through, and they continue to ignore the signs and symptoms, they continue telling themselves things will get better, once I make more money. And once I hire a team, or they keep telling themselves that this is just a season of business, it won't be like this all the time, it will eventually get better. But here's the reality, if you continue to push through and ignore the signs and symptoms, then most times what this does is it actually leads to the last category, which is the hardest category, in my opinion to heal from, because it requires the most amount of time, energy and resources to heal from this. And this third category is the burnt out service based entrepreneur.

00:13:40.320 --> 00:14:16.830
Now, if you're a burnt out service based entrepreneur, then I am willing to bet that you might be experiencing one or more of these things, where you're noticing that the things that you used to enjoy no longer bring you any joy. And you just aren't sure why that's happening. Like you kind of just feel like this actor in your own life lately, where you're just going through the motions at work and at home, but you're not really enjoying what you're doing. And you're not finding comfort in the normal routines.

00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:51.000
Or maybe it's for the last few weeks, you've been avoiding calls and just skipping social gatherings because you simply don't have the energy to engage in even the most casual interactions. Or maybe it's out of the blue, you suddenly have these intense anxiety attacks, where your heart starts racing you feel shortness of breath while doing normal things. Like grocery shopping or just making everyday decisions, right? And you just are so confused and unsure of why this is happening.

00:14:45.509 --> 00:16:13.350
Or maybe it's you've noticed at least weekly, that you just don't care about things that are happening in the business. Right and Sometimes you might even notice that you, in a sense, resent the business, because you're just exhausted. And the reason getting to this point takes so much more time, energy and resources to heal from, is because this is what I consider rock bottom. This is the point where there's pretty much nothing left in the tank. To the point that I've seen, it lead to just significant health problems that require a significant amount of time, energy and money, to go to doctor's visits to receive medications and therapy for and to treat the problems, right the symptoms that are occurring, or I've seen it lead to major relationship problems, and sometimes even divorce, which both can be very expensive, right, especially if you go to therapy together. Or, as we know, divorce is actually pretty expensive. And sometimes I've even seen it get to the worst part, which is, some business owners just completely throw in the towel, on their business and on their dreams.

00:16:07.409 --> 00:16:18.090
And so that is rock bottom, that is the burnt out entrepreneur.

00:16:13.350 --> 00:16:43.019
And so you are probably listening to this and you're like, I actually don't think I'm at the last part. And if you are, it's not to worry, and not to say that you can't get out of it, it's just to say that it might take more time, energy and resources to get out of it. But if you're in those early phases, do it that is what I consider like some of the best places to begin the healing process.

00:16:44.220 --> 00:17:47.819
Because you're not at a point where you're starting from the bottom of the hill. And if you are already at the bottom of the hill, where you're 10 out of 10 burned out, please know that I was there to cry. I was there to not just once in my corporate job. But again, in my cookie business, which was the first business that I ran, and I know how hopeless it can feel. And I want you to know that it, there is a way out there is a better way, there is a way to get out of burnout. And if you're in the early phases, then it comes down to the choice really being yours. You can either face and address the signs and symptoms in the early phases. Or you can keep pushing through and potentially ending up at this third phase, which is the burnt out service based entrepreneur.

00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:52.559
So my question to you really is, which will you choose? Right.

00:17:47.849 --> 00:19:02.400
And if you are someone who is listening to this and you're ready to stop ignoring the signs and symptoms, then I'm offering a free consultation where we will diagnose which phase of burnout you are in. And then we will create an individualized plan to just help you begin the process of breaking free from burnout for good. So that you can finally have a business that gives you the impact the income and just the freedom to be able to enjoy not just your business, but to enjoy your personal life to enjoy the relationships that you're doing this all for. And if this is something that you're interested in, you can do one of two things. You can either shoot me a DM on Instagram, you can find me at Dr. Reana Mulcahy Orr, I've linked up in the show notes below the free console, Schedule link. And all you have to do is go and click that. Find a time that works for you. And let's chat. Because it is time that you no longer let this rule the way that you show up in your business and in your life. And so that's all I have for today.

00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:28.529
And as always, if you found this helpful, then share it with a friend, share it with a colleague, share it with anyone that you feel would benefit from hearing what some of the signs and symptoms of burnout could be. And to help them understand that there is a better way so that we can continue this movement to end burnout for good. And so that's all I have.

00:19:28.769 --> 00:19:46.950
Again, thank you so much to each and every one of you for tuning in every Wednesday. I love what I do. And I can't wait to keep bringing on guests and bringing on more of the lessons and knowledge that I've learned so that you can accelerate your healing process.

00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:59.039
I will see you guys next Wednesday. And until then, please know that I am rooting for you and I'm rooting for your thriving life and your thriving business. So I'll see you next week and bye for now.

Episdoe 20: How To Tell If You Are A Burnt Out Service Based Entrepreneur

Listen On

Recent Episodes