Hi,
This is Maxine Dunn,
Writer,
Voice actor,
And longtime entrepreneur.
So I have come to deeply understand the power of mindset in both business and daily life.
And today,
I want to help you if you're having feelings of being overwhelmed.
And I'll talk about how to turn overwhelm into confidence.
So today's talk is titled,
Turn Overwhelm into Confidence,
Two Easy Steps.
So do you agree that the unpleasant term overwhelm may as well be a four-letter word when it comes to your entrepreneurial efforts?
Well,
All kinds of efforts,
But particularly entrepreneurial efforts.
And let's not forget overwhelm's cousin,
The word stuck.
These two words describe a state of mind or emotion where you're having difficulty moving forward or even accomplishing anything at all,
Where you feel like there's just too much to be done and you don't know where to start.
I think a state of overwhelm is usually caused by two things.
Number one,
Having too many things on your to-do list or trying to accomplish too many things at once.
And number two,
Feeling like everything you do has to be perfect before you can move forward.
The danger of being immobilized,
Stuck,
Or not knowing what to do next is that it's impossible to move forward or move your business forward during that period of inaction.
And I want to point out that there's a big difference between quiet periods of introspection,
Analysis,
And incubation,
Which are all good,
And overwhelm,
Desperation,
Or inertia,
Which are not so good.
So here are a few signs that indicate you may be feeling stuck or overwhelmed.
You have a to-do list that keeps repeating itself week after week,
Nothing's getting done.
Or your list of things to accomplish is a page or more long.
Next,
You feel a sense of dread when you go to bed at night,
Knowing that you're going to have to face a lot of choices again in the morning.
You're losing sleep over where to start or how to prioritize your goals.
Next,
You have thoughts cross your mind,
Particularly if you're an entrepreneur of any kind,
You have thoughts cross your mind that you need to just get a job,
Like a nine-to-five job,
And give up on all this entrepreneurial stuff now,
And throw in the towel.
And I have to say,
Don't worry if you're noticing any of these symptoms,
Because if you follow my two suggestions here,
Within a short period of time,
You'll be able to get back on track,
And those unpleasant feelings of being overwhelmed or stuck will be a thing of the past.
Let's get right to the two steps you can take immediately to get yourself moving forward.
Step number one,
The one question to ask to get yourself unstuck.
One primary reason you're feeling overwhelmed or stuck is because you've created too many choices for yourself,
And a confused or overwhelmed mind will just say no to everything.
So here's your strategy to get this handled.
First,
Pick a category on your to-do list,
Like marketing or learning,
Etc.
Now ask yourself this question,
What is one single thing I can do today to move this project forward?
Then do that one thing.
And once you've completed it,
Make sure you take a moment to feel the sense of satisfaction that comes from having successfully taken one step.
This may be as simple as just tidying your desk,
Or making one phone call,
Or as involved as deciding on a color scheme for your new website.
Then decide that tomorrow you'll do just one more thing.
Don't underestimate the power of completing one mini-goal at a time.
You'll find that deciding to take action on just one single thing at a time develops momentum,
And before you know it,
You'll have broken through that stalemate of overwhelm,
Inertia,
And be back in the driver's seat.
Okay,
Step number two,
Make your standards easier to meet.
Be willing to take imperfect action.
Decide for now to relax any perfectionistic tendencies you may have,
And be willing to take imperfect action.
You may think that your website,
Or your new product,
Or your voiceover demo,
Or your Etsy shop has to be perfect before you can proceed,
And of course that day never comes.
There are always improvements that can be made to any creative endeavor.
So I want you to make your standards easier to meet by saying this to yourself,
Done is better than perfect.
I'll say that again,
Done is better than perfect.
Another way of saying this is,
Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction.
It's so seductive to keep refining and revising and worrying over whether something you're creating for your business is good enough,
Or perfect,
Whether,
Again,
It's your podcast,
Your newsletter,
Or your product.
The number one most important key to getting unstuck is to just get going,
Whether everything's perfect or not.
You can course correct once you're off the ground.
Remember the saying,
You can't steer a parked car.
And a number of my own coaches have used the phrase,
Good is good enough.
It doesn't mean that what you're doing is substandard.
It means that you've done the best you can right now,
And you're moving forward in good faith,
Knowing that you will improve on things as time passes.
So if you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed,
Here again are the two simple steps to get yourself unstuck and moving forward once more.
Number one,
Ask yourself,
What is the one single thing I can do today to move this project forward?
Number two,
Make your standards easier to meet.
Be willing to take imperfect action.
Remember,
Being a solopreneur has unique challenges,
And sometimes it's literally your own mindset you have to wrangle to keep things moving along.
I promise that taking these two steps will help you do just that.
So thanks so much for listening today.
I hope to connect with you again soon.
Have a beautiful day and bye for now.
