When Guilt Takes Over Your Business

Overwhelm. Panic -whereismystoppbutton!?! I should be doing this. And this, and that. I need to do this!

Stop.

Just breathe for a moment. Let’s back it up a moment. To the beginning. When it was all fun, it was about what you liked doing, what excited you. When you were doing stuff because you wanted to, not because you had to. Whatever happened to that?

Now you are stuck with words like I need to do this, I should do this, I have to do that, if I only… and the list of things you should be doing only grows.

Guilt, my friend. Guilt has become your companion. Your everyday friend. Guilt lives there with you, it stays. Maybe it will dissapear momentarily but don’t worry, when night comes it will be back. haunting you with all the things you never did during the day and telling you about everything you need to do the next day. And there you lay, awake with a tummy ache and spinning thoughts that won’t let you sleep.

And the next day you try to push Guilt away, but as a true friends it reminds you again that it’s still there. Nudging you, pinching you every so often so you don’t forget it’s there.

Guilt has taken over your life. Without you even realizing it.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s give Guilt a kick in the back to understand that it needs to back off.

• Step back – go back to the beginning. Why did you start. Evaluate where you are today and what made you happy when you started. Before you knew about all the things you should be doing.
• Make a list of all the things you should be doing that you don’t enjoy doing. Decide to delete them from your life. Toss them out the window or find someone who actually enjoy doing it. And remember there is always someone out there who loves to do what you hate.
• Make a list of all the things you want to do. Because they make you happy, because that is what will help make the world a better place. It will change someone’s life.  Start doing them.
• Make a list of what feelings you want to be the center of your life. Is guilt in there? I’m pretty sure it isn’t. Instead you may be writing feelings like, joy, satisfaction, gratitude, love, balance. The list can be long. Keep the list but decide on three feelings you want to concentrate on during the day.
• Get your todo lists in order. Or skip them. Crete a system. Whatever works for you. Get organized. You will be thankful for the time you spent on it.
• Trust that you are exactly where you need to be, even if you have’t updated your Twitter status in a month…
• Remember to make active choices. You are in charge.

Guilt has become the everyday companion to many business owners and they don’t even realize. But don’t blame yourself, change it. You cannot profit with passion if you are letting guilt rule your life.

Tell me, how has guilt affected your business? Or how have you kept it away? Leave a comment below, I’d love to know your thoughts.