“You are either growing or dying. Stagnation does not exist in the universe.”

– Steve Siebold

Are you growing or dying? What about your business?

If you’re here reading this, you’ve (perhaps unknowingly!) chosen the path of growth, but you might be feeling like you’re lagging, static or even going backward when it comes to your business. It’s been a remarkably challenging few years, navigating through a pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, travel restrictions and pressure on small business, so if you are feeling this way it’s wholly unsurprising!

Often when I meet my clients for the first time they tell me that they are stuck and feel as though they aren’t making the progress that they want. They liken the feeling to going around in circles or being trapped in a Groundhog Day scenario, where they always too busy but can’t see a clear path to their next level. They have finally had enough of it want to start taking things more seriously and grow into the potential they know exists!

If you sometimes feel like you’re going nowhere, like a hamster in a wheel, I invite you to come back to these words above from author and mental toughness expert Steve Siebold. You might disagree entirely that stagnation does not exist in the universe and believe that you or your business are living proof of that! But upon closer inspection you might discover that there is more to it than you first thought.

Taking time to reflect on these words when you are feeling stuck will help you critically assess the reality of the situation and determine whether you are actually moving forward and making progress, albeit slowly, or if in fact you are on a downward trend sliding back down the mountain. It can also help you identify where specifically things aren’t working as well as you’d like or expect.

More often than not, when it comes down to it, my clients realise they aren’t really stuck – they’re just tired and ready for a new level.

They are tired of doing it all themselves. Tired of trying to stay on top of everything. Tired of not having the right support. Tired of the endless late nights and weekends spent trying to catch up. Tired of never having enough time, to spend on the business, or to do the things they love with the people they love.

And maybe this is you too.

When you have been able to sustain consistent growth in a business for several years it can be difficult to notice and/or acknowledge when you begin to hit your limit. It can feel a bit like wading through a swamp, but you keep at it because that’s what you’ve always done. It just feels harder, and less fun than it used to be. When you spend the bulk of your days wading through the proverbial swamp you get worn down. You can easily lose your focus and enthusiasm and very quickly find yourself teetering on the edge of burnout.

There’s just too much to do and not enough time to do it.

The Antidote

In any area of life, including in business, when you cease growing that area, it very quickly begins to die. In this case it’s not that the business itself is necessarily “dying” or even declining, what actually happens is that your enjoyment of it begins to wane, your commitment to doing the work weakens and your ultimate vision is all but forgotten. You – the heart and soul of your business – slowly start to flatline.

This is never intentional, but therein lies the problem. Growth is intentional. It requires you to leave your comfort zone, over, and over, and over, and never stop. It’s very easy to get caught up in the “doing” of business and overlook the bigger picture and the underlying objectives of your mission. But when we neglect this intention (in any part of life) things don’t truly stay constant, they begin to die.

The key is to keep moving with intention. Let any feelings of fatigue, stuck-ness or perpetual Groundhog Days signal that it’s time to make a change, to regroup and purposefully determine what the next level looks like for you. Call time on doing it all yourself and discover how freeing up your time and energy can quickly put you back on the growth path.

For my perennially tired clients starting our work together is a turning point in their choosing growth. Where they have been reluctant to make changes or decisions, with the right conversations, genuine support and dedicated attention they start to see a clear path forward. One that considers their current reality and their bigger vision in addition to their own health and wellbeing. They learn that even small steps taken with intention can have a noticeable impact.

Any step you take toward something is a step toward growth. If you want to take more deliberate steps toward making your business work for you (rather than slowly crushing your soul!) check our coaching programs for business owners or book an Intro Call. Don’t settle for feeling stuck now that you know what the risks are!

Until next time,

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