Introduction

In the states, spring is approaching. This is a great opportunity to clean your mind and habits as you do your environment! Mindset is THE KEY difference between successful entrepreneurs and overworked entrepreneurs.

Mindset is a term that’s overused and has many meanings associated. What I’m referring to is both conscious and biological levels; changes in mindset are a game-changer for the success of your business! Also, an opportunity to remember the goal of being an entrepreneur, starting your own business if for freedom! Freedom of your time, energy, and also from the paradigm of capitalism mindset of overworking at the expense of wellbeing. Shifting the mindset away from harmful capitalistic ways of working, to sovereign entrepreneurship. Focus on doing work that aligns with your values, and living in integrity.

Plans Clogging Your Mind?

Writing to-do lists, using apps, and trying to manage your time doesn’t seem like it’s doing enough. It seems like you’re on a train; scrolling through your notes, making calls, and sending emails. You’ve got a meeting, then a conference call, then another meeting and you’re out for drinks with friends after work. But you still haven’t had time to reply to that email from last week. Though it seems like all this busyness is making you more productive, in reality, it’s doing more harm than good. There’s always so much stuff to do. And sometimes we lose sight of what’s most important — which is usually our productivity and happiness.

That’s because your brain reprioritizes your habits based on how they are associated with your survival.  You may be wondering what survival has to do with how you’re living. Our brains are still the same structure since the beginning of humankind. It’s wired to do one thing, keep you safe.

It’s always looking out for if a circumstance or person is safe or scary. That’s it. Today, survival means keeping a job so you have money to support yourself. Placing salary over your personal satisfaction in life, your value is tied to your worth. That’s toxic and you need to get our metaphorical cleaning tools to clean your mind.

Identify Inherited Toxic Beliefs

Growing up First-generation we inherited a great work ethic and persistence. We also inherited beliefs and habits that need to be spring cleaned! Here are a few:

1. Perfect = Survival: We had to be perfect otherwise our parents would be disappointed, in many cases you may have received punishment for not getting perfect grades.
2. Asking for help is not safe: Asking for help from parents may have resulted in yelling and shame around making mistakes, or not knowing all the answers.
3. Don’t trust anyone: Being in a foreign country, many first gen parents didn’t trust strangers, and sometime even family members! No sleep overs, or even something as harmless as getting a snack at school from a friend or even a pencil!  
4. Being your authentic self is not safe: Inherited racism forced us to become model minorities, habits driven by constantly disproving stereo types, microaggressions and aggressions, codeswitching, and enduring racism induced stress.

Tips to Spring Clean Your Mind

For first-generation women entrepreneurs, I have found this for myself and clients I’ve worked with, that these become THE BIGGEST BARRIERS to the success of their business and what keeps you overworked and burnt out. You have to overcome;

1. Self-worth tied to how much struggle you can burden
2. Being perfect tied to Survival
3. Asking for and receiving help
4. Trusting strangers
5. Value and use of money
6. Not being yourself

Tips to Keep your Mind Clean

You can learn all the business systems, and everything there is to starting and growing a business, but that’s not enough. You have to practice getting comfortable with

• Trial and error
• Learn as you go
• Not be a micro manager
• Analysis paralysis
• Being yourself, showing up authentically in your own business

Conclusion

You can’t think or rationalize your way to slowing down. You have to EXPERIENCE, practice, repeatedly do less, ask for and receive help, (cautiously) trust strangers, use money for experiences, and invest in yourself not just bills and business expenses. Practice working in environments and with people who fill your cup.

If you need personal guidance on HOW to do this, Schedule a Complimentary consultation session to get clarity on where you’re stuck!