My ponder this week is to share a few negative emotions and behaviours that many of us can tip into, and share what I believe can massively help us manage in a world that can create so much fear, so much rush, and so much comparison.

None of these emotional reactions help us to thrive. They are detrimental to our joy, our trust and our personal growth.

and.. I have felt them all.

So my Ponder this week with you is about FEAR, RUSH and COMPARISON.

I want to rationally discuss them with you, and make suggestions

FEAR is viral and it is a virus.

We know that we can be controlled by fear, we can be kept down by fear. Fear is a powerful force, and it is all around us.

People pass on fear, it feels good to discuss all the ways the world is wrong.

Being driven by fear can create these negative results

1. Stifled Creativity

2. Decision Paralysis

3. Reduced Risk Tolerance

4. Lowers Morale

5. Poor Communication

6. Short-Term Focus

7. Reputation Damage

Personally, I avoid the energy of fear, my body cannot tolerate it. I chose to live in a place where fear does not exist.

RUSH

Fear creates a sense of RUSH, it creates time scarcity and it impacts our belief that there is enough in the world for us all.

The results of rushing are

1. Reduced Quality of Work

2. Burnout

3. Impaired Decision-Making

4. Strained Relationships

5. Loss of Strategic Focus

6. Health Consequences

COMPARISON

You know that comparison is ‘the thief of joy’ (Theodore Roosevelt), but it is also so much more than that. Social media has given us so many positive gifts, however, the worst aspect is comparison. Most of the time we are comparing ourselves with an illusion of someone’s life.

Here are the negative impacts of comparison, all impacting our ability to thrive and grow

1. Reduced Confidence

2. Distraction

3. Innovation Stagnation

4. Misalignment with our own Core Values

5. Misallocation of Resources

6. Increased Stress

7. Potentially Impairing Customer Relationships

8. Violating your ability to plan the business you want to have.

The answer to anyone that experiences FEAR, RUSH and COMPARISON

We believe so deeply in the power of being in a business community, it is the one thing I seek to encourage in business, it is my absolute reason for being in business, and it is founded on years of evidence.

Let me explain why I know community is the answer.

Firstly, too many business owners have become lone wolves, hunting alone, learning alone, surviving alone. By the very nature of choosing to be a business owner, we all have to have an independent streak. Independence can be an overdone strength.

Within a well loved and managed community, we can feel love.

True community is about a sense of belonging, a sense of feeling a deep connection to others, and through this connection, confidence rises. Fear does not like confidence. When you have a deep sense of togetherness and belonging, this raises a critical brain chemical – Oxytocin. When oxytocin rises, the output is confidence. My whole life has been driven by the desire to love, this is why I build community. Love in business exists and is powerful for business owners.

Let me share some common feedback we receive…

“I feel safe”– When you join a curated community with strong values of safety, love and open communication, we witness truth. We have to feel safe to be truly ourselves, to share the ways we need help, the vulnerabilities in our life and business and to know that others have felt this way also. Others have overcome adversity, no one judges you. Business is not a straight line, nor is life.

“I feel normal here”– this is one of the most exciting things a new member can say to us. By hearing other people speak their truth, we realise that our journey through business is normal, we are not inadequate, we are enough.

“I am growing here, personally and professionally”– once we deeply connect, we open our minds to learning, we adopt a greater ‘growth mindset’, taking fear away, our brain has the energy to learn. We no longer use any surplus energy to protect ourselves.

“I am experiencing ‘peaceful progress” – when you remove fear, your nervous system calms down. Our daughter, Hannah Power, uses a phrase that we love with our BIPPers, ‘peaceful progress’. This is the sense of trust in ourselves that we don’t need to rush, panic, or compare ourselves with false illusions of success. We are driven more by our desire to have impact than the need to protect ourselves.

As a long term business owners, since 1998, Thomas and I have been through the most momentous challenges, personally and professionally, financially and emotionally. We create a safe, loving business community as we know what it takes to thrive, we know that we need to thrive alongside others.

This week, feel your emotions, allow yourself to feel free of them, we don’t need to plug into fear, we don’t need to spend time with others that like to spread fear, and we don’t need to rush, compare or feel inadequate. Without doubt, you are enough, and there are many other business owners, that walk the same path that would like to see you thrive.

Thank you for reading this far. Know you are loved.

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