Day 9: Immediately Feel Better

Earlier today I felt very overwhelmed.

Truth be told, I’ve felt this way off and on over the past few months. Going from stay-at-home mom (2010), to blogger (2013), to entrepreneur (2015), to freelancer (2018), to full-time employee (2022) back to entrepreneur (2024) has done a number on my psyche.

My biggest gripe when I was self-employed was inconsistent income. The Airbnb management since 2018 provides consistent cash flow but it’s not close to a living wage so it doesn’t provide me with a sense of security.

When I had the full-time employment I loved the consistent pay. Being able to contribute to a 403b and fix things around the house that desperately needed it made me so happy.

Now we’re back to the inconsistent income and it weighs on me.

A couple months back I asked my husband his thoughts on the lopsided contributions and he said we were fine and would be. Maybe not permanently: but for the foreseeable future.

That was a good balm. For a bit.

The little whispers started back when Carin and I put some money into META ads for a Q4 workshop we were hosting for our Success Secret Society members. We didn’t spend much but we also didn’t get any additional sign ups.

Being in business is such a roller coaster. There is so much testing and tweaking. Failing and getting feedback. Launching and then lounging.

I sometimes hate it. But, I mostly love it.

Ok, back to the thing I did this morning that immediately made me feel better…. that I think you can do too.

I took out one of my many handy dandy notebooks and at the top wrote:

I could feel my body relax while my brain got excited at the possibility to purge all that was dragging me down.

It only took about 10 minutes and less than a sheet of paper to get it all (well….can anyone really get it “all”) out.

And do you know what came from that little practice of me writing down my fears and expectations of self?

Clarity and inspiration on where to go next.

I recently shared in one of our podcast episodes (Honest Convos with Carin & Marcia) that our brains are processing units, not storage devices. When you free up thoughts that have been weighing you down, your brain can move quicker.

If you’re currently spinning out on something, or can sense a near breakdown on the horizon, try this exercise of getting it all out on paper. And if it ends up not being a to-do list, shred it.