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Subject: Is this really a business problem?
Most business problems are personal problems in disguise.
My coach said that to me years ago, and I didn’t want it to be true.
But my 2am anxiety spirals begged to differ.
I was struggling with something in my business—I don’t even remember what. Probably something money-related. But I was so anxious, I couldn’t sleep.
My brain kept waking me up at 2am stressing about it.
“No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t figure out what to do differently,” I told him, hoping he’d hand me a quick fix and put an end to my anxiety-induced night sweats.
“Well, you know,” he said, “Someone once told me that most business problems are personal problems in disguise. Maybe there’s something else happening here?”
He tossed it out so casually.
Oh hey, this problem is actually about YOU.
As a therapist, this should have come as no surprise to me.
But at the time, my “business brain” and my “therapist brain” were totally compartmentalized.
When I was working on my business, my frontal lobe was the star of the show. My executive functioning would kick into high gear, trying so hard to find simple, logical solutions to my business problems.
But I’ve learned that the problems waking me up at night are rarely the type of problems that can be solved logically.
It’s true—business problems that can’t be resolved with a quick question to ChatGPT are probably about you.
At first, this felt really overwhelming.
I was already going to therapy, reading self-help books, learning how to set boundaries, et cetera, et cetera.
And now I needed to do personal work inside my business, too?!
“My business is the thing I do to DISTRACT myself from thinking about my personal problems!” I wanted to say.
Let’s be honest…
For many of us, our work is the thing that makes us feel competent, effective, and useful. We’re service providers because we like helping people. And we like that we’re good at helping people. There’s no shame in feeling good about being good at helping others!
But it gets sticky when you use your business to avoid your inner work. This avoidance will eventually manifest as problems in your business.
Your business is a blank slate upon which you are consciously and unconsciously projecting your personal problems.
And I think that is amazing.
You get to help people, make money, and heal yourself—at the same time!
Once I stopped problematizing the interplay between my personal life and business, a whole new world opened up for me. In this new world, I use my business as a mirror to see myself more clearly. I approach my “business problems” with loving curiosity.
→ What lesson is here for me to learn?
→ How are my old stories contributing to this struggle?
→ Can I use this growth edge to deepen my personal healing?
My business is going to help thousands of people—but most importantly, it’s going to help me.
That is magical symbiosis.
This week, I’m inviting you to get curious about which of your business problems are really personal problems in disguise.
Here are a few questions to get your gears turning:
- Is there anything waking you up at 2am with anxiety?
- Which business problems show up again and again, no matter how hard you try to avoid them?
- Do you join programs and courses to find the solution to your problem, only to end up back where you started?
- Does everything feel like an uphill battle for you when other people seem to flow from goal to goal with ease?
- What frustrates you the most about being a business owner?
Write down your answer.
Now, meet yourself with compassion.
You’ve been struggling with this for ages. You’ve done so much work already, and it sucks that this problem is sticking around like a zit that just won’t quit. It’s a lot, and I hope you’ll be kind to yourself about it.
Next, ask yourself these two questions:
- How is this business problem related to your personal work?
- What is needed to help you heal the source of this struggle?
Those are big questions, and you might not be able to answer them right now. But if you give yourself permission to erase the line between your “business brain” and “personal brain,” I bet you’ll discover something new about yourself that makes everything feel a whole lot easier.
Your business holds the key to your healing.
Are you ready to unlock the door?
Warmly,
Maegan
