Issue #48: What's draining you?

The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have one.

⭐️QUICK NOTE⭐️

This issue is the first in our foundation series where we’ll be chatting about how to begin adding more time for rest into your life and business! Check out last week’s issue for more details and be sure to read to the end of this newsletter for a special announcement!

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Hey friend!

As entrepreneurs living in a world where hard work is praised more than rest, we’re often told to keep pushing toward our goals regardless of how our mind and body are being affected by the constant hustle. So much so that exhaustion and burnout become so intertwined with who we are that when we DO decide that we want to change, it’s hard to come up with a solution. Mainly because we can’t see what the real problem is outside of just being exhausted or even worse, physically ill.

I believe that with a lot of care and therapy, you can heal from burnout and also separate yourself from the chokehold that hustle culture has on many of us. But in order to come up with a viable solution, you have to be clear on what’s draining you. What is it in your life and business that is causing you the stress and overwhelm that you’re constantly feeling?

I’ve shared with you before that in the past, I thought that I could heal myself from burnout simply by taking more naps. I immediately connected my feeling of exhaustion to the need for more sleep. I figured if I was tired then that meant my body just needed to catch up on what it was missing. While this temporarily fixed the issue…And when I say temporarily, I mean through the extent of the nap, as soon as I would get up and go back to work, the exhaustion and overwhelm would fall right back on me.

I remember one specific moment where I slept for an entire weekend. I did the absolute least because my body had hit a point where I felt like I couldn’t move. But even after sleeping for over 48 hours, a few days later I found myself right back where I started. Exhausted.

It took years of going through the stress cycle repeatedly before I realized that what I was doing was just masking the problem instead of digging deeper into what was causing the issue. Basically, I was just putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound. 🥴

I wasn’t able to fully recover from the stress and burnout until I realized that the reason I was constantly in a state of stress and exhaustion was because:

1. My business model and the way I was pricing myself was not sustainable for me.

2. I was chasing someone else’s idea of success. Trying to fit into a mold that was not built for me was wearing me out every single day.

Once I fixed those two issues (with the help of a lot of therapy) and worked on my addiction to work, I began to feel more rested and satisfied in my life and with the work that I was doing.

So if you’re like me, and you’re constantly finding yourself in and out of burnout or constantly feeling like you’re barely coming up for air, first I want you to know this: That is not how life is supposed to be lived. No matter what capitalism tries to make you believe. You are not supposed to be on the brink of burnout every single day.

Next ask yourself, “What specific instances make me feel overwhelmed or drained?” Is it when you’re doing something really specific in your business like working with clients or organizing your finances? Get very clear on what triggers that overwhelm.

Then ask yourself, “What aspects of my life or business, such as work, family, and personal commitments, do I frequently experience stress or pressure?” Is it a micro-managing boss? Is it family members that are constantly asking for help?

Once you’re clear on what’s causing the stress and overwhelm, then you’ll have a better idea of what needs to be done to fix the problem. For you maybe that looks like cutting down on the amount of meetings you take per week, setting better boundaries around family and friends, setting better boundaries around yourself 👀, or pivoting to a new business model (which we’ll talk more about in the upcoming weeks.)

Remember, you can’t fix a problem if you’re not aware of the real issue. Making surface-level fixes will only keep you in the same pattern of stress and overwhelm.

Cheers to an incredible week!

– Alisha

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

SOMETHING’S COMING 👀

Building community and sharing practical strategies like the ones in this week’s issue is intertwined into everything that I do in both my life and business. After months of planning and over a year of trying to talk myself out of it, soon i’ll be opening the doors to my new membership community, ROOTED. A private space to get the encouragement, resources, and support needed to prioritize rest and self-care into both your life and business. If you’re interested in being a part of this community with me, you can join now at half the price ($30/quarter) until I make the big announcement in a few weeks! Reply to this email or leave a comment below and I’ll share the link with you!

GOOD FINDS

🎥 YouTube just announced the launch of its new app, Youtube Create. This new addition is supposed to make editing video on your mobile device easier and more convenient for mobile creators.

🖥 The blogging boom is BACK and this is seriously the moment I’ve been waiting years for. As someone who got her start in the online space through lifestyle blogging, I’m really hype to see everyone digging back into writing more words. And Substack seems to be THE place to make that happen.

💄 Doing your makeup can be a daily form of meditation. So stop feeling bad about filling up that Sephora cart.

📚 Book publishers are jumping on the influencer bandwagon. Could this be your opportunity to get your book published?

DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE