What to Do When Your Brain Tries to Talk You Out of Doing Business
“If the damned were asked: ‘Why are you in Hell?’ they would answer: ‘For having resisted the Holy Spirit.’
And if the saints were asked: ‘Why are you in Heaven?’ they would answer: ‘For having listened to the Holy Spirit.’
When good thoughts come into our minds, it is the Holy Spirit who is visiting us. The Holy Spirit is a power” (St. Jean Vianney).
Feeling frazzled in your business? No matter what phase of business we’re in, we all have days when we feel all over the place. We think, “Nothing is working. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
We either are paralyzed by fear, staring at a computer or a to-do list and doing nothing … or we frantically tackle lots of tasks (email, social, podcasts, etc.) with hustle energy, and two hours later, we didn’t accomplish anything meaningful and yet we’re exhausted.
Either way, your brain is going to tell you even more loudly, “Nothing is working. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Take a deep breath.
These thoughts are totally normal. Your brain was designed to keep you safe. Its top three priorities are avoiding risk, avoiding pain, and being efficient. Entrepreneurship goes against all three instincts, so your human brain tries to talk you out of doing business—often. I think, for most of us, it’s every three days.
Every three days, the brain says, “Let’s get her to stop doing business. It feels so dangerous and scary. Distract her with … anything!”
Look to the Lord
Your brain has been with you since the beginning, so it’s really good at talking you out of things. Once you come to expect that your brain will try to distract you from your business, you will see its tactics more clearly:
You should really be doing the laundry right now.
Maybe you should listen to a podcast for inspiration.
Let’s make a spreadsheet!
The bad news is that your brain will never stop doing this. The good news is that your brain loves you, and it’s just trying to keep you safe. You now have awareness of its tricky ways, you can thank it for trying to keep you safe and do the thing that always works.
The answer, as it always is, is God.
When our brain tries to talk us out of doing business, we often stop looking at the Lord. Instead, we often look to ourselves to figure things out. We think we should have the answer. We feel a heavy weight of pressure. We stop gazing at God’s face and trusting him.
When this happens to you, you probably feel alone. The feeling of panic or fear is probably washing over you. You’re Peter on the water, and you just took your eyes off of Jesus.
Turn back to him.
“A Pencil in God’s Hand”
If God called you to business, he will give you everything you need. He will give you inspiration, ideas, challenges, the perfect podcast episode that you need to hear before launching your course, the right friend, the right coach … whatever knowledge you need will come from the Holy Spirit.
As Mother Teresa (St. Teresa of Kolkata) said, you are a pencil in God’s hand. You do not have to figure it all out. Take out a piece of paper, light a candle, and spend some time in prayer. Then, when you feel ready, ask the Lord, “What should I do next?” It’s amazing how much clarity he will give you.
I also like to ask God, “What do my people need to hear today? What do you want me to teach them?” I often create new products or workshops from the inspiration I receive when I ask him this question.
Entrepreneurship can feel so lonely, but now you know that anytime you feel that way, it might be because you’ve stopped doing business with God. As soon as you bring him back into your work, you will feel much calmer and more peaceful.
You’ve got this!
Sterling Jaquith lives in Northern Idaho and homeschools her six kiddos. She helps women build simple, holy, and profitable businesses. She teaches her clients how to rely on the Holy Spirit for business decisions and oh man, it's a much more peaceful way to run a business! Her Market Like An Evangelist workshop is very popular and is free at www.madeforbusinesscoaching.com. She also runs a life coaching membership for Catholic moms at www.madeforgreatness.co.