In each entrepreneurial journey, there comes a time when it feels as though circumstances are conspiring against us.

Collaborations begun in great enthusiasm fizzle out.

There is tepid response to our marketing efforts.

We get little or no activity in our FB groups.

We get an email notification to say another person has left the community we painstakingly built up – and we don’t know why.

We start to wonder:

• Where am I going wrong?
• What do I need to fix?
• Is this a sign that it’s time to let go of this project / goal / dream?

I’ve been going through some soul-searching recently as I seek a holistic way that integrates all my passions for personal development, my Christian faith, my love of essential oils, the Hero’s Journey, and what it means to show up in the world as an empowered introvert.

The biggest challenge has been dealing with the voices in my head.

You know them – the ones that criticize and condemn, are quick to forecast disaster, and that make you doubt your worth and your place in the world.

I have not tried to eliminate the voices entirely.

What I have been working on and am striving for is Emotional Neutrality.

To be okay whether or not I succeed.

Or as the Apostle Paul put it, to know both how to abase and how to abound.

When I sense a reaction rising to the surface that is potentially overwhelming / distracting / destructive, I take a moment to notice and acknowledge it instead of trying to brush it aside.

I sit with the feelings.

I ask questions.

I give myself time to explore and to get curious about possibilities, without attaching a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ label to each. (Yet.)

I also send out a prayer to God for guidance and clarity, and affirm my belief that He is sovereign and that the doors He opens, no one can close.

Then I let go.

This practice has helped take some of the edge off many of the situations that used to cause deep anxiety and sleepless nights, making it possible for me to function, if not at peak performance level, at least at a much higher level than if I were to be unintentional and unaware and allow my emotions to rule.

I trust this is helpful to you.

Next time: Part 2 of ‘3 Things You Can Do Today to Get Out of Feeling Stuck’.