Sometimes you have a love hate relationship with your goals. Burn out is how our brain tells us it feels squeezed and it’s given all it has at the moment. What do you do then? Press through or switch gears? We’re talking about what you can do to give your brain a supportive hug and say “I’m here for you” so that you can keep going on the other side of the passing feelings of burnout.

1) Move your body.
Let the tension flow out of your head through your limbs and out of your body. This looks like dancing to your favorite 80’s playlist or doing yoga for 10 minutes. Or lifting for 20 minutes or taking a walk outside.

2) Switch brain hemispheres.
If you enjoy learning about how the brain works, you may already know that the right brain is our soft/creative center, and our left brain is our analytical center. Maybe you’ve exhausted yourself creatively and you need to refill your mind with new information by reading for pleasure or reading to learn about another skill you want to finesse. Sometimes when your head feels full of thoughts bumping around inside, it can help to write them out. If you’ve studied and problem-solved for a while, create something beautiful.

3) Call and talk to someone.
Social interaction helps to remotivate you and so that you come back with fresh insights. Also, maintaining social connections is important if you operate a small business alone. You don’t have the same daily interactions with coworkers that you might have in the past, and you don’t want to let loneliness settle in!

4) When all else fails, take a nap or get a snack.
Really….that basic. Thinking, learning and creating all burn calories: refuel! Our outlook can really be impacted by something as simple as a lack of sleep or low blood sugar.

We’re building small businesses for the long haul, so it’s very important to take care of our bodies!

Don’t let burn out win. When you think you want to burn it all down and abort mission, just switch gears. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are dreams, offers, or businesses.

Finally, please don’t build alone. Subscribe to my podcast and listen to the recent episode on burnout for even more mindset shifts!