Sanity Notes #014: How to stop drowning and get in the boat
How to help yourself escape the waves of chaos that entrepreneurship can bring.
Originally published here. Want to receive regular updates? You can subscribe here.
Looking for some support? If now is the time to consider coaching (or a CEO peer circle) reach out here.
In startup culture, we glamorize the long days and crazy emotional ride of starting something from nothing.
In my own time as a founder, that glamor was quick-lived. I woke up a year or two in tired of the overwhelm. I could see both I and the quality of my work were suffering. I felt I was drowning.
More days than not, it wasn’t the workload I was drowning in. It was the emotional chaos of:
- Not knowing if the company was going to work
- Not knowing how we were going to raise more capital
- Not knowing if I was leading my team off a cliff
Today, I thought I might share a few thoughts on getting out of the chaos.
This isn’t a quick fix. It is the introduction of a practice of reconnecting with yourself rather than waiting for circumstances to change so you can feel better. The words below come from my journal during a challenging period in my journey. So this isn’t me telling you what to do; this is me sharing some thoughts from a fellow journeyman, a fellow sufferer, who, in his own journal, was trying to offer himself some medicine.
Wishing you today the safety of your own boat. If I can help you spot it, or learn how to climb in, reach out! You are not alone.
Looking for some helpful tools for reconnecting with your true self, for getting out of the water and into the boat? There are a few starter suggestions available here.
I appreciate that you are here. If you were forwarded this email and it resonates, you can subscribe here.
Please feel free to reach out to me if I can be helpful to you in any way. Reply here or DM me on Twitter. Thoughts on improving this newsletter are also always welcome!
With love from LA,
Matt
Looking for some support? If now is the time to consider coaching (or a CEO peer circle) reach out here.
