Written by: Marta Sejnohova, Guest Writer Brainz Magazine
When we bring up the topic of addiction, we don’t picture someone starting or running a business. Addiction doesn’t have to involve engagement in substance abuse. The definition of addiction is compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite the adverse consequences.
As entrepreneurs, we embark on a journey to success with the vision of wealth, fame, impact, recognition and other ‘rewarding stimuli.’ Do you remember the euphoria when you launched your business? Won your first sale? Publishing your article or standing on the stage for the first time? Hitting your six, seven, or eight figures targets? We crave these moments and chase them like there’s no tomorrow.
Research shows that entrepreneurs and addicts are genetically wired very similar. In the wrong environment, that person becomes an addict. In the right environment, that person becomes an entrepreneur. When you are addicted to your job, your mission, you become a workaholic.
Social media then glorifies the Hustle Culture. You see it all over the Internet that to become a successful entrepreneur; you have got to "hustle all day every day" or this famous line by Gary Vaynerchuk, “I’m grinding when you’re sleeping.”. Hard work, determination and desire to achieve are all the necessary ingredients to your success. There is no doubt about that! Living on the edge could lead to incredible peak performance but also a lot of negative consequences. Understanding the symptoms, prevention and treatment of Entrepreneurship Addiction can make all the difference in avoiding the next stress overload.
8 Signs that you might be an Entrepreneur Addict:
1. You neglect your self-care
Sleeplessness, fatigue, terrible eating, skipping exercise, working hard even when unwell, stress, overwhelm and anxiety all seem like a worthy price to pay when it comes to your business.
2. You bath in obsessive overthinking
The constant chatter in your head that brings new ideas on how to grow, expand, scale or improve your business may prevent you from staying in the flow, focusing on a particular task, or being present in a social environment.
3. You avoid family and friends
The amount of time and energy you invest into your entrepreneurial pursuits doesn’t leave much time for other areas of your life. You may struggle to engage with your family maintain friendships or relationships.
4. You link success to happiness
In pursuit of fulfilling your goals and dreams, you can forget what makes you truly happy. When you fail or don’t feel successful enough or rich enough, you spiral to low self-esteem issues or even depression.
5. You get frustrated by any non-work-related activities
When you can't engage in activities related to your business, you feel annoyed or even anxious. You are terrible at listening to others and zone out when the conversation stirs away from your interests or projects.
6. You build tolerance for taking risks
To get another spike of adrenaline of excitement again, you keep pushing the limits of what is ‘enough’ for you. Just like building a tolerance for drugs or alcohol, you can build up a tolerance for understanding what risks might go too far.
7. You constantly seek new opportunities
This could mean that you start new projects before finishing others. The hunger for innovation may lead to a downturn in already established ideas and successful practices.
8. You feel like you can’t stop
You want to keep going even though you don’t have the financial, social or health capacity. If your devotion to the business overshadows all the negative implications, it may indicate addiction.
If you are feeling some of the above attributes, you are not alone. The good news is that there are many ways to slow down, overcome and prevent the overdose of entrepreneurial addiction. If you are a happy and successful entrepreneur, you might use some of the above traits as a driving force for your business. In this case, the following tips might help you level up your peak performance.
1. Self Awareness
One of the most effective ways to treat addiction is the 12-step program, originally developed by AA. The first step to recovering from any type of issue or addiction is admitting you have a problem. The fact that you are reading this is a great start.
2. Mindfulness
This can include meditation, gratitude practice, or just simply focusing on something positive. Slowing down and going inward can give us the necessary clarity on our next steps, improve our decisions and accelerate productivity.
3. Assess consequences
Now that you are aware that you might not be performing at your optimal, you must evaluate how it negatively affects your life. This will motivate you to take action and change your behavior. Are any areas of your life suffering? Is it taking a toll on your health, wealth or relationships?
4. Understand your ‘Why’
Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. Sometimes you see millionaires and celebrities going to monasteries to learn peace and balance from monks. But you never see a monk asking for advice from a successful entrepreneur. Go back to why you became an entrepreneur. What do you really want? Get clear on what’s important to you, and create your own definition of success.
5. Get help
While there isn’t a 12-step program for habitual entrepreneurs, there are professionals trained in helping you perform better. Getting a performance coach can help you identify perspectives that you cannot see and take you and your business from good to great.
6. Understand your values, needs and belief system
Having a strong value system is like a compass. It can keep you on track when you feel like you are de-railing from your vision. Recognize that by prioritizing your entrepreneurship before anything else, you are trying to fulfill certain needs. How else can you meet those needs than working 100 hours a week?
7. Develop a routine
Most people know that to live optimally, they have to eat healthy, exercise and rest. When you are hustling, you just don’t give self-care as much importance. Create a routine that doesn’t make you feel like you’re taking away from your business. For example, creating a to-do list whilst on a treadmill or getting healthy meals delivered to you will all help to save time and effort.
8. Cultivate meaningful relationships
Entrepreneurs often forget that your family and friends are your first followers and your biggest supporters. The most successful people nurture and surround themselves with people that they can inspire or that inspire them.
9. Go ‘cold turkey’ once in a while
Give dopamine detox a go. Dopamine is a chemical made in the brain when we receive a reward. This can mean signing a contract, swiping on social media, ordering junk food, Netflix and chill, or working 10 hours straight. It releases a short-term spike that feels so good, it’s addictive. Before you know it, those little things are no longer satisfying. Disconnecting and substituting more simple activities, like hiking or road trip, can help us reconnect with ourselves and others.
10. Revisit your business plan
Create a vision plan that will pull you, not push you. Include things that inspire you to pursue it, like how will you know that you’ve achieved your goal? How will you celebrate your success? What will you be able to afford? Where will you be able to travel? Whom will you meet?
While the research on the addictive nature of entrepreneurship is not too extensive, it is necessary to start those conversations. Can the emotional rollercoaster of starting and running your own enterprise lead in the direction of obsession and addiction?
This quest is one of the main reasons why I became a performance coach. Reach out if you want to chat about this article or find out how you can level up your in your entrepreneurship.
Marta Sejnohova, Guest Writer Brainz Magazine
Marta Sej is a leading performance coach based in Australia. She is on a mission to eliminate overwhelm in the workplace. Her mantra is that ‘Greatness is not out there; it’s in you.’ Equipped with tools and skills, Marta Sej draws out her client’s own wisdom so they can maximize work or personal potentials and reach their goals faster and more efficiently. After running two successful ventures while competing in bodybuilding at the same time, she realized that her business could only be successful if her people feel fulfilled, cared for and inspired. At the end of 2020, she founded Marta Sej Coaching to teach organizations how to leverage their power of mindset, make their employees their most valuable asset and takes their performance to the next level. Marta Sej’s programs are designed to empower individuals to improve teams and ultimately accelerating the entire business.
