Thriving Under Pressure - Shift 2

Thriving Under Pressure – The Five Shifts of an Entrepreneur

Through my own journey, wisdom accumulated along the way and in collaboration with many others around me, I have found five purposeful shifts to be key in transforming stress into energy and thriving in the midst of it all.

Today we discuss shift #2 – Keeping a Safe Body in the Midst of Adversity and Uncertainty

Whether it’s the pressure of your own savings on the line, or the weightiness of having raised capital, financial risk is one of the many contributors to the pressure and resulting stress of entrepreneurial leadership. As one bears the risk of an entrepreneurial journey, adversity and uncertainty abound. Both lead to tightness. We cringe when things go bad. Can you visualize how cringing makes you tight? We want to control when things are uncertain. Can you visualize how the desire for control makes you tight?

This tightness shows up in the body. Our relaxed state soon shifts into the sympathetic nervous system mode, where we are now in a stress response to our environment. Too many of us are in a prolonged state of this, without even recognizing it. In this state, we pass on stress to others, we lose sleep, we do not digest as well, and we survive instead of thrive.

So, shift #2 is about keeping a safe body in the midst of adversity and uncertainty. One of the key tools to doing this is strengthening our acceptance/surrender muscle as acceptance is a pathway to staying relaxed and regulated. I have learned in my own journey that acceptance is more than a mindset. We have a few microseconds to make a decision to surrender. Michael Singer’s work has really helped me to understand this (The Untethered Soul is a good place to start). As we are faced with challenges, if we are mindful, we can make that decision to pull in an inhale, relax the body, smile, and let the trigger wash right through us. Instead of cringing and holding on, we use the opportunity to remember that we are not really in control of much, and so we may as well accept the reality of the present momentand take it from there.

Over time, we come to learn more about our bodies, and we can use daily mindfulness and acceptance to keep our body safe. Furthermore, we can realize when they have gone out of balance and take action to get back to that parasympathetic nervous system mode, where things are more relaxed and where we can connect better with others. One tool we have is breathwork, in its many varieties. It can be as simple as full breaths in and out, prolongation of the exhale, or more intense breathwork classes that deeply affect the body. Yoga for me has always been a sure bet on re-regulating my nervous system.

No matter the modality, the important thing is to be in touch with the body, have rituals to keep it feeling safe, know when it has gone out of balance, and have tools to get it back to safety.

May we all feel safe and secure, even as we take on risk.  

Stay tuned for the discussions on the three other shifts to thrive under entrepreneurial pressure.


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InspirationCharbel Zreik