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468: "I Don’t Feel Alive in My Business Anymore” - How to Fall Back in Love with Work
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I don't feel alive in my business anymore. That is a sentence I never thought I'd say. And maybe if you're being honest, it's one that you've whispered to yourself, too. Maybe you've built this business with your whole heart. You've sacrificed sleep, weekends, stability, poured literally everything into making it work. And now, now it runs. Maybe it even runs really well, but it just doesn't light you up. It doesn't feel like you anymore. Maybe it just feels like a job and not a fun one that you actually want. So what I want to say is this isn't just burnout, and it is definitely not laziness. It is not a mindset block. It is likely a symptom of building a business that's just outgrown your identity or your season of life, or maybe even a business that's outgrown your values. And I don't think enough people are talking about this because, I don't know, maybe they're afraid it means that they've failed or that if they do talk about this and acknowledge it, they will lose momentum. Or even worse, if they sleep slowed down to reconnect, the whole thing might just fall apart. So in this episode, what I want to talk to you about is how you can reignite the spark. Not by doing loads more, not by pushing harder, not by forcing passion or just, like giving yourself a hard pep talk, but actually by realigning with who you are now, this new identity. So we're going to talk a little bit about the difference between burnout and boredom and how to connect with your real why. How to prune. Yes. Literally cut things out so you can breathe again. And what I'm going to do is share the exact shifts that helped me and. And so many other women I know fall back in love with our work without burning everything down or starting from zero, which I know is the thing that so many of us think that we need to do. And so by the end of this, my hope is that you just have a bit more clarity. Not just about what needs to go, but what gets to stay, what gets to evolve with you and how you can finally feel alive again inside the business you have already built. Which I know is possible. So let's just dive straight in, because here's where most people misdiagnose what is actually going on. So you wake up and you're dragging. You open your laptop and you feel your chest tightening. You stare at your calendar and you feel resentment that you don't even want to admit you're just not excited. You're not even neutral. You're just tired. So your brain goes, okay, well, this must be burnout. But. But what if that's not it? What if what you're feeling actually isn't burnout and it's just boredom? Like, what if we just called it what it was? And they can look nearly identical on the surface, which is what's so confusing, but they have very, very different routes. And if you try to fix one with the solution for the other, then I do think you probably end up more stuck. So what I want to do is just break them down. So burnout is often when your output has exceeded what your capacity is. So it can be physical, emotional, spiritual. You might feel like you're drained because you've just been over giving overpouring time, energy, attention, labor, often without feeling like you're getting enough in return. And quite frankly, you might still love the work, but your body just doesn't feel safe or good or energized doing it anymore. You feel like everything has just become really hard. Like small tasks feel like mountains and you actually struggle to get anything done. Your creativity goes completely dark. You stop daydreaming and having those big visions that you used to have. And burnout's often when your nervous system says, I can't keep going like this. And on the flip side, let's talk about boredom, because boredom does not mean that your business is broken. What it can mean is that it's no longer evolving with you. So, for example, everything works right? Maybe everything works a little bit too well. You've optimized, you've delegated, you've systemized. You've reached the top of the mountain that you once prayed you wanted to climb. But you're standing there and all you feel is flat, uninspired, even resentful. That could be boredom. And here's where it gets really, really tricky. Because both burnout and boredom whisper the same lie, something must be wrong with you. But what if it's not you? What if it is the season that you're in and how you might actually be interpreting what that season is just trying to tell you. So how do you deduce and know which one it is? So I just want to invite you to take just a minute to check in. If you could take a magic wand and wave it and feel rested, would you feel excited to dive back in? If yes, maybe you are just burned out. Maybe you need that deep replenishment, that nervous system repair, and a full, energetic exhale. But if you imagine waking up feeling well rested, nourished, well slept, and you still feel really about the work, you could be bored. And that's not a bad thing. I just want to say that boredom is often your brain's way of saying you are ready to grow again. But instead of letting that nudge spark expansion, we often suppress it because maybe we feel guilty about not being satisfied. We think I should be grateful. Other people would absolutely kill to be in this position. This business pays my bills. This business gave me freedom. Yeah. And also, you're allowed to want more. More depth, more meaning, more energy, more fun. You're allowed to outgrow the version of your business you once needed. And when you finally just own that, when you stop judgin the feeling and start listening to it, you can get curious instead of critical. And that is the real shift. Because burnout and boredom might feel the same, but they require completely different medicine. Burnout needs rest and boredom needs reinvention. And until you know which one you're in, you'll stay stuck in that limbo. So, just taking a minute right now, ask yourself, am I exhausted or am I just uninspired? And that one question alone could change what you choose to do next. So let's talk about your why. Not the one that you wrote in your business plan, not the polished version that you share on Instagram. I'm talking about the real, raw, sometimes messy, always evolving reason that you started this in the first place. Because here's what no one tells you. Your why is allowed to change. You are not a robot. You are a living, breathing human being. I hope your priorities shift, your energy shifts, your dreams expand. And if your business doesn't grow with you, it can start to feel like a cage, not a calling. So. So if you're feeling really disconnected right now, there is a good chance that it is not your business that is broken. It's just that your business is orbiting that old version, that old identity of you. So I just want to say that again, your business might still be orbiting an old version or an old identity of you. The version who started this business out of urgency or financial necessity or to prove something to yourself or someone else, or to escape a 9 to 5 that completely drained your soul. That version of you built something really incredible. But she might not be the one who should be running it today. And this happens all the time. I know this happened to me big time when I became a mum and my complete identity shifted in so many different ways. As women, we are so good at Getting things done at pushing through, showing up, holding it all, that we rarely pause to ask, is this still aligned with the life that I want now? And we just keep moving and eventually we wake up in a business that looks great, great on paper, but no longer feels meaningful in our mind and our body. So I just want to walk you through something that I do when I hit that wall. And it's a personal inventory I call the Alignment Audit. So there are a few powerful questions you can ask yourself right now. The first is, if I had to start over from scratch today, would I build the same business? Be brutally honest. Not would I be grateful for it, but would I choose it again knowing what I actually know now, would I choose this business again? Also asking what parts of my business Dr. Me the most? Get specific. Is it content creation? Managing the team? Launching? What do you dread even when you feel really well rested? What used to feel exciting to you that now feels like an obligation? This is often where your passion has been replaced by pressure. You can also ask yourself, what kind of impact do I actually want to make now? Has that evolved? Are you craving more depth, more intimacy, working with a different kind of client and then also pulling back to really ask yourself and understand what season of life am I in and what kind of business will support that season? Because here's the truth. You can't keep designing your business around a season that has passed. So I want to give you a personal example. A few years ago, I completely hit a point where the business I had built, which had created real success, real visibility, real income, no longer felt like mine. And it wasn't bad, it wasn't broken, no way. But it was built for a version of me that used to be obsessed with scale, that built probably off the back of a Silicon Valley playbook. More revenue, more reach, more launches, more goals, more, more, more, more team. You know it. And somewhere along the way, I realized I didn't want to build bigger anymore. I wanted to build deeper. So I wanted to actually change up what we did and create programs that gave people real transformation. I also wanted time to be a really present mom, not just a high performing CEO. I wanted to start protecting my energy like a sacred resource and run a business that actually honored that. But for a while I didn't give myself permission to admit that because of so many know, a big one is I was so afraid. I was so afraid I would lose momentum, people would think I'd slowed down. I was afraid that I'd outgrown the thing that I was known for. And that fear is what keeps most people stuck in a misaligned business. Not a lack of strategy, not market changes, just a fear of letting go. But here's the shift I made and maybe it's the one you need to who knows? You are allowed to evolve. Your why is allowed to change your business. If it's a freedom based business and it's, and it's built for this way, it's meant to serve you, not the other way around. And the most powerful, fulfilling businesses I've seen were built by people who had the courage to pause, to reimagine and to rebuild around a why that reflects who they are now. So if you're feeling off, maybe the answer isn't just to push through it, maybe listen to it and ask yourself, what would I create now if I didn't feel trapped by what I created back then? Because you might be really surprised at what comes through. And again, this is for those of you who are building those freedom based, those lifestyle businesses. You're not trying to exit this thing because if you're starting to feel like something needs to change, but you're really overwhelmed about where to begin, you can really start here and now. So let's talk about pruning. I mean, listen to me. I literally pot a few plants and all of a sudden they feel like I'm a gardener. But anyway, stick with me. I use the word prune really intentionally because it's not just about cutting. It is about cutting with care, with discernment, with the belief that what you're removing is making room for something more aligned to grow. Nature does this really effortlessly. Trees drop their leaves to survive winter, not because they're dying, but because they're wise enough to know what can't be carried through the next season. And so let's just talk for a minute about what that actually looks like in your business because I think too many entrepreneurs are trying to optimize something that they probably they're being honest with themselves, should have let go of years ago. So we might think, I just need better systems, I just need to delegate more. I just need to push through this next launch. I just need one more higher. But sometimes you don't need a better system, you need a braver decision. So let's start pruning. Step one is asking yourself what needs to be cut? What have you outgrown? And this could be an offer or a product you no longer enjoy delivering. It could be a client segment that really, really drains you. It could be a visibility channel that feels like noise. A service you might have created to please somebody else instead of yourself. And again, I want you to be honest here. Not just what's underperforming, but what is misaligned, even if it's making money. Because nothing is more expensive than something that steals your time and your energy. So cutting something that technically works is one of the hardest decisions you'll make in business. But also it's often the one that can unlock your next level of clarity, creativity and revenue. Step two is looking at what can be automated. So there's a difference between doing the work and carrying the mental load of the work. So maybe you've technically delegated the task, but you're still holding the strategy, still reviewing everything, still checking that it got done, still micromanaging the outcome. And automation doesn't just mean zapier and airtable. It means creating a process that runs without you needing to think about it all the time. So it could look like a content repurposing engine that works without you constantly inputting into it. It could be team SOP that actually gets followed without you reviewing it and make sure that it gets followed. It could be a lead nurture funnel that builds trust on Autopilot and takes someone from a lead to a client on Autopilot. So here's the filter. If you wouldn't want to do it in your ideal business version of life, then automate it now or start designing how to do it. And then step three is what could actually be delegated better or completely let go of. So you might be delegating tasks, but are you still holding onto the outcome? So true, delegation is not you do this thing for me, it's you own this result now. And if your name still has to be on everything and your sign off still has to be on everything, that's probably not delegating. You could be outsourcing execution, not ownership. And I know why we do it. As entrepreneurs, as founders, we care about excellence. We built a brand, we've worked really hard to get here. But the energy that you spend checking everyone's work is energy that you are not using to create what's next. And so what you can do is ask yourself, what am I holding onto? Because I do not trust it will be done well enough if I delegate it. And that can be telling about the way you delegate your team or the process itself. So asking yourself, what would I need to feel safe handing this over? And sometimes the answer is training, sometimes it is hiring up, and sometimes it is just releasing control and perfectionism, because control and perfectionism is a comfort mechanism, but it's also a creativity killer. Because here's the truth, truth aliveness does not come from doing more. It comes from doing less, but better. I say it all the time. We do not need 10 offers. We do not need five content platforms. We do not need to be everywhere and everything to everyone. We need to be rooted, intentional, clear, fully present in the work that matters most. And to get there, you're gonna have to let some things go, not because they failed, but because you're finally strong enough or experienced enough to stop carrying what no longer fits. And so I want to give you a journal prompt. I love journaling and I feel like it can be really reflective for this specific part of the journey. So the prompt is, if I trusted that pruning would create space for magic, what would I release today? And just sit with it. Let answers come through without judgment, without needing to solve everything or do it right away. And this is how you can start creating from that place of peace and not panic. And if you're still listening to this, my guess is that you've probably realized something. Maybe you have been operating in survival mode. And I don't just mean that in a really dramatic, crisis driven way. Survival mode can be subtle. It can hide behind high performance, it can mask itself as being productive, reliable on it, but underneath there is no space, no breath, no softness, maybe even no vision, just that forward momentum which is fueled by obligations and deadlines and keeping it all together. And you can run your business like that for a while, but I really, really do not think it's sustainable. And it's. And it's definitely not aligned with values. So let's talk about shifting into creative mode, because I really do think that is where your creative spark lives. It's where your best ideas come from. It's where you build offers, content and a business that feels like you again. So first, you can't create from depletion. Let's just name that. No one is innovative when they are exhausted. If your nervous system is in fight or flight, your creativity will completely flatline. Your brain is wired for survival. It will prioritize safety over inspiration almost every single time. So if you've pruned but you still feel creatively blocked, it could be because you just have not given yourself enough space yet. Mental space, emotional space, white space, whatever kind of space. So the first step is often to pause and it might look like, God forbid, a weekend with no work, a full day with absolutely no meetings. Maybe it is a walk without your phone or podcast music, things that you're so used to filling your time with. Maybe it is an hour on your own with your journal and in a coffee shop. It doesn't have to be dramatic, it doesn't need to be this week long silent retreat. I don't think you get your creativity back by pushing yourself harder and harder and harder. You will get it back by inviting it to return and creativity shows up where it feels safe to land. Then you want to really rebuild your rhythm. Creative energy, I think needs a container, not a cage, but a rhythm. So start by carving out a window once or twice a week where your only job is to create, not react. No meanings, no slack, no inbox, just you and the ideas that are waiting to come through. You know, on days like today where I'm recording content, I am not on slack, I am not answering any emails, I am not being reactive to anything. So for you, maybe it's a two hour block on Fridays where you dream without editing yourself. Or maybe it is a monthly vision day where you revisit your goals, you journal, you brainstorm, you get out there and you dream again. Maybe it is a morning ritual that is really sacred to you and doesn't involve anyone else. And I really do not think that this time is optional. I don't think it is a luxury. I do think it is a requirement. If you want to build something that lasts, if you want to build something that you're not getting bored of, you are not a machine, so operating like one isn't going to work. You're a visionary, you're a creative and you can't download vision while multitasking. In survival mode, the next thing really want to do is ask yourself better questions. When you are stuck in the weeds of running the business, you're often asking logistical questions. How do I grow? How do I fix this? How do I make more money this month? But when you're in a creative mode, you ask more visionary questions. And those questions are often the ones that will change everything. So some questions you could try asking is what feels missing in the business right now? Now what feels broken in the business right now? What feels fun to create again? If I wasn't afraid of breaking what currently works, what might I try? What part of my business needs my full genius, not just my management? Because that next chapter might already be simmering and whispering to you, but you're not getting quiet enough to hear it. Because here is the truth. I don't think that spark is going to come from a strategy. I think it's going to come from safety, space and curiosity. And once you are able to create the conditions for that, the ideas will start pouring in. And that thing you've been really trying to force, that clarity that you've been begging for, that passion that you've been really trying to manufacture, it shows up when you finally stop chasing and start receiving. So if you are really ready to feel alive and excited about your business again, step one, make the space place. Step two, invite that spark back in. And then let's just ground this with something real. Because I don't want this video to just be inspiring. I really want it to feel possible. I want you to hear these stories and think, if she can do that, maybe I can do it as well. Because these are real women that I've worked with. Entrepreneurs, creators, leaders who hit a wall and chose to do the scary brave thing, which is realign. They didn't just decide to burn it down overnight. They didn't disappear for six months to find themselves through ayahuasca. They just. Just got honest and they made moves, small ones, strategic ones, courageous ones that really brought them back to life. So a client of mine, she had built what I think most people dream of, right? So she had this business that was fully set up and she was doing courses and masterminds and launches that would do six figures in a weekend. But she came to me and said, natalie, I literally feel like I am on a treadmill that I cannot get off, off. Every single time I think I'm done and I'm getting some breathing space, another launch cycle starts and I don't even know why I'm doing it anymore. And so we did that work. We stripped it all back. She paused launching, which was terrifying for her. She completely reworked the client experience. She even cut two of her really profitable offers, right? Because they were built from a version of her that was just no longer here. And guess what happened? Her revenue did dip for a moment, but her profit went up. Her energy came back. She launched again, which was months later, and it was probably her most easeful six figure month ever, because this time it was from alignment and not adrenaline. Another woman that comes to mind, an incredibly, incredibly talented designer, came to me and she was literally in tears. And she was saying, I have built this personal brand that people absolutely love. The problem is it doesn't feel like me anymore. And I really do not know how to pivot without losing everything that I've built or feeling like I'm just letting people Down, Down. So she felt like she was just stuck in a Persona. The content felt really robotic. The offers were flat. She was afraid to show the version of herself that was evolving, the version that was more grounded, spiritual, slower, deeper. And so we did the scariest thing. We just let that version of her be seen. And so she started sharing a little bit differently. She introduced a completely new offer. She gave her audience a front row seat to her evolution, which was not the polished version, but the process. And instead of losing people, she attracted more of the right ones. People felt more safe to evolve with her. Her brand became about more than visuals. It was like, became a vessel for transformation, for authenticity, for people being themselves. And none of that would have happened if she stayed in the version that looked good but felt really hollow. And then there's one more client that I want to mention. This one hits really close to home. So a client of mine was running a multi sale, a six figure agency, managing a small team, raising toddlers, like literally trying to do it all. And her words still echo in my mind. She was like, I built this business to have more freedom for my family. And now I feel like I'm literally missing everything. And so we just got really clear. We audited everything, and I mean everything. Her calendar, her offers, her delivery model, her team, her systems, everything. She ended up simplifying a lot. And so she moved from doing agency work to productized services. She automated onboarding. She reduced her hours by more than half. And here's the most important part. She just started showing up for herself again. Not just as a CEO, not just as a mum, but as a whole human, right? And yes, her business was still wildly successful, but more than that, she was growing. And I think that's what realignment can do, right? It is not just about better numbers or better systems. We don't often even want that, right? It's about building something that feels. Feels more at home or authentic in your body. And these stories that I tell, they're not anomalies. They are what happens when you stop outsourcing your power and just start asking yourself better questions and listening to the response that comes in. Because we can all coach ourselves. It just depends, are we actually listening to the answers that come in? And also, I want to say none of this. When I share these stories, I share them really quickly. None of this happened overnight. And it certainly sounds so much easier said than done. But here's the thing. You often don't need a full rebrand. You don't necessarily need to scrap your entire Business. You just need to start asking, where am I building from fear? And where could I be building from freedom? What would it look like to honor who I am today, not who I was when I started? And I think that's the work, that's the shift. That's where everything really begins to change for us. And I also just want to say you're probably doing so much better than you think you are. The season you're in, where this spark feels a bit more dim, where the work feels just heavier than it used to, where you're questioning things you once felt so certain and confident about. This season is not a failure. It's not a detour. It can be an invitation. If you let it, it can be that invitation into evolving into the next season, the next place, the next phase. And that evolution doesn't have to mean burning everything down. It doesn't have to mean starting from scratch. But it does mean being really honest about where you are now and courageous enough to build something that supports towards this future version of yourself. Because the truth is, most people will keep pushing through. They will double down on systems. They will hire new coaches, new team members, they'll join more programs, they'll redesign sales pages. But if the foundation is out of alignment, then I don't think any amount of optimization will fix that friction that you feel. And the only real way to shift this is to reconnect. So reconnect your why? Reconnect your vision. Reconnect to your energy source source. Reconnect to the part of you that started this whole thing with that big fire and drive in her belly and is now just asking you for something deeper, maybe something quieter, something more true. And so all I want to say is, if that's you and this has felt like a little bit of a mirror, if you've been nodding along, maybe even with tears in your eyes or knots in your stomach, then I want to leave you with one powerful truth. You do not need to push harder. You need to reconnect deeper. And I really do think that when you do, you'll just remember, remember why you started in the first place. You'll rediscover what lights you up. You'll rebuild rhythms that make you feel held. You'll stop building from survival and start creating from a place of grounded power. And I really think that is how you fall back in love with your work. Not by chasing the passion all the time, but just by coming home to yourself and what I've done. Because I know this is going to resonate with a lot of you. I've created something to help you take the next step. So if you are in a season of recalibration, I put together a really simple guide called the Realignment Reset. So it is filled with tons of reflection prompts, journal questions and a step by step audit that you can use to come back into clarity, energy and purpose without blowing up your business or your life. And so if you want to grab that, you can do it using the link below. It is totally free and it is a really beautiful starting point for this work. And then if this episode did did resonate with you, drop me a comment, let me know what part really hit home. Because chances are someone else is feeling the exact same way and your words might just give them the courage to make the change as well. Maybe even share this if you feel like it could impact someone. So I just want to say thank you for being here, thank you for staying with me, and most of all, thank you for choosing to honor what is true for you. Because we need more people like that that in the world and I really think that you're doing such a beautiful job of it. I will see you in the next episode. Wait, wait wait. Before you go, I would love to send you my 7 figure CEO operating system completely free as a gift. All you've got to do is leave us a review on this podcast because it really supports the growth of this show. This is my digital masterclass where I'll show you what my freedom based daily, weekly and monthly schedule looks like as an eight figure CEO, mama and high performer and I'll walk you through step by step how to create this for yourself. It includes a full video training from me and a plug and play spreadsheet to literally create your own operating system. It's one of our best trainings and it's worth $1,997. But I will unlock access for you for free when you leave us a review. I know, wild right? All you have to do is leave your review on the podcast, take a screenshot of it and then head over to bossbab.comreview to upload it and then you'll get instant access to the seven figure CEO operating system. Again, head over to BossBab.comreview to upload your screenshot and get access. We are so so grateful for all of your support and can't wait to hear how the podcast has supported you.