I talk a lot about the importance of releasing pressure so that you can create sustainable success in your business. And here’s the truth about less hustle, more flow, and letting it be easy in your business.
If you’re a high-achieving type, letting it BE easy doesn’t always FEEL so easy.
Releasing the pressure and trusting yourself enough to go with the flow can be challenging AF.
And, if you’re struggling to book clients and make your business work online, hearing ‘let it be easy’ is frustrating, and frankly confusing.
Because the common narrative is the harder you work, the more success you’ll have. And, the easiest way to make work feel harder is to put a whole lot of pressure on your results. So, the brain likes to think, more pressure = how you work harder...and since working harder = more results, OF COURSE, more pressure = more results.
Said with all the love in the world, how’s that logic working out for you?
Sure, you can apply pressure and work hard and get results, but not the lasting kind. Anyone who’s pulled an all-nighter in college can tell you how that plays out long-term, you crash and burn and don’t actually learn anything.
In business, this isn’t where true success and sustainability come from. I KNOW because I’ve been on both sides of this thinking, I’ve had to break up with using pressure to perform, and I talk about this with my high-achieving clients almost every day.
Business with faulty, pressurized logic = scraping by on the struggle bus.
Letting go of the pressure = record-breaking cash months that feel like magic all while working less.
‘Cause, I promise you, more money, more clients, more opportunities, more magic, and more fun and pleasure (you know why you started your business in the first place) aren’t the result of applying more and more pressure.
So, why isn’t every business owner letting the pressure go? One of the biggest fears and most common pushbacks I get from my clients is the worry that they won’t show up without the applied pressure. They take releasing the pressure valve to mean ‘don’t care’ or ‘don’t show up’. And, that right there is why this pattern is so insidious.
For many high achievers, putting more and more pressure on themselves and their business results has been internalized as normal and simply the ‘right’ way to get shit done and create success.
Pressure has become synonymous with caring and showing up, since it’s the mechanism that’s used to drive action. And, it can feel pretty darn uncomfortable when you stop using pressure as the lever in your business.
Except, you *can* care, show up, and go all-in without using pressure as your driver.
Applying more pressure isn’t proof that you care more, and it sure as hell isn’t going to make you want to show up consistently (ask anyone who’s ever been on a strict, pressurized diet that ended in a pint of ice cream how that worked out for them).
In fact, it’s a hell of a lot easier to show up and authentically care when there isn’t pressure to do so, in a certain way, by a certain time, or else.
The icing on the pressure-free cake? Lasting results, like the ones you want in business (you know, sustainable income and impact), grow fastest where the pressure is removed.
This week, I invite you to look at where you might be applying pressure to your business and what opportunities you have to release the pressure valve
Wishing you your version of success.