Sage Strategies » Are meltdowns allowed? Even for senior staff or a business owner?

Are meltdowns allowed? Even for senior staff or a business owner?

Here we are almost at the end of March. Didn’t we think things were all shiny and new in 2009? Things were going to be different this year. Guess what the first quarter is over. Oh…yeah… my heart sank when I said that in fact the pit of my stomach is teaming with activity. Running my own business requires more core strength than I first thought. The truth is that no one really faces how many hours go into growing the business. No one clearly outlines for you the number of hours you’ll spend thinking about what you could or should being doing. No one tells you that you’re doing it right. And unfortunately no one tells you that you’re doing it wrong. If you just knew you could be productive because you move from the worry to action. Right? I guess not hearing an answer to that means I am right. It’s no different really for leaders and senior executives in corporations. Leaders are in positions where they are expected to carry the weight of the organization, not show stress, not have tantrums and certainly not ever be fearful. What if?

What if leaders showed their fear? What if entrepreneurs really knew the challenges of the lonesome road to creating a new business? What if senior executives knew that the next step on the ladder was even more isolating than the previous step? Would they take that risk? Would they be less inclined to start that business? Would they decline the corner office? I say we all knew! We intellectually knew this wasn’t the easy path. Not everyone is cut out to get to the top.
Not everyone is cut out for building your own business. Just like not everyone is fully prepped when they leave college to get that senior level position they think they’ve just prepared to hold. Achievers go where they intellectually know it’s hard but figure some way they’ll get through. Feeling every hour of the path to success is vastly different. The path is up and down.

What do you do with those moments when think your stomach will bring up lunch or that your knees won’t hold you? What do you do? You’re alone in your office and it’s quiet. You’re in the car on the way to a challenging meeting? On a plane when no one is tugging at you as distraction what do you do?

Stop! Where is the feeling? First take a deep breath sending that oxygen into that area. Acknowledge those feelings are real because until you do they won’t go away.

Drop! Drop the resistance. It’s there. It’s information. It’s your body giving you information that the situation is intense and it requires additional strength. It’s also way to let you know that your body is holding that intensity

Roll! Roll through the feelings. Understand those feelings are simply information. If you acknowledge them the intensity may grow at first but they will diminish. This is the way your body releases that tension. Hold on and it grows…roll through it, look at it and release it, it goes away.

It’s going to happen. Have a strategy to roll through it. The intensity might diminish if you put a planned release valve in place. Next time you’re on the verge of a meltdown. Where do you feel it? Your stomach aches. Or your shoulders are practically up against your ears. Try something new; STOP DROP and ROLL!

Tags: Career Coaching, Communication Coaching, Executive Coaching