What To Do When You Want To Quit Your Business + 6 Steps To Take When You Do

Online entrepreneurship rocks my world, but at times it can feel really lonely [cough, cough… monthly breakdowns on the current new struggle]. It is easy to feel like you just want to throw in the towel and quit.

Then again that’s with anything in life. When things get hard it is easy for our mind to go to, ‘well… I could just give up. No one would really know. I could just say life got too hard and I’m really busy, people understand busy.’ But when we are talking about your business, the passion project you have created with more meaning behind it than “just a business,” you know at your core that throwing in the towel is not an option. So, then why do we have to go through the insanity of wanting to quit…

Spoiler alert: it’s never just your business. Your brain doesn’t automatically categorize all of the things for you. 

Social media scheduling, new content, client notes, doing the laundry, sweeping the floor. Did I pick the kids up today? When’s the last time I did something fun? Managing your books, getting published, washing my face, getting ready for your new move. Did I eat lunch yet? Am I sad about something… I just can’t tell, I’m so busy. What about the google calendar did I even update that? Picking up the living room, processing that argument you got in last night, calling your best friend, yoga, client calls, sales calls, networking calls. Did I write an email this week? Is this the freedom I was looking for?

Phew that’s A LOT. It was a lot to type and looks like a lot to read through. Maybe you didn’t even read through all of them… it’s okay, skim reading is big, right?! I mean who has time to read FULL posts anymore?!

Imagine it all floating in mid air in front of you. And you have to swat it away to walk forward. That’s what your brain is doing.

When your business feels like all to much, know that there are deeper roots that are begging you to pay attention.

I know you feel like you need to have it all together. You have to be superwoman bravely running all of the things. You’re manager, CEO, and owner.

But you don’t have to. Your heart is begging you to slow down and listen, you feel that. You think you may want some support. You deserve support. And the moment you listen to that pull. You feel peace.

Why is it easy to want to quit?

You are surrounded by people who have created a winning web presence can make you feel alone in the black hole of frustrations that is inevitable at least once or twice in your career, maybe even once or twice a week. And as if hopping on board the comparison train wasn’t enough, combine that with the tangles of an overwhelmed mind and you have a recipe for burn out.

But you are SO not alone. I talk to my biz besties at least once a week about this feeling of wanting to give in to the feeling of not good enough or massive overwhelm with all of the tasks, responsibilities and to do’s that come with being an entrepreneur. 

So what do you do? Can you ever overcome this feeling of giving up? The answer is YES. You can. It takes a recipe of balance, attention, and connection. 

When you feel like quitting here’s 5 easy steps to take to get back into feeling AMAZING about what you do:

1 | Reset: step away from the present frustration. Sometimes a slow wifi connection feels like the end of the world but if you dig deeper into the past week you can find the root of your struggle. And the more you work in a state of frustration the bigger it becomes.  

Your business does not react in passion when catalyzed with frustration.

Figure out what you need to do to reset your mind, to bring you back to the simple to-do’s from a place of excitement instead of frustation. Maybe that looks like taking a quick walk around the block or maybe it looks like arranging a whole day off. Give yourself permission to reset.

2 | Recognize: pay attention to yourself.

Are you living a cruise control life? Meaning are you just moving through life not paying attention to when you need to pick it up, slow it down, or take a turn? Pay attention to what you feel when you are doing something, does it feel good or does it feel hard? If it feels hard, how can you make it easier on yourself? Pay attention to your thoughts throughout the day, simply start acknowledging the thoughts that feel uncomfortable or the thoughts that keep circling back up. Remember that your thoughts are there for a reason. They are begging you to pay attention. 

3 | Post up that why: and feel it. My friend asked me today “how do you get out of that feeling?” And I said honestly… universe usually sends me an EPIC client message or call in total divine timing and I go ohhhhhhhh…. that’s why I can’t quit. Keep a celebration folder somewhere! Put your client wins, testimonials, kind words and your why in there.

Remember why you started in the first place. Often times we create a lukewarm why for ourselves, when our business is something that is mean to be the foundation to our dream lifestyle. Make your why BIG and allow it to propel you into excitment every single day.

4 | GET SUPPORT: In every way possible. Get a soul tribe [separate from business], a VA, a SM manager, PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE, a coach, a mentor, and some biz bff’s. You are not alone in your struggles and you do not have to do them alone. Figure out where you are lacking in support and seek it. Ask yourself, what is really hard for me right now, and how can someone help that?

Know that if you are feeling like it is all too much right now, it’s not just your business, something else may be pulling at you to pay attention to it. So listen up, where is that pain? And do you have a support system to back that pain? Vunerability builds deep human connection, a connection we crave at a soul level. I used to be afraid of this connection, scared that I would be judge for the pain I was going through. But once I found my soul sisters, the people that I knew I could turn fully open, my entire life changed. I no longer felt like I was alone in a room full of people, I no longer wore myself down to the point of unexplained exhaustion.

One of my girlfriends called me recently ready to give it all up and we laid it all out in front of us… we figured out what felt like the end of an era, in less than twenty minutes… okay maybe an hour, but some girl chat in between.

5 | Daily Routines: Overwhelm exists in the mind. Stress exists in your mind. Worry exists in your mind. Along with all of the to-do’s, tasks, and other scheduling things. Your brain is not meant to be an overflow tank. Scream and cry if you need to, don’t allow it to stew up there, stewing = suffering = easy frustration. In order to keep your car running what do you do? Fill up the tank, change the oil, and have routine maintenance checks. If you drove for weeks until the tank ran empty and you broke down on the side of the road would you just give up and get a new car?

Your energy tank needs to be fueled too. Or else you’ll break down on the side of the road and you’ll want to give up and get a new life. Yeah… that important.

How do you allow your tank to stay full? You fill up your energy before you desperately need it. So find the mini-energy fillers that light you up. If you’re not big on routines, create some non-negotiables that you can pop into everyday. For me it looks likes this; my three M’s in the morning: Meditation, Mind Dump, Movement. Then in my day I know I’ll get some learning, and lots of water in! Those are my reminders to stay full. What are yours? 

You may be building an empire, but you do not have to carry the weight on your shoulders alone.

It’s natural to endure ups and downs in business, there is nothing wrong with your journey or broken within your journey because it all feels too hard, you are just doing life. And you can make it through, I promise you this.

xo,

Megan

P.s. Are you ready to break free from all of your doubts and fears so that you can rock the business and life you are completely obsessed with!?