Constraints in Business & Life

On Monday I talked with my business partner, Wayne, a bit about constraints in business and life.

We discussed some internal and external constraints with businesses from small to large.

Thank you

Jesse Scooby

for the suggestions about the internal constraints of which some are described below!

Thank you to all of our followers, who provided feedback here, on LinkedIn or Facebook.

I see you. Not like the eye of Sauron, which I talked about in this post.

But I see you in a recognizing your awesomeness kind of way!

And please feel free to continue to inform us of suggestions on topics for us to cover. I want to provide a lot of free support and resources, My goal is to help us all grow together as business owners.

Constraints

What on earth is a constraint? My understanding is it is something that is hindering us from getting where we are to where we want to be.

Here I will describe a few internal constraints that we have discovered.

Procrastination

I think we all struggle with procrastination sometimes. I think that we need to think through a few questions:

• Why am I procrastinating?

• Is it because I’m not certain where to start with the task?

• Do I need to research it further or ask for help?

• Do I need to prioritize another step first?

• Please see the section about Distractions for some tips.

Perfectionism

Speaking of perfectionism, I kept trying to align the words in the internal constraints meme and they would not align. So I said to myself, “self, it’s good enough.”

So I’m working on my own perfectionism. I think we need to remind ourselves that nothing is perfect and we try to do our best but we remember we have tough days too. I like to try to practice self-compassion and take a look at how I am speaking to myself. If I am not saying kind words to me, I need to change them.

I continue to struggle with perfectionism with podcasting. For instance, sometimes I take too long to edit things. Or I like to add little flairs to my recordings that no one notices but are important to me.

All of my business friends, coaches, podcasters, have said to me, try not to over edit, get it to “good enough.” But it’s still a struggle. For our broadcast, however, I don’t really edit it at all because it is live and “as is.” And that is refreshing.

How are you doing with managing perfectionism? What does your inner critic often say to you?

Distractions

This one is very difficult in the digital age where we get tons of alerts every second of every day. I mean this post is an alert too! [nervous laughter]

I have been taking mindful steps toward reducing my time scrolling endlessly on social media. I am making it a goal to have meaningful conversations about life and business and to be intentional with my conversations and posts.

I write a post. I record a broadcast or podcast episode. I post it and advertise it but then I stop and go back to my other work.

We all need to find our unique organizational strategy and I do think it is as unique as we are.

I am finding that a mixture of a digital calendar that cross-connects to my other calendars, is helpful. I also find that timers, and a physical panda planner, along with essential business systems and lists are helping me to organize and prioritize.

What is one small thing you need to change with your organizational system to reduce distractions and increase organization?

Imposter Syndrome

From my understanding, imposter syndrome is related to fear that despite all that we have accomplished, we worry that we are not good enough to say for example, podcast.

This article, by Cunic (2024),¹ describes imposter syndrome as persistent self-doubt and feelings of being a fraud despite evidence of success. This reminds me also of the definition of burnout which includes “hopelessness, exhaustion, and lack of effectiveness in one’s work.”²³⁴⁵⁶

I wonder what the connections are between burnout and imposter syndrome?

I scanned my dissertation again and noticed that one of my participants expressed that they felt like an imposter described that they worried about whether they were helping their clients adequately.

The connections between these two concepts of imposter syndrome and burnout deserve further inquiry. I predict some googling in the future and scanning research articles.

One of the things I use to help me work through my own feelings of self-doubt are trying things and seeing what happens, with “restraint,” which

Scott Perry

often suggests.

Or I do it afraid.

One of my favorite speakers Joyce Meyer often says “do it afraid.” ⁷

Scott Perry

also often provides some guidance about how to step into possibility by taking the next smallest step toward your goal.

Some things to ‘noodle’ on

What are some of your internal constraints?

Can you think of other internal constraints other than I listed?

As my friend and fellow podcaster

Elizabeth Walker

often says, what is one small step you can take to move your business forward today?

Also, she is going to be on the broadcast next week, I am super excited!

Well, as always, stay nerdy!

Dr. Brie-Anna Willey

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You were warned!

During our broadcast, Wayne talked about some of the analyzers we offer. Here is a list of some of those options.

Click the picture to be taken to our website.

We also provide business assessments and some information about those can be found here.

1. Cuncic, A. (2024, September 23). Imposter syndrome and social anxiety disorder. Verywell Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/imposter-syndrome-and-social-anxiety-disorder-4156469

2. Willey, B. M. (2023). Understanding the Experiences of Compassion Fatigue Among Counselors in Private Practice: A Phenomenological Approach. Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4446. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4446

3. Maslach, C. (2003). Job burnout: New directions in research and intervention. Current Directions in Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 12(5), 189–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.01258

4. Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 2(2), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205

5. Stamm, B. H. (2010). The concise ProQOL manual (2nd ed.). ProQOL.org https://proqol.org/proqol-manual

6. World Health Organization. (2022). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/129180281

7. Meyer, J. (2023). Do It Afraid: Part 1.