Feeling the "founder burnout?" Take a deep breath (literally.)

Written by Kevin Bailey, CEO & Co-Founder at Dreamfuel

Things are tough for founders right now.?

Really tough.?

Now more than ever, it feels like a daily battle to dodge and weave past the barrage of roadblocks and barriers that risk derailing everything you’ve worked hard for and dreamed of since the start of the journey of founding a business.

It can feel completely overwhelming.?

And when it does, we jump to assuming we should be able to fix things with thinking alone.?

To make better, faster, more accurate decisions, make them more often, and usually make them alone. That’s a crazy level of expectation that puts a mountain of pressure on a founder and usually digs them into a way deeper hole.?

Not only that, such a mind-only approach misses out on much of the intuitive instinct that defines how founders work their magic. To get to that place and get there consistently needs something that digs underneath the cognitive and taps into a deeper well of wisdom.

85% of the information we take in day-to-day is absorbed by the body, the central nervous system specifically, and not by the mind.?

What does this mean? We can unconsciously store day-to-day stress and strain without knowing it, significantly impacting our physical and mental resilience and limiting the space we have to solve problems and cope with the seemingly infinite expanse of spinning plates.

You know the feeling. The endless days, weeks, months and quarters of whack-a-mole.?

The intense overwhelm. The peaks and troughs of fight or flight, and never really choosing either.?

In science-speak, that’s when you know the Sympathetic Nervous System’s (SNS) running the show. One of two branches of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), the SNS isn’t “bad”, but you don’t want to live there.?

Unfortunately, the demands placed on modern-day tech founders all but guarantee an overactive SNS leading to immense stress, lethargy, poor focus and creativity, overwhelm, sleep deprivation and declining physical health.?

Unless!?

Unless you can commit to regulating the nervous system, bringing the SNS back into balance with the second arm of the ANS, the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). The PNS is where things slow down, where our minds and bodies can rest and recharge, returning us to a peaceful, proactive place of front-foot thinking and deep internal resolve.

At Dreamfuel, we use powerful somatic breathwork practices to do just that. To clear out the clutter, release tension and free up space for the energy and insight that’s going to keep you and your company marching forward in service of your dreams.

If you haven’t experienced this awesome tool yet, somatic - ‘of the body’ - breathwork is an intense, guided breathing technique that takes us beneath the conscious mind, allowing us to effectively process the events and challenges that all founders face on a daily basis. From there, we can progressively clear out that mountain of tension, making way for a whole new sense of clarity and resilience. It’s seriously powerful!

If you caught last week’s newsletter, you’ll know that somatic breathwork makes up half of our upcoming community Breathwork and Brainwork series, and now you know why!

It’s an absolute game-changer, and I’m excited for you to experience what it’s all about, and the difference it can make for the future of your business, and your life.

Register for our Mental Performance Community Call focusing on Somatic Breathwork here.