Sherry Walling: Mental Health Superpowers – Workshop Recap – FemtoConf 2018

The FemtoConf 2018 Notes and recaps can be found on the central hub page.

Title: Mental Health Superpowers – self-reflection, relaxation, and connection for the entrepreneur
Website: ZenFounder.com
Twitter: @ZenFounder

The Entrepreneur Life

• No one else is writing your paycheck
• You take what’s inside you, put it out into the world and make money
• Really high highs and really low lows ==> emotional rollercoaster

Why did you choose this path? 

• 70% did it because of freedom
• 40% creativity
• 30% more money
• 40% terrible bosses
• There are some great upsides
• A lot of “internet marketers” are selling the dream and giving the impression that you are failing if you’re not killing it
• Downsides: 
  • Isolation
  • Anxiety
  • Burnout
  • Failed relationships
  • Sleepless nights
  • Becoming obsolete
  • Instability
  • Self-doubt
  • Failure
  • Selling yourself over and over and over again
• ==> The psychological price of entrepreneurship
• We need to pay attention to our well-being
  • Your work depends on YOU

Burnout

• Z73.0 Burn-out state of vital exhaustion
  • Physical & emotional exhaustion
    • not having any energy
    • no spark
  • Cynicism & detachment
    • You don’t care anymore
  • Ineffectiveness & lack of accomplishment
    • No relation to reality
    • You feel like you’re not moving the needle
• Burnout has the power to change the function, structure, and chemistry of our brains
• 30-40% of attendees feel they have experienced burnout
• Burnout is caused by: 
  • Not enough social support
  • Lack of clear, meaningful goals
  • Too much work (multi-tasking – great book: “Deep Work”)
  • Few observable or rewarded successes
  • Limited control over work
  • A mismatch between what we think is important and the demands of our work day
  • constant interruptions
  • conflicting goals (family vs. business)

Founder Superpowers

• #1: Breathe
  • Breathe deep into your belly
  • Sit relaxed, place a hand on the belly button, inhale & exhale through the nose, try to move your hand
  • 5 deep breaths (5 seconds in, 5 seconds out) are enough to start calming you down and push anxiety away
• #1b: Sleep
  • sleep is the most important way for our brains to reset
  • Benefits: 
    • Improve memory
    • Improve concentration
    • decrease excessive eating
    • improve mood
    • build immunity
    • decrease mistakes
    • improve productivity
    • extend life
• #2: Body
  • stand up straight and stretch your body for 2-5 minutes
  • If you battle your body, you will lose. 
• #3: Brain
  • Add some silliness to the thoughts that frighten you and put it on a shelf
• biggest protective factor: friendships & connection

-Christoph