Navigating Disconnection and Finding Fulfillment as a High Achiever & Entrepreneur: Practical Tips for Success
As a therapist and mindset coach, I've worked with many high-achieving individuals and entrepreneurs who have experienced feelings of disconnection and lack of fulfillment in their lives. It's super common for entrepreneurs to tie their identity to their accomplishments, which can lead to a sense of emptiness when those accomplishments aren't enough to bring them happiness. If you're an entrepreneur or high achiever who is struggling with these feelings, know that you're not alone. I’ve listed some practical tips for navigating these emotions and starting to find more fulfillment in these areas below.
Separate Your Identity from Your Accomplishments
One of the first things I like to do with clients is to start to separate their identity from their accomplishments. This sounds like a big ask, but once people start conceptualizing that their own worth is not tied to what they accomplish, the pressure lessens. While it's natural to feel pride in your achievements, your worth as a person is not solely based on what you've accomplished. It's important to remember that you are more than your job, your business, and your successes.
To do this, ask yourself, what do I do outside of my work that brings me joy and fulfillment? When was the last thing I did that just lit me up inside that had nothing to do with me “doing” but more about me “being.” This can be anything from spending time with family and friends to volunteering in your community or engaging in some form of playing for fun. By finding fulfillment outside of work, you'll start to see yourself as more than just your work and that you actually have many interests, gifts, and values that make your life meaningful.
Go Inward & Connect with Yourself
Feelings of disconnection are a natural part of the human experience. When this happens, try to focus on connecting with yourself internally. This means taking the time to understand your own thoughts, emotions, and actions while being kind and compassionate towards yourself.
One way to do this is through mindfulness practices, such as journaling, being in nature with no distractions, yoga or meditation, or just letting your mind wander. These practices can help you tune in to your thoughts and emotions and through journaling or therapy, learn how to respond to them in a more positive way. They can also help you feel more grounded and centered, which can be helpful when you're feeling overwhelmed or disconnected.
Reduce Comparison with Others
Comparing yourself to others is unavoidable unless you isolate yourself from the outside world completely. Comparison can be detrimental to your mental health and sense of fulfillment so putting some supports in place around comparison can be helpful. When you compare yourself to others, you're essentially measuring your worth against someone else's, which is not a fair or accurate way to assess yourself.
To combat this, try to focus on your own progress and growth rather than comparing yourself to others. You will have to start asking yourself what you are exposed to most regularly that caused you to compare to others so much? I know for me social media breaks can be helpful. Celebrate your own successes and use your failures as opportunities to learn and improve. Remember that everyone has their own unique journey, and comparing yourself to others is not a fair or helpful way to gauge your own progress. Think about how you want to start measuring your own success.
Get Clear on Your Values
Finally, getting clear on your values can be a powerful way to find fulfillment in your life. Your values are the attributes of how you want to show up in the world and are important to you, such as family, making a difference, community, or personal growth. When you live in alignment with your values, you'll feel more fulfilled and purposeful in your life.
To get clear on your values, I have two focus points I usually mention to clients when they start defining their values:
1) If someone can take it away from you, then it’s probably not one of your values.
2) When we define values as attributes of the people we strive to be, we can more clearly see our next steps & the actions we can take to move forward.
Write down a list of your top values and think about how you can incorporate them into your daily life. For example, if personal growth is one of your top values, you might want to take the time to define what that means to you and what it feels like when you are connected and aligned to that value.
It's common to feel disconnected and unfulfilled at times but if you have felt this way for a extended period of time, maybe you are needing some more direction. By separating your identity from your accomplishments, connecting internally, decreasing comparison with others, and getting clear on your values, you can start to find greater fulfillment and purpose in your life. Remember to be kind and compassionate towards yourself on your journey to reconnection and finding what lights you up again.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of tackling this alone, feel free to reach out to me below!