EP38: Three ways to care for yourself as you build your regenerative business.
When you’re building a regenerative business, it’s easy to focus on all the doing — the strategy, the content, the offers. But none of it happens without you. And if you’re not looking after the human behind the work, the work itself starts to wobble.
In this high-energy solo episode, I share 3 powerful (and slightly unconventional) ways to look after yourself while taking big, bold steps in your regenerative career:
How to shift your energy before you start working
Why you need to be your own over-the-top cheerleader.
How to celebrate every single scary step (and why it matters).
This one’s part pep talk, part practical toolkit — all rooted in the belief that your wellbeing isn’t a side note… it’s the foundation.
Ready to move from scattered effort to focused, values-aligned income?
My new tool — The Purposeful Income Path — is designed to help you make aligned money decisions without burning out or selling out. If you’d like early access (and a special launch offer), just email me at alisa@regenerativeworklife.com and I’ll make sure you’re the first to know when it's ready.
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Full Transcript
Alisa: I cannot and you cannot forget about the human being that is doing that work because it's that human that is going to make it work, right? It doesn't happen without the human and yet we pay so little attention to those softer things like looking after our nervous system, right? Like resourcing ourself, like visualizing the success that we're going to have so it feels so real to us that we can kind of taste it. like celebrating every little single scary step.
Welcome to the Regenerative Work Life podcast. If you are ready to make the leap out of your corporate job and into purposeful regenerative work, this is the show for you. This journey you are embarking on means taking risks, going against the grain, overcoming challenges and writing your own script. It takes entrepreneurial muscle, powerful vision and a willingness to change. Here we go.
This week I'm going to share with you three really important ways to look after the human that is building your regenerative business. That's you, by the way, looking after the human that is taking this big leap and embarking on this new regenerative career.
Last week I spoke about setting concrete, highly motivating financial goals. And that is something that's really actionable, really focused, that brings a real clarity and discipline and direction to your regenerative business exploration, to your new career. This is the softer side of that, but it's just as important. This is the part about how you resource yourself And really set yourself up for success in achieving those kinds of goals. If you didn't have a chance to catch the episode, make sure that you go back to that one when you're finished because they're going to work really beautifully in parallel.
Before we get into that, I need to tell you that this morning I went to the dentist and I had what my dentist kindly kept referring to as a tiny filling. Now, I... have only once in my life had a filling before. It was a good long time ago now, maybe six, seven years ago. And I do not look forward to going to the dentist. You might relate with this. I'm not phobic. You know, it wasn't kind of keeping me up at night, but I was definitely in a bad mood this morning about it. I could feel myself getting kind of tense and nervous about it. And so I was really aware that I needed to do some work to look after my nervous system if I didn't want that to kind of spiral and end in potentially a really awkward or difficult situation at the dentist. And so there were various things that I did that come to me really naturally in that kind of uncomfortable personal situation. They're probably exactly the same kind of thing that I would do going for a smear test or getting on a plane and I definitely definitely used these when I was in labor with my kids and like I say they were quite sort of instinctive tools that came up for me but it's been interesting to me to kind of take a step back and look at like what is my process when I'm in those kind of situations and actually how might that apply to when I'm doing something that's difficult or challenging or uncomfortable in my business.
So that is why I'm sharing this dentist story with you. Let's take a look at how I went about approaching this experience this morning. So first of all, when I got near the dentist, I just took a few minutes to sit in my car and do some really deep, slow breathing, which is just always my default for just calming myself down. It shifts me into a little bit of a different emotional energetic place. It kind of feels like I'm going into a slightly different dimension. I feel kind of a little sleepy. It's essentially a form of self-hypnosis and, you know, there's quite a strong influence of hypnosis in the coaching work that I do. So I have a lot of those tools that I can pull on, but I was just really simply doing some really, really slow, deliberate intentional breathing and just letting that feeling of kind of everything slowing down feeling quite calm just letting that spread through me before I got out of the car and headed on into the dentist. And that immediately helped me. I kind of went in with a good attitude. I was chatting away with the receptionist, made some jokes about how delighted I was to be there. And, you know, smiling with a dentist. And, you know, I kept things kind of in really good spirits as I climbed into the chair. And then I mean, I tend to use like breathing all the time to stay regulated in those kind of situations. So I was doing my deliberate conscious breathing as they began the procedure. But I realised quite quickly that definitely wasn't going to be enough for me.
I needed to do something that had more kind of really positive influence. And without really thinking about it at all, as soon as they started the drilling, which, in my opinion, is just the worst part, as soon as they started drilling I heard this voice, my own voice in my head, like a really kind of aggressive, over the top, like full on cheerleader in my head. Like it sounded something like, Alyssa, you are a fucking goddess. You are a warrior. Look at you. Look at what you're doing. Look at you in that chair. I am so fucking proud of you. I can't believe what you and your body have been through together, the things that you've done, the things that you've seen. And look at you now, you're handling this beautifully oh my god I'm so fucking proud of you and on and on I told you it was over the top but you know what that is the kind of level of intensity that I needed. I needed something that was like not making any space for any kind of unhelpful thoughts to pop up in my head any kind of anxiety spiral to start getting out of hand for me to start convincing myself that I was gonna you know, hyperventilate or maybe even pass out. And that has happened to me. It happened to me once when I was giving blood. It was, it was a whole big drama, not something that needs to be repeated. But as soon as those kind of thoughts come in, it's, it's difficult not to get caught up in them. But this voice was like, this cheerleader voice was not making any space for that. She was like a hundred percent in my corner, like really going for it. And then I kind of lay it in, like, so it wasn't just me cheerleading on.,I had like my husband there. my mum there. I was thinking about my kids and they were all just like, you're doing it, Alisa you can do this. You're amazing. Like I was running like the last few miles of a marathon, like, yes, you go one step in front of the other. You're so close. You're really getting there now. Come on, keep going, Alisa, keep going. It felt amazing. It felt so good. And like I said, this was not, I hadn't planned this. It just happened. It was just, I knew what I needed to do in that situation. And I knew I needed like full... on cheering on adoration like like unfettered unbridled like you are amazing you can do this cheerleading oh my gosh it made so much difference it kept me so kind of focused and just got me through that situation and then there was a final piece which is when I came out I I knew that I needed to mark for myself that I had done something that I really didn't want to do and that felt really uncomfortable for me.
So first of all, I asked for a sticker, which I wish you could have seen my dentist face to have a full grown woman ask for a sticker, but I did it. It just made me smile. And just, I don't know, I really enjoyed the energy of that and seeing their faces. And I think more grownups should ask for stickers personally. And then I just took myself to the cafe and in my little town just across the road. Actually, I did quite a long walk first to try and regain some feeling in my face. Then I went to the cafe and, you know, I had my favourite coffee. I chose myself a sweet treat. I know that might seem like a bit of contradiction, but if I floss, I will be fine. And I just took some time just to sit and reflect and think, hey, you did it, Alisa. You did something you didn't want to do. Hopefully you won't have to repeat it, but good for you.
Alright, so what does that experience have to tell us about us approaching and achieving those really important goals that we're setting for ourselves inside our business? How does that help us to navigate the real and significant challenges of stepping out of a very comfortable and defined framework of work within a corporate existence and going out there on our own, whether we're... considering ourselves to be business owners or entrepreneurs or we're taking a new direction in our career, there's so much unknown, there is so much new.
We have to put ourselves out there in a way that we probably never have before. We have to be vulnerable, we have to take risks. A lot of that is really scary and the temptation is when we commit to doing something like we commit to that highly motivating financial goal, which again, I spoke in the previous episode about, we find that focus, we find that drive, we find that clarity, but we focus all of our efforts on the doing, on the work part of it, what we might think of like the technical side of doing it, you know, so we're immediately like, okay, I've got to, you know, for me, it's been like, I've got to create. the content for this mini offer that I'm going to sell, I have to really think about my marketing. I have to upgrade a lot of things around like my sales page and my automations and do a lot of that kind of backroom stuff. Like I really want to be doing, doing, doing. And that's great, and I'm so grateful for how that financial goal is giving me that drive and focus. But I cannot, and you cannot forget about the human being that is doing that work. Because it's that human that is going to make it work, right? It doesn't happen without the human. And yet we pay so little attention to those softer things like looking after our nervous system, right?
Like resourcing ourself, like visualising the success that we're going to have so it feels so real to us that we can kind of taste it. Like celebrating every little single scary step along the way, giving ourselves rest. giving ourselves opportunity to reflect and learn on what we've done. It's really tempting to think of those things as kind of, I don't know, luxuries or distractions, or just think that we don't have the time to do it, but it's so fundamental. You know, when you're in a dentist chair, it's a really interesting kind of intense example of this because I wasn't doing any work. There was no technician work required of me. I had to open my mouth and lie still. That's it, like the dentist is the expert. The dentist has the tools. The dentist knows the procedure. Like she was taking care of all of that. But it was my job to look after the human in the chair. I did have work to do. And that work was taking care of myself.
So let's recap on those three ways that you can look after the human, that's you, as you take... take these really important steps forward in your business. And as you encounter these things, and it will be different for everyone, maybe for you, it's sales or visibility or networking or having to reach out to people or fear of rejection. Everyone is going to have their certain areas that feel a little bit like getting in a dentist's chair. And I want to make sure that you can meet those challenges in the best possible way, feeling so looked after, so supported, like you have a whole group of cheerleaders in your corner. So here is how you can do that.
Number one, put yourself into a little bit of a different dimension when you come to your work. Now, you may not have a lot of experience of self-hypnosis, that might even be a turn off thinking about that, but whatever it is you do, just make sure that you are doing some kind of preparation, some kind of mini ritual that signifies to yourself that you are now about to do this work. I think what most of us do, well let me say my mornings definitely look like a lot of like running around like crazy, trying to get three kids into their uniform with sun cream on, get them to brush their hair, remember who needs to take their guitar, who has a form that they have to take back, whose turn it is for reading books. We're always up against the clock. It's always a little bit crazy. You know, get them to school, get back, think about how much I'm going to try and clean the kitchen before I get to work, try and grab a coffee, get into the office.
Now, if I start work in that kind of space, that energy is going to feed into my work. It's going to feel frantic. It's going to feel rushed. It's going to feel stressful and tense. But all it takes for me is just like a few moments, normally just standing outside my office. So like the sun is on my face or the wind is in my hair. And just doing a few really slow intentional breaths. It takes maybe 30 seconds and it just puts me into a different, calmer, more resourced space as I come into work. So the first thing, prepare yourself, put yourself into a little bit of a different dimension or just the right state for you for approaching work. Okay, number two, be your own over-the-top cheerleader. And I absolutely insist that however you do this, you keep the words over the top. This is not something that you should do in moderation. This is not something that you should do a kind of light version or hide away in a corner somewhere. It needs to be overt, unabashed, unashamed, full-on cheerleading. now for me as I say I can tap into that quite quickly like I can kind of close my eyes and I can hear my own voice and I can like that dialogue comes really really quickly for me but there are all kinds of other ways that you can do this and it's really just a kind of fun experiment to see what is it that works for you do you like to kind of write down affirmations that's something I personally hate but you might absolutely love it so great do it for you like post-its everywhere telling yourself that you're doing it telling yourself how much you've achieved every single time you need some piece of evidence, like surround yourself by evidence. And, you know, if you are someone who is, you know, you're maybe you're more data driven, you're more scientific, like you don't resonate so much with kind of more spiritual dimension, great. Like create yourself a data bank of all the points of evidence that prove to you that you're capable of doing this. Think of all the things that you've already achieved in your career. Think of all the times outside of work when you have done something amazing, incredible when you've challenged yourself, when you've made a real impact and difference to somebody and have that evidence that base there so you can put in a spreadsheet if you want to and open up that spreadsheet and read it through and think, shit, I am amazing. I can do this. Look at all the things I've already done. Yes, I can absolutely achieve this goal.
There are so many possibilities for this, the key is keep it over the top, keep it loud, keep it in your face, be your own cheerleader. And finally, number three, celebrate every single scary step. This is so important. If you don't celebrate when you do something challenging, you will stop doing challenging things. It's that simple. Because when you don't celebrate, think about what that feels like to your nervous system. Let's imagine your nervous system is like a little frightened child that is, I don't know, climbing up something. And it climbs up something and there's no recognition that it's done it. It's climbed up the first few steps and there's just no recognition at all. It's just more steps and more steps. That's actually, let's think of it that way, right? It's trying to climb up a little ladder in a playground, but as it climbs, there's just more ladder, more ladder, more ladder.
That's actually how most of us approach meeting challenges. We meet a challenge and we're like, okay, did it. Next challenge. Did it. Next challenge, right? Instead of stopping and celebrating. Like you want to be that parent that's with that child. going, look at you, you're doing it, like you're getting up there. Yes, I see how much you're concentrating. I see how well you balanced there, whatever it is. And it's really important here, and maybe this doesn't quite stand up in my child ladder analogy, but don't make something external your reward, right? So if you're doing something scary, like you're going to publicly talk about what it is that you want to offer within the world of regenerative work, and you've never spoken about it before. Do not make the reward somebody else commenting and saying, I like that, or, you know, someone emailing you and saying, yes, I got it, or any kind of externalities. You have to reward yourself, right? The thing that you're celebrating is the fact that you put it out there, not how it was received. So think really consciously. Maybe you have like a list of different ways that you're going to celebrate. So you can just, as soon as you've done it, go to that list and think, you know, what can I do today? Is it I make my favorite drink? Is it I don't know, I take a bath, is it? Depending on how big the thing is, you know, that I'm going to go out for lunch or I'm going to call a friend. You know, millions and millions of possibilities. The point is, don't leave this to the moment because you will forget and you will put it off. So if you know you've got a challenge coming up, as soon as you set yourself that challenge, you know what that challenge is, alongside it, define the way that you're going to celebrate. So they're already locked in together. And if it's little mini challenges, then have yourself a mini celebration list that you can just quickly go to and go, yep, I'm going to celebrate that way. Maybe you have a sticker chart. Stickers are a bit of a theme for us today. The really important thing that I want you to take away from this is that you must put in the work of looking after the human being who is creating your regenerative business. Yes, you need to do the technical work. You need to be focused. You need to be driven. You need to be disciplined. You need to have eyes on that goal. You also have to look after yourself, be kind to yourself, support yourself, be your own cheerleader as you do that work.
So I've offered you three ways to do that today, putting yourself in a different place, being your own over-the-top cheerleader, celebrating every scary step. And there are lots of other ways that you can bring this into. I'd love to hear about how you look after yourself as a human or any ideas that you have for looking after the human that is creating your business. So if this is resonating for you, send me an email, let me know what is it you're trying, what ideas have I not thought of? I would love... to do this together.
And finally, if these kind of concepts are landing for you, if you feel empowered by the idea of having a powerful goal and also looking after yourself, giving yourself what you need, setting your boundaries so that you can move towards that goal with a feeling of safety, of being looked after, of authenticity and alignment, then watch out for the new framework that I'm developing, the Purposeful Income Path. It's something I created for myself that has really, really shifted the trajectory of my business and given me so much focus and energy. It's really simple. You can go through this framework in less than an hour and feel that same shift for yourself. It works for you, whether you are just dipping your toe into the very idea of regenerative work or if you are feeling ready to take those first steps towards building a regenerative business. I am deep in the process of pulling all of that together right now. I hope it's gonna be ready in the next couple of weeks but if you want in then please again email me at alisa@regenerativeworklife.com or reach out to me anywhere on LinkedIn or Instagram. Let me know that you want it and I will make sure that you are one of the first to receive it with a special discount for those who jump in right away so that's the Purposeful Income Path. It's coming really soon. I'm super excited. It has made such an incredible difference for me and I really hope and believe that it can do the same for you.
Thanks for spending this time with me. Thank you for trusting me and I hope you enjoy cutting these ideas into practice. See you soon. Thank you for listening to the Regenerative Work Life Podcast. It's time to put what you learned today into practice. Remember, you were called to this work for good reason. Nature needs each and every one of us, and you can do this. If today's episode has been helpful, please take the time to share it with someone who needs a little guidance in stepping out of corporate and into regenerative. Learn more about how I can help you find your vision for a work life filled with purpose, impact and joy at regenerativeworklife.com and connect with me on LinkedIn. Just search Alisa Murphy. I'll see you back here soon for the next episode.
