Maybe the Reason We’re Burnt Out Is Because We Keep Treating Every Change Like It Has to Be Permanent

Last week, I was at the beach for a quick two-night stay with some of my girlfriends. These girls are leaders in their industries, go-getters in every sense of the word, and constantly creating new opportunities for themselves and the people around them. As a bunch of tired moms often do, we were sitting around one morning drinking coffee and chatting about life, kids, our sunburns, and of course our businesses. 

One of the women I was with mentioned that she wanted to make some bold changes to her business. We talked it through, tossed around ideas, and encouraged her as she processed everything out loud.

As I listened to her, I could tell the decision felt heavy. It felt hard. You could almost hear the weight behind the question: How will this impact everything I’ve spent the last 10 years building for myself? Will this change undo the good I’ve already created? 

That’s when I suggested  maybe she didn’t need to fully implement the change yet… maybe she just needed to practice the change first.

One of the hardest parts of business ownership is that we often feel like every change has to be immediate, revolutionary, and perfect from day one. But sometimes the healthiest thing a business owner can do is practice the change before fully implementing it. Almost like how our kids try softball for a season or two before deciding to commit to this being “their thing.”

Sometimes the pressure doesn’t come from the change itself, but from feeling like you have to get it perfect immediately. Practicing the change helps with that.. It reminds you that not every decision has to be all-or-nothing. You can test a new workflow for 30 days. You can soft-launch a service before announcing it to the world (this is something we are currently doing). You can slowly introduce your audience to a different side of your brand. In many ways, practicing change lowers the emotional stakes. If something doesn’t work, it doesn’t feel like failure, it feels like the world gave you a little feedback, and honestly feedback is so much easier to handle then a full business pivot that fails. 

There’s also something deeply human about allowing yourself to evolve slowly. Businesses are built by people, and people need time to emotionally catch up to the vision their mind already sees. Practicing change allows confidence to grow naturally instead of being forced through stress and panic. 

Up above, I mentioned that we are soft launching a new service soon, and we’re hoping to officially launch it by August. But to be completely transparent, right now we’re simply practicing how to fit this new service into our day-to-day operations. This gives me time to receive feedback from my team, and it allows me to spend time creating an insane amount of educational content without the real pressure of fully rolling it out yet.

And if it doesn’t work, I’m out $500 for some printed materials, about 30 hours of educational time, five Zoom calls with my team, and a new camera flash. No harm, no foul. My business can recover from that loss.

Some of the strongest businesses are not built by people who moved the fastest (this is coming from a person who moves at warp speed at all times). They’re built by people who gave themselves permission to practice, adjust, and learn before fully stepping into the next chapter.. Practice is understanding that sustainability often grows slower than ambition  and that’s okay.