Episode 367: Breaking Free from Isolation, Strategies for Pet Industry Entrepreneurs

Ever found yourself surrounded by wagging tails and soothing purrs, yet feeling a bit like a lone wolf in the world of pet entrepreneurship? It's like being in a room filled with adorable companions, yet the business journey can be surprisingly solitary. In this episode of "Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast,"  we continue our discussion on isolation and its impact on business owners. Today, I want to share with you some practical tips and personal insights that can help you combat isolation and thrive in your entrepreneurial journey. First and foremost, it's crucial to prioritize personal growth. As business owners, we often get caught up in the day-to-day operations and forget to invest in ourselves. But by taking the time to learn and develop new skills, we can break free from old patterns and beliefs that may be holding us back. So, if you're a business owner feeling isolated, I highly recommend giving this podcast episode a listen. It's packed with valuable insights and practical tips to help you overcome isolation and thrive in both your personal and professional life. Topics & Key Points: The reality of isolation The consequences of isolation, such as depression and poor decision-making Taking action against isolation The power of relationships The importance of how we handle our thoughts and feelings Support and resources to Jumpers to help combat isolation You're not alone Timestamps: [02:15] - The causes of isolation [06:10] - The impact of isolation on business owners [08:31] - Strategies to overcome isolation [10:41] - Dancing for energy and creativity [12:51] - Conscious effort to cultivate relationships [15:59] - Different types of relationships [21:02] - Taking control of your thoughts and feelings [22:04] - Reaching out for support [23:07] - Sending love and support during the holiday season Notable Quotes: [00:07:08] "Something I've learned this year is that our feelings are not facts. And, you know, you might feel a certain way, but feelings are temporary.” [00:07:35] "Isolation means fewer new ideas and less energy. The individual may lose motivation and have trouble envisioning goals." [00:10:19] "Taking time off and having new experiences. This is a really great time of year to do that, even if it's just for a night or a day or a weekend." [21:00] "It's what we do with those feelings that matter. And so I ask you today, what are you going to do that's going to change the course of your life and make you more in charge of your life and your thoughts and your feelings?" Resources: Podcast: Bella in Your Business: Pet Industry Business Podcast Join Mastermind Email Bella: bella@jumpconsulting.net Sign up for a 20 mins call  Better Marketing with Bella Voxer App Neuroplasticity: The Ability Of The Brain To Reorganize Itself. How To Build A Better Brain Episode 366: Overcoming Isolation, Real Stories of Hope and Resilience with Kathy and Tracy Connect with Bella Website Facebook YouTube Did you love this episode? If you liked this episode, please head on over to iTunes and leave a five-star rating and review. Every single review helps get this community bigger, stronger, and better. It gets other jumpers just like you into the community. Always remember when life gets down, always keep jumping. Transcript: Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta. And today, we are going to continue talking about isolation. It's a pretty big topic that I have, it's been placed on my heart because so many times I've been talking to people. And I've been hearing this theme, reoccurring, and you know, this is my chance just to be in your ear and talk to you, I don't take it lightly. I honor and cherish the moments that I get to sit here and speak to you. Even though I don't get to see all of you who download it every week, which is typically over 1000 people. In our last episode, Tracy and Kathy were so vulnerable and courageous to just kind of speak about their own experience with this. And I thought it was really important, you know, to kind of take it from a place of our peers, but also do a little bit more talking on it. Because sometimes we might not even realize this is what we're doing. And it's a really important time of year to do it. We just had Thanksgiving. And you know, social media can be the bane of a lot of people's existence, you're I said, you're gonna tell you to, you know, attract employees and clients on social media and you're scrolling to either get away from life, you're scrolling to be entertained, you're scrolling to catch up on people, but then, you know, it also kind of plays a role in our mental health. And I am no exception to it. I've had my battles that I've been very open with, you know, having a 12-ounce baby going through a divorce, you know, really kind of put a little blip in my step for a while. And then being on an ever-constant healing and growing journey, which I encourage everyone to be on is also interesting. Something I've realized is that as you level up, as you grow up, as you learn more about yourself, that also means that you have to shed a lot of things in your life. And sometimes you're not ready to shed those patterns, those beliefs, those habits, those behaviors, which we did talk about episodes ago. And during that call, sometimes isolation happens. Isolation happens for several reasons. It could be just, you know, depression or mental health, it could be a shame, it could be fear, it could be guilt, it could be a lot of different reasons why it happens. Today, I want to dive into what happens, when that happens, what causes it, and what we can do to overcome it. So I'm first gonna start talking about, you know, causes that may lead to a business owner, that start isolating, and I have a feeling that this is going to touch a lot of people and I just want to encourage you if you feel anger by this if you feel like ooh, Bella, what are you doing right now I just want to talk about business, I encourage you to just try to open your mind and listen. Because chances are what I've learned in my own life, is that when things kind of feel a little uncomfortable to me, most of the time, it's because it's scraping up against something that is a thorn in my life, it is something that needs to be healed. That may or may not be the case for you. But I hope to kind of challenge you a little bit today. So sometimes we start isolating because we have stress, the responsibilities of owning and managing a business can be tremendously stressful, trying to juggle many roles in the pressures on our own. It can cause us to withdraw and feel, you know, overwhelmed because we just want to avoid that overwhelming feeling. It could also be like a work-life imbalance. Business owners often struggle with working extremely long hours and having little separation between their work and personal lives. And we might just start isolating because we're just so busy with all of it. It's kind of like a tornado. We also might start isolating because we have a lack of a support system that supports system entrepreneurs. We kind of lack it because we're so involved in the turmoil or the tornado, keeping our business going right. We we let all of those relationships from mentors, peers, and maybe groups of people you hang out with professionally or socially and it causes loneliness, right? We also might have antisocial tendencies. Sometimes we're naturally more introverted and antisocial. And so success and attention may cause them to seem isolated due to more discomfort with social expectations. Control. Sometimes we isolate ourselves because we want to feel like maintaining control by not delegating or reaching out to others. insecurity, impostor syndrome, impostor syndrome, and feelings of inadequacy are common among entrepreneurs. It's very common. I've even experienced, you know, imposter syndrome. And I'm pretty sure our last podcast, Tracy and Kathy talked about that as well. So isolating may be an attempt to avoid exposing any pre-perceived weakness. Sometimes there are life situations, or it's just kind of how our biological makeup is. We have depression or anxiety, and pre-existing mental health conditions like depression and social anxiety can be exasperated by the stresses of owning a business, owning a business. Or maybe we just failed, maybe we just fell flat on our faces. And the failure can be humiliating. Or we have that guilt, shame, and fear inside of ourselves. And it causes us to withdraw, due to shame, or loss of self-confidence. And so all of these things, and I'm sure I've missed them, and please, you know, feel free to reach out and let me know where, where, if there's something else that I missed that we can continue the conversation, but, you know, when this stuff happens, it does impact a business owner, it does impact us. And I'm going to tell you more about what I did in a little bit. But you know, I'm also speaking from experience here, sometimes, because of all of this, you feel depressed. It is, you know, we're alone in our thoughts, we have less social interaction mirrors to mirror back to us, what we need to see or what we need to draw out of ourselves, anxiety levels rise, because we are without the normal positive social interactions, what they call cognitive distortion. So spending large amounts of time alone can lead to distorted patterns of thinking. Something I've learned this year is that our feelings are not facts. And you might feel a certain way, but feelings are temporary. And when we don't realize that when we're caught in a rut, it distorts our thinking. It also causes us to lose our motivation. Inspiration is often sparked by collaboration with others or just listening to others. Isolation means fewer new ideas and less energy,