Episode 27 - Entrepreneurs Are An Anxious People with Steve Cuss
Apr 26, 2023
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Steve Cuss, Australian author, joins the podcast to discuss how entrepreneurs can manage anxiety in healthy and productive ways. Topics include understanding chronic anxiety, addressing toxic patterns in organizations, taking responsibility for one's actions, the importance of resiliency, living by faith, and repenting from false beliefs.
Entrepreneurs can go from being managed by anxiety to managing their anxiety in healthy and productive ways.
Embracing discomfort and seeking God's presence in pain and suffering allows Christians to offer a healing presence to a broken world.
Deep dives
Managing Anxiety for Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs often struggle with anxiety, but learning to manage it is crucial for their well-being. Anxiety can take different forms and have various causes, such as trauma or false beliefs. Chronic anxiety, characterized by reactivity, is commonly faced by entrepreneurs. It is driven by assumptions and false needs, leading to a constant need for control, perfection, having all the answers, seeking people's approval, and always being there for others. Recognizing these patterns and understanding the underlying false beliefs is essential for breaking free from chronic anxiety. Resilience, the ability to withstand and recover from adversity, is also important. It requires deepening our capacity to be present in the face of pain and suffering and relying on God's strength rather than allowing anxiety to dominate. By cultivating emotional and spiritual health, entrepreneurs can effectively navigate anxiety and find freedom, leading to greater success and well-being.
The Role of Culture in Anxiety
Anxiety is prevalent in Western culture due to its emphasis on comfort and safety. These values can lead to anxiety avoidance and resistance to discomfort and danger, which are integral to the Christian gospel. Many Western Christians struggle to address the suffering and injustice in the world, as they prioritize personal comfort and safety. However, genuine compassion requires stepping out of our comfort zones and engaging with those who are suffering. This demands a shift in cultural values and a deeper understanding of the gospel's call to sacrifice and service. By embracing discomfort and seeking God's presence in pain and suffering, Christians can offer a healing presence to a broken world.
Recognizing and Addressing Group Anxiety
Anxiety is contagious within group settings and can affect team dynamics and productivity. Triangulation, where people talk about others insteading of addressing issues directly, is a common indicator of group anxiety. Identifying recurring patterns of anxious behavior and taking responsibility for one's own contribution to these patterns is essential for breaking free from group anxiety. Leaders should create a culture of openness and direct communication, encouraging team members to address issues with one another and avoid blame. By putting anxiety back on the individual who generates it, teams can experience greater health, reduced staff turnover, and improved overall functioning.
Resilience and Faith
Resilience is developed through facing and overcoming adversity. While Western culture values comfort and safety, the gospel calls Christians to embrace discomfort and danger for the sake of Christ and others. Resilience can be cultivated by recognizing and addressing one's own anxieties and false beliefs, relying on God's strength and grace to navigate difficult situations. By deepening their capacity to be present in pain and suffering, Christians can embody a healthy, resilient faith that inspires and transforms others. Prioritizing emotional and spiritual health is crucial for living out the gospel and witnessing to God's love and grace in a world that desperately needs it.
Entrepreneurs are far more likely to deal with anxiety than others.
So how do we handle the moments when we feel anxious?
Australian author Steve Cuss joined the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast to discuss how entrepreneurs can go from being managed by anxiety to managing their anxiety in healthy and productive ways.
Check out the episode and don’t forget to follow and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts.
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