The new tax year spiral

On navigating my nervous-system being activated in my business…

Photo Credit: Unsplash

There’s a phenomenon that happens almost every year in my business as March rolls over into April.

I call it the new tax year spiral and right on track it hit me this year a few weeks ago.

There’s something about taking the time to look over my finances from the past tax year and the clock rolling over into the next one that can trigger a little anxiety spiral for me.

And it’s not because I’m disappointed in the tax year that’s just come and gone - I’m very grateful for many years now of making my enough number and feeling financially secure in my business.

It’s because there’s something about rolling over into the first Monday of April every year when the new tax year begins that makes me think: gulp, so I guess that I have to do this all over again, then.

Because it doesn’t matter how solid and stable the previous year and years before were, all that truly matters is if I can continue to steer the ship that is my business moving forward.

And sometimes that feels energising and inspiring and sometimes that feels a little exhausting too.

Earlier on in my business, looking at people years ahead of me, I assumed that you must get to a place in your entrepreneurial journey where all of the uncertainty faded away.

But I’m now at that stage, almost a decade into this journey, and the thing I can say with certainty is that the unknowns are still along for the ride.

Because I never have any guarantee of how my next launch will go or when my next client booking will be.

I can look at previous patterns and make some predictions, but no one has a crystal ball in their business that can guarantee future results, no matter how solid the growth has been until that point.

The only true certainty that we have in our business is ourselves.

And every single year in my business I have to bet on myself and believe in myself and trust in myself and what I’ve built too.

It’s like the new tax year spiral I navigate most years is my business inviting me to recommit to this wild adventure that we’re on together, to the courage, devotion, energy, and time this entrepreneurial journey asks of me if I want to stay in the game.

And here’s the thing: I wish it wasn’t this emotionally exhausting sometimes.

I wish that my nervous system wasn’t activated so deeply from time to time.

But that is, in so many ways, the real work of entrepreneurship for me: learning to hold steady when I wobble, being willing to be brave and show up even when there are no guarantees of results, and believing in myself and rooting for myself every step of the way.

Our wobbles and spirals aren’t a sign that we’re doing this wrong or that we’re not cut out for this.

They’re a sign that we’re human, that entrepreneurship takes courage and commitment and optimism and resilience, that supporting ourselves to keep showing up with intention whilst also tending to our nervous systems is our number one job along the way.

Because alongside my uncertainty I also have access to a deep knowing that I am wildly capable of steering this ship and that I have proven to myself over and over again how capable I am in my business too.

Both sides of me - the trust and the nervous-system-activation - can exist alongside each other.

It’s just up to me which one I allow to steer the ship, to be the guiding force in my business.

And over and over again I choose trust and it’s never failed me yet.

And trust doesn’t mean that everything always going exactly as I hoped it would - it means trusting my ability to navigate the highs, have resilience in the face of the lows, and re-route when I need to, too.

And if you wobble at times throughout the year too? This is just my reminder that you’re not alone, it’s not a sign that you’re doing it wrong, and that choosing to trust yourself will always be the bravest choice of all.

How do you tend to your nervous system when it’s activated in your business?

Until next time,

Jen xo