Mindfulness I’m Not Buying…

Curtains Shut, Doom Scrolling, Feeling Empty: Mindfulness When You’re a Spiraling Founder

Hey there, Erin here!

Before you go buy another journal (besides mine -> you can purchase your copy of THE POSSIBILITY PROJECT HERE,) but seriously, before you buy another app, fancy candle, or founder entrepreneur self-help hack book.

All you need to know is that entrepreneurship is hard.

Ha, that’s it. All world problems solved…😉

There I was, lying in bed on a Sunday midday… curtains shut, doom scrolling, feeling empty, and absolutely convinced everyone hated me.

This wasn’t years ago.
It wasn’t months ago.
This was last week.

My husband asked, “Do you want me to stay, or do you want me to go?”

My response, “OMG STOP ASKING ME HARD QUESTIONS, I DON’T KNOW.” Soooooo helpful.

We love to talk about mental health during Mental Health Awareness Month, don’t we? Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared:

• How Built on YES Began & Founder Mental Health Stats (READ HERE)

• How Grief Impacts Us as Business Builders (READ HERE)

• Celebrating Small Wins & the Importance of Gratitude (READ HERE)

But today?
We’re digging into what mindfulness actually is — and how female founders are really using it.

What Mindfulness Really Means (Hint: It’s Not Just Meditation)

During my Master’s program, I ran two independent research studies, and one focused entirely on how female founders define and practice mindfulness in business and life.

Let’s start with the formal stuff:

• The American Psychological Association says mindfulness is “an awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings.”

• Merriam-Webster defines it as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experience on a moment-to-moment basis.”

Sounds great, right? But here’s where it gets interesting.

I interviewed 44 female founders across industries and backgrounds, and their definitions were refreshingly personal.

Some described it as:
- “Getting to know the space within.”
- “Doing things with intention, focusing on one thing at a time, not the next thing.”
- “Taking care of my body and going to the gym.”
- “Stopping to check in with myself and coaching into a more productive mindset — not just ‘positivity.’”

We chatted about a lot of stuff when it came to “mindfulness” and its practical application. And, many of the women learned how to regulate their emotions because of necessity, not because of some inspirational quote they read online.

I’ve said it time and time again: Entrepreneurship is inherently stressful for anyone. Then, you add on everything that is life, including personal, systemic, economic, and all the other huge boulder-sized obstacles that are placed directly in front of you. It gets really f*cking hard.

Mindfulness is a practice — a muscle, a system, a habit you build over time. Some days you’ll feel solid; other days you’ll crash in bed and need to start over tomorrow.

But mostly, mindfulness is a great practice in realizing it’s just an email and not a lion chasing after you.

What stood out to me in these founder conversations was this:
Not all of them had mindfulness practices.
Some had zero.
But for those who did, mindfulness showed up in ways like:

• Therapy

• Practicing boundaries

• Cold plunging

• Medication

• Reading

• Exercise

• Journaling

• Meditation

• Designated self-time

And here’s the kicker… mindfulness isn’t just for personal life.

In business, it showed up as:
- Clear work hour boundaries
- Spotting client red flags
- Building “No-Thank-You” lists
- Calendar synchronization
- Using automation or AI tools to lighten the load
- Being selective about networking opportunities

Does it look like setting aside one hour of vacation time to not be a mess the following week? Or totally worth the chaos of catching up? The only person who knows the answer to that question is YOU. NOT ME.

Busting the Mindfulness Myths (aka, What I’m NOT Buying)

Here’s the truth about mindfulness, or what the kids on social media are doing these days…

Let’s clear the air on some mindfulness propaganda floating around out there:

Mindfulness is NOT instant gratification.
It’s the compound effect of daily habits, systems, choices, and decisions that gradually build your resilience. (I could make a future value vs present value finance bro joke here, but I’ll spare you…this time…)

Mindfulness is NOT glamorous.
There’s no perfect photo, app, or matching outfit. Sometimes, it’s just deleting an email and starting over. Sometimes, it’s working the extra hour now to buy yourself five free hours later.

Mindfulness is NOT reserved for certain people.
You don’t need to be a 24-year-old influencer or a wellness guru. Whether you’re a 38-year-old mom of two or a solopreneur hustling to grow your business, mindfulness is for you. You fit the description for peace of mind.

Mindfulness is NOT the only solution.
Mindfulness is the noticing, the presence. But you still have to take mindful action afterward. It’s about knowing you’re a hot f*cking mess today — and giving yourself grace, knowing it won’t be like this forever.

A Quick “Reality Inventory” Exercise

Sometimes we need mindfulness to check our mindfulness.

This one’s what I call your: “We Have 10 Minutes Before Guests Arrive” Mindfulness Sweep

When to use it: You’re overwhelmed but can’t pinpoint why.
What to do:

• Review today’s business to-do list and ask:
  - What’s a real deadline vs. an imagined one?
  - What can be automated, rescheduled, or delegated?
  - Where am I people-pleasing instead of prioritizing?

• Pick one thing to delete, delegate, or defer.

• Close your calendar, take a deep breath, and remind yourself: Busy ≠ productive.

Why it works: It resets your decision-making system to work for you, not against you. It’s quick, actionable, and keeps you grounded in the present.

Final Thoughts

No lie, hearing 44 women share how stressed they were was both comforting… and hard. I carry a lot on my shoulders. I’m guessing you do too.

Mindfulness reminds us that sometimes, we can and should set it all down.

…please don’t make me use that quote I hate…

Mindfulness is a practice, it’s not a perfect. (Insert eye roll.)

Remember:

Entrepreneurship is hard; don’t make your life harder.

You are courageous, you are capable, and you are strong.