Hey there, Erin here. This week’s post is vulnerable, messy, and needed. We’re talking emotional management, grief, and the mental load of being a woman in business, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Spoiler alert: I hate Mother’s Day.
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Mother’s Day Sucks. For some of us, Mother’s Day doesn’t feel like a celebration. It feels like a weight or a trigger.
Whether you’ve lost a parent, struggled with parenting, gone no-contact, faced fertility struggles, or just feel stretched to your breaking point—this season can bring grief, guilt, and the crushing expectation to “keep it all together” while running a business.
It’s taken everything in me the past couple of weeks to not email all of my team that I’m shutting this sh*t down and I’ll be living like Patrick from SpongeBob under a rock somewhere. Don’t call me. Don’t email me. And for f*ck’s sake don’t ask me which rock I’ll be living under because I don’t know yet.
The Backstory I Don’t Talk About
I don’t talk about my m*ther. Yup, it’s actually a bad word in my household.
My husband, father, kids, and a few trusted friends know the full story. Her side of the family knows her version. That’s enough for now.
Recently, comedian Bill Burr was on an episode of Smartless and they were talking to him about his trauma and getting some childhood stories out of him and he goes, “Dude 17 people would have to be dead before I can tell these stories.”
I’ve never related more.
This past Mother’s Day also marked the first one without my mother-in-law, Donna Cummings. For over 20 years, she treated me like her own from day one—caring, nonjudgmental, loving. She created space for all of us to simply be. Sometimes I feel like I’m not easy to love, but she never made me feel like that. Her absence is a canyon in our hearts, and this year has felt especially raw.
What Does Any of This Have to Do with Business?
Everything.
This is all about emotional management for founders. It’s burnout prevention. This is grief in business.
You want to create. You want to show up. But part of you just wants to log off, crawl under a blanket, and disappear for a bit. But don’t take that rock, I called it first.
Because you can’t build funnels, write emails, or close deals if you’re emotionally bankrupt. You’re not just managing a business—you’re managing the emotional residue of a heavy month.
And when the weight of real life hits, no KPI or “perfect funnel” will fix it. That’s why mindfulness for entrepreneurs isn’t fluff—it’s essential infrastructure.
We, as founders, are human beings. We are real people living real lives and that have sh*t happen. Having emotions is just part of the cost of business, but we can’t go into emotional bankruptcy.
Being a founder isn’t about pushing through and staying professional. It’s about building systems of support to help flex around your grief, your guilt, or whatever is coming up. Creating moments of stillness and support is not a weakness, and it’s not giving up.
My Emotional Buffer Plan: The Non-Negotiables
Over the last year, I’ve worked really hard on creating a list of my “non-negotiables.” These are systems, tools, or practices that I’ve put in place that are done daily, weekly, or monthly, that get deserved calendar time no matter what.
I’ve developed a few personal systems that support my mental health. These are my emotional non-negotiables—habits and routines that get scheduled just like meetings.
Daily:
Meditation (or just sitting still if I can’t focus)
Intentional movement (walks, yoga, breathwork)
Weekly:
Therapy (yes, every week)
Monthly:
Vision boarding for creativity and emotional clarity
Date nights with my husband
These aren’t optional. These are strategy for sustainability.
No excuses. There’s got to be a d*mn good reason I had to move it on my calendar, and I no longer let “I don’t feel like it,” off the hook.
With all the big emotions sometimes daily meditation is really hard, but even if I can’t focus on meditating (is that even a thing?!?!) I just sit there.
As a yoga teacher for 10+ years, I’ve gotten super picky about whose voice I let into my brain. Right now, it’s Peloton’s Aditi or Chelsea, most mornings. One recent session shared this poem that wrecked me (in the best way):
“The Guest House” by Rumi
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
— Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks (The Essential Rumi)
It’s about living the human and entrepreneurial experience, with every emotion that comes up. From grief to joy, from guilt to confidence, it’s about meeting yourself where you are, and leading yourself.
Reality Inventory: Meet Yourself Where You Are | The Emotional Business Buffer Plan
Step 1: Emotional Inventory Ask: What’s coming up for me right now? (Loss, loneliness, anger, guilt, comparison?)
Name it in your mind, write it down in your journal, or record your personal self-note podcast.
Step 2: Business Boundary Check What feels emotionally heavy to manage right now? → Is it posting on socials? Emails? Client calls? Create temporary boundaries that give you space without guilt.
Step 3: Permission Statement Commit to one thing you can do daily/weekly/monthly to best support yourself, and make it a non-negotiable.
Example: “This week, I’ll honor my grief by keeping my calendar light and going for a daily walk—even if it’s just to the mailbox.”
Print it. Write it. Say it out loud. Then keep it like your business depends on it—because it does.
Final Thoughts: Mindfulness Isn’t About Feeling Okay—It’s About Being Honest
I sat in meditation this morning. I named my emotion. I cried. Then I committed to one supportive action: sending this blog, even though it felt raw.
Entrepreneurship doesn’t start fresh on Monday. Each moment is a new opportunity to pause, pivot, or take a deep breath.
You’re allowed to pause.
You’re allowed to cry.
You’re allowed to not want to “celebrate.”
And you’re still a powerful, resilient, capable-as-hell founder. You’re built on YES—and this month, that might mean saying YES to softness, slowness, or simply… not doing it all.
Supporting Research: Why This Matters
Grief and Decision Fatigue Grief impacts cognitive load and executive function, making it harder to plan, make decisions, and regulate emotions. (Harvard Health Publishing, 2021)
Suppression = Burnout Studies show that suppressing emotions—especially in caregiving and leadership roles—leads to emotional exhaustion and lower job satisfaction. (Gross & Levenson, 1993; Zapf et al., 2001)
Mindful Self-Compassion Works A 2015 meta-analysis found that mindfulness and self-compassion significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. (Ferrari et al., 2019)
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