Why success won’t cure your stress (but this might)

Before we jump into this week’s limiting belief, can you reply and tell us if you want us to keep including the podcast recording? ⤵

If you love it, we’ll keep it! ⤴
We want to hear your thoughts on how to make this newsletter more valuable for you.

“I have a client who’s going to pass $10 million this year.
He told me he’s more stressed out now than when he was earning $1 million.
When I asked him why, he said, ‘Because there’s more to lose.’”

My coach told me that a couple of weeks ago. It’s been living rent-free in my brain ever since.

Because here’s the thing: stress and anxiety don’t magically disappear with success.

When my income dips, I stress about money.
When my income peaks, I stress about not loving the work.
Different numbers, same cloud of anxiety following me around.

Sound familiar?

If so, welcome to Inspired Idiots. You’re in the right place.

THE LIMITING BELIEF

“Once I achieve [X], I’ll stop feeling stressed or anxious.”

Here’s the problem with this belief: We think success will save us.

We believe hitting a big goal or making more money will finally bring peace of mind.

The truth: Success doesn’t fix stress—it just changes its shape.

Peace of mind comes from shifting your relationship with stress, not your circumstances.

THE ACTION: SEPARATE THE SIGNAL FROM THE NOISE

Stress and anxiety aren’t the enemy—they’re normal human emotions. They’re signals from your body that something needs to change.

The real issue is that we often crank up the volume by overthinking, jumping ahead to worst-case scenarios, or giving those signals more power than they deserve.

Here’s how to turn down the noise and make stress work for you:

1. Pause and name the feeling:

   When stress hits, pause and name what you’re feeling out loud or in your journal:

   “I’m feeling anxious because my income dipped.”

   “I’m stressed about my to-do list today.”

This interrupts that automatic spiral and creates distance between you and that emotion. It helps you identify if it’s a signal (something to address) or noise (your mind’s unnecessary chatter).

2. Ask yourself two questions:

   1. “What is my stress trying to tell me?”
      (ex: My income dipped, and I need to revisit my strategy.)

   2. “What part of this am I making worse by overthinking?”
      (ex: I'm having catastrophic thoughts about losing everything, and it's not helping.)

These questions help you reframe stress as a tool, not an enemy. The goal is to turn it into productive action instead of unproductive worry.

3. Take one small action

   Stress loses its power when you take action. Start small:

• Financial stress? Brainstorm one income-generating idea you could act on today.

• Work-related stress? Eliminate one task or delegate something non-essential.

• Existential stress? Take 10 minutes to journal about what you’re grateful for right now.

This shifts your focus from “What if?” to “What now?” and helps you build trust in your ability to handle challenges as they come.

WHY IT WORKS

If you’re like me, you’ve already done a lot of work on yourself.

Therapy, books, mindset hacks, meditating until your brain feels like mashed potatoes.

I work on changing my thoughts every day, but this approach integrates thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

By reframing stress as a signal and taking small, grounded actions, you reduce its power over you and build confidence in your ability to navigate uncertainty. 

Because at the end of the day, stress isn’t here to ruin you—it’s here to guide you.

You just have to learn how to listen without letting it take the wheel.

If you want to start holding yourself accountable to building your own real online business, join our free accountability group where we help you land your first client in 30 days!