You’re Doing The Work — But Not Your Work

Let’s just get brutally honest right out of the gate:

You’re not lazy.
You’re not flaky.
You’re not lacking motivation.

In fact, you’re busy as hell — but you’re not doing your real work.

You’re up early, burning hours into pixels, buried in ClickUp boards, color-coded calendars, optimizing funnels, tweaking your brand colors again because maybe this shade of lavender will finally convert.

You’re working your ass off.

But deep down, you know the truth:

You’re doing the work — but you’re not doing your real work

And that’s the kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from effort.
It comes from misalignment.

The Work That Keeps You Safe

Let me tell you what I used to do.

I’d wake up, open my laptop, and sprint headfirst into what I called “momentum.”

Slack.
Emails.
Analytics.
Optimization.
Tweaks.
Meetings.

It looked productive.
It felt important.

And I was getting results…

…but not the kind that lit me up.

Because I was doing all the right things — for a version of success that wasn’t even mine.

I was building a business I didn’t actually want… because it felt safer than building the one I did.

Can you relate?

The Trap That Keeps You from Doing Your Real Work

There’s the work you’ve been told to do.
There’s the work that’s trendy.
There’s the work that’s praised, applauded, and algorithm-approved.

And then…

There’s your work.

The real work.

The work that scares you a little — or maybe a lot.
The work you think you’re “not ready” for.
The work that feels too simple to count.
The work that requires you to show up as… you, not your persona.

But here’s the thing:

The longer you delay your real work, the more resentful you’ll become doing the fake stuff.

That’s what kills momentum when you’re not doing your real work.

Not a lack of discipline.
Not laziness.
Not inconsistency.

Resentment.

Busy Isn’t Brave

Everyone’s busy.

It’s the badge of honor we wear while we slowly burn out behind the scenes.

But busy is not the same as brave.

Brave is emailing your list about the truth — not just the offer.
Brave is saying, “Actually, I don’t want to scale like that.”
Brave is letting go of the offer that pays but drains.
Brave is choosing depth over downloads.
Brave is simplifying when complexity gets more applause.

Brave is doing your work.

And yes — that’s terrifying.

Because your real work doesn’t come with step-by-step templates.
It’s not something you can model off someone else’s webinar.
It’s not guaranteed to “convert.”

But it’s the only thing that will ever feel true.

Burnout isn’t caused by overwork alone, but often by work that feels misaligned, as studies like this one from Psychology Today explain.

Here’s What That Looked Like For Me

Let me paint you a scene.

Back in the middle of my “most successful” season — you know, the one with the revenue screenshots and the 6-figure launch stories — I was secretly miserable.

Not because the business was broken.

But because I was breaking.

I was building someone else’s vision.
Running someone else’s playbook.
Following strategies that looked great on paper… but made me feel hollow.

And every time I thought about doing the thing I really wanted — simplifying, going deeper, writing honest content instead of conversion-first copy — a voice in my head whispered:

“But what if no one buys it?”

“But what if people stop listening?”

“But what if this ruins everything you’ve built?”

Let me tell you something:

The only thing that ruins what you’ve built… is building it for the wrong reasons.

So one day, I finally decided:

No more pretending.

I simplified everything.
I re-centered around my message.
I showed up like me — not the business persona version.

And guess what?

The right people stayed.
The wrong people left.
And the money didn’t disappear. In fact… it got easier.

Because your work attracts your people.
Everything else? Just noise.

Ask Yourself These Brave Questions

Take 5 minutes and get real with yourself.

1. If I stopped trying to “do it right,” what would I actually do?

2. What part of my current work makes me feel fake or small?

3. What do I avoid doing — not because I hate it, but because it actually matters to me?

4. If no one could see what I was doing, what would I create?

5. Am I hiding behind strategy because I’m scared of sincerity?

6. What am I pretending not to know?

Don’t skip these.

These are the questions that will change your business… if you let them.

Doing Your Real Work Will Feel Risky — Do It Anyway

Your real work won’t feel safe.

It won’t be polished at first.

It might contradict the “best practices.”

You might lose followers.

You might scare yourself.

But here’s what you won’t feel:

• Drained
• Bitter
• Resentful
• Empty

You’ll feel alive again.

And that feeling? That’s the compass.

That’s the confirmation.

That’s how you know you’re finally back on the right track.

Final Thoughts: Stop Hiding Behind “Work”

You’re not here to be efficient.
You’re not here to copy-paste what already exists.
You’re not here to be the world’s best mimic.

You’re here to build something that only you can build.

And that means doing your work.

The messy, honest, brave, creative, heart-led work.

So stop perfecting the landing page.

Stop rehearsing the Instagram post.

Stop optimizing for attention… and start listening to your gut.

Because your next level isn’t in a new funnel.

It’s in the you you’ve been hiding from.