The Mental Programmes Keeping You Stuck in Your Business

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in June 2023 and updated in December 2025 with insights specific to entrepreneurs running mental programmes that no longer serve them.

Have you ever found yourself caught in a cycle of thoughts that keep you stuck — even though you know they're not helping?

It's like having old software running in the background of your mind, written when you started your business 10 years ago, still controlling how you think and make decisions today.

As entrepreneurs, we run mental programmes that once served us brilliantly. They helped us build businesses from nothing. They kept us going when things got hard. They made us successful.

But those same programmes that built your business might now be keeping you trapped in it.

In this post, we'll explore the mental programmes entrepreneurs commonly run, how they keep you stuck, and — most importantly — how to rewire them so you can figure out what's actually next.

1. Identifying Your Mental Programmes

Just like a computer, our minds run different programmes that shape our thoughts, decisions, and actions. These programmes often manifest as recurring beliefs or automatic responses that we don't even question anymore.

For entrepreneurs, these programmes were often incredibly useful when you were building your business. But now that you're in a different phase, they might be working against you.

Common Mental Programmes Entrepreneurs Run:

"Success means pushing harder."
When things feel off, you work more hours, add more to your plate, push through harder. This programme got you through the early days. But now it's keeping you exhausted and preventing you from asking whether pushing harder is even the right direction.

"My worth = my business success."
You've tied your identity and self-worth to your business performance. This programme drove you to build something successful. But now it makes it terrifying to explore whether you've outgrown it — because if you leave, who are you?

"I have to control everything."
You controlled everything because you had to in the early days. This programme built your business. But now it's keeping you trapped trying to optimise and systemise your way out of a problem that needs acceptance instead. (See: You Can't Control Your Way Out of the Success Trap)

"I should be grateful for what I have."
This programme stops you from admitting that something feels off. You gaslight yourself with "other people would kill for this success." (See: 4 Ways Entrepreneurs Gaslight Themselves)

"There's no good time to make a change."
This programme keeps you waiting. Waiting for more money. Waiting for the market to improve. Waiting to feel ready. (See: Stop Waiting for the Right Time)

"I built this — I can't question it now."
This programme uses the sunk cost fallacy to keep you stuck. You've invested 10 years, so you tell yourself you have to keep going — even if it's making you miserable.

Reflection Questions:

Which of these programmes are you running? What beliefs about your business or yourself do you automatically accept without questioning?

2. The Impact of Old Programmes

These mental programmes were helpful when you were building your business. They gave you drive, resilience, and determination. They made you successful.

But now they're keeping you stuck.

Here's how:

They prevent you from getting honest about what you want. When you're running "I should be grateful," you can't admit something feels off. When you're running "My worth = my business," you can't explore whether you've outgrown it without feeling like a failure.

They keep you in action mode instead of reflection mode. "Success means pushing harder" keeps you optimising and fixing instead of pausing to ask whether this is still the right path.

They make it terrifying to consider change. When your identity is wrapped up in being "the successful business owner," exploring whether you want something different feels like losing yourself.

They trap you in waiting. "There's no good time" keeps you stuck in limbo for years, never making a decision.

Example: The "I Have to Control Everything" Programme

You're running this programme because it built your business. But now it's keeping you stuck, trying to optimise your way to clarity.

You spend months implementing better systems, convinced that if you can just get organised enough, you'll stop feeling this way. But perfect systems don't fix fundamental misalignment.

You're using control as a way to avoid the real question: "Is this still the right fit for me?"

3. Rewiring Your Programmes

The good news is that you have the power to rewire these programmes. You can consciously shift from beliefs that worked for building a business to beliefs that work for figuring out what's next.

Old Programme → New Programme

Old: "Success means pushing harder."
New: "Clarity comes from getting honest, not from pushing through."

Old: "My worth = my business success."
New: "I built something successful. And I'm more than what I've built."

Old: "I have to control everything."
New: "I can't control my way to knowing what I want. I have to explore honestly."

Old: "I should be grateful for what I have."
New: "I can be grateful for what I've built AND want something different."

Old: "There's no good time to make a change."
New: "There's no perfect time. There's only now, or five years from now, when I wish I'd started today."

Old: "I built this — I can't question it now."
New: "I built this once. I can design what comes next."

How to Rewire:

1. Notice when you're running the old programme.
Catch yourself thinking "I just need to push harder", or "I should be grateful" or "I can't leave — what would people think?"

2. Challenge it.
Ask: "Is this belief helping me get clarity, or keeping me stuck?"

3. Choose the new programme consciously.
Replace the old thought with the new one. It will feel uncomfortable at first — that's normal. You're rewiring patterns you've run for years.

4. Get support.
Rewiring deeply ingrained programmes is hard to do alone. Sometimes you need someone outside your head to help you see what you can't see. That's what the Redesign Programme does — it helps you identify the mental programmes keeping you stuck and consciously choose new ones that serve where you are now.

4. Seeking Support in Rewiring

Changing your mental programming can be challenging, especially when deeply ingrained beliefs are involved. These aren't just thoughts — they're identity-level programmes that have run for years.

Trying to rewire them alone is like trying to see the label from inside the bottle. You're too close to it. You need an outside perspective.

Why External Support Helps:

You can't see your own programmes clearly. They're invisible to you because you've been running them for so long. Someone outside your head can spot them immediately.

You need accountability. It's easy to slip back into old programmes when you're under stress. Having someone to call you on it helps you stay consistent.

You need permission. Sometimes you just need someone to say, "You're allowed to want something different" or "It's okay that you don't know yet."

You need a thinking partner. Someone who helps you explore what you actually want without an agenda for what you "should" do.

That's what coaching provides — not more strategies to control your way forward, but support in getting honest about what you want and rewiring the programmes keeping you stuck.

The Redesign Programme gives you 6 months to identify the mental programmes running your decisions, consciously choose new ones, and explore whether staying (and redesigning) or transitioning out is right for you.

In Short

Your mind is running programmes written when you started your business 10 years ago. They worked brilliantly then. They might be trapping you now.

The programmes that build businesses ("push harder," "control everything," "my worth = my success") are different from the programmes that help you figure out what's next ("get honest," "explore openly," "I'm more than what I've built").

You have the power to identify which programmes you're running and consciously rewire them. By recognising old beliefs, challenging their impact, and choosing new ones that serve you now, you can move from stuck to clear.

And if you need support along the way, you don't have to do it alone.

Book a free 50-minute clarity call and let's talk honestly about what programmes are keeping you stuck — and how to rewire them.

Or if you're ready to spend 6 months doing this work properly, learn more about the Redesign Programme — where we identify the beliefs keeping you trapped and consciously choose new ones that serve what's next.

Remember: The programmes that built your business might be keeping you stuck. But you have the power to rewrite them.

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