When salespeople consistently procrastinate on activities they know are crucial for success, like making calls or posting on LinkedIn, it's often an indicator of underlying mental health challenges like fear or imposter syndrome, not simply a lack of discipline.
Mentally secure salespeople are open to new ideas and coaching. In contrast, those struggling with their mental health may be highly resistant to change because new methods can feel like a threat to their already fragile professional identity and sense of competence.
Instead of demanding perfection, a practical remedy for mental strain is to practice self-grace. This involves acknowledging your humanity, forgiving minor shortcomings like avoiding a task, and appreciating your current position, shifting focus from perfection to resilient progress.
While comparing oneself to successful peers is a known mental health trap, comparing your reality to an idealized, perfect scenario (e.g., making millions while hardly working) is equally harmful. This creates a perpetual state of inadequacy that can cripple performance.
Seemingly harmless habits like excessive social media scrolling, shopping, or overeating can be mechanisms to avoid the fear and anxiety common in high-pressure sales roles. Recognizing these as numbing behaviors is a first step to addressing underlying mental health issues.
A host shares a personal story of experiencing panic attacks as a 22-year-old salesperson, which a doctor diagnosed as anxiety from job pressure, isolation, and the desire to perform well. This highlights how physical symptoms can manifest from purely psychological stress in sales.