Why Being "Too Smart" Keeps You Stuck Thinking Your Way Through Life

I had my Notion open, and I just wanted to cry.

I had been trying to write a LinkedIn post for an hour, and I couldn’t get it right.

It felt like trying to untangle a knot in my hair after spending all day in a swimming pool.

Frustrating, pointless, and just impossible.

How was I going to build an online business and MAKE MONEY exploring my ideas and passions through writing if I couldn’t write?

I just wanted to cry.

Writing is something I’ve always felt pulled towards.

And building an online business was the glimmer of hope that was going to get me out of a job that was sucking my soul and allow me to create the life I dreamt about every night before going to bed.

Sadly, this writing torture didn’t happen only once.

It happened every time I’d sit down to write. I’d either:

• Stare at a blank page

• Rewrite a sentence multiple times

• Delete posts that were already finished

• Force myself to write the way LinkedIn gurus tell you to

• Or not post at all

Eventually, I abandoned LinkedIn altogether.

Life got tough, and so I spent a year focusing on my personal growth and working a part-time job.

During that time, I did something I had never done:

Feel instead of think my way through life.

With the help of Wendy, a lovely psychotherapist focused on somatic healing, I slowed down and paid attention to my emotions and what they were trying to communicate to me.

It was an uncomfortable and new thing for me.

But it felt right.

Slowly I started to melt away the tons of emotions that were stuck in my body.

And each of those emotions revealed something.

Sometimes they revealed my patterns, my needs, and the unconscious beliefs that were running my life.

Other times they uncovered a sense of creativity, joy, and compassion that I couldn't remember ever experiencing.

Now, you might be wondering what all of this has to do with my writing journey, right?

Well, after all the somatic work I did, I realized the entire time I felt stuck with my writing, I tried to solve the problem through my mind, through thinking.

Meaning, I bought courses, I studied others’ writing, and I forced myself to use frameworks and templates…

All thinking.

But I never paid attention to the emotions I was feeling while I was struggling to write.

And those emotions held the key and the information I needed to get unstuck.

Now I realize that I was feeling:

• Fear of being seen and being judged by people

• Fear of my writing not being good enough

• Fear of not generating leads for my offer

• Fear of failing to build my business

Now, after 2 failed attempts at building my writing skills (and my business) and after a LinkedIn hiatus of more than a year…

I’m back.

And finally, I write without feeling stuck, without staring at a blank page, or sabotaging my work with perfectionism.

I’m not going to lie to you and say that it is second nature, because it isn’t (yet).

But for the first time, writing feels fun.

For the first time, I write about my own ideas and in my own style.

For the first time, I look forward to my writing sessions, and I show up consistently.

And all because I cleared the emotions that were blocking me.

I listened to them. I embraced them instead of judging them. I learned their lesson. I processed them, and I released them.

You might be thinking, “Well, logic and strategy are how you build a business. If I just follow my feelings, my business will collapse.”

But I’m not saying not to be strategic.

Strategy executes the vision, but it cannot create it.

When you stare at a blank page or try harder to execute a task that already feels impossible, you don’t lack information.

Chances are, just like me, you have at least 2 writing courses, 3 copywriting books, and 10+ posts with systems and strategies saved on your LinkedIn gathering digital dust.

They don’t serve you because you have an emotional block (usually from some sort of fear)

And trying to solve an emotional block with more thinking is like trying to finish the work on your computer when the computer isn't even plugged into the wall.

You cannot think your way out of a feeling problem.

You gotta feel the emotions and clear them first.

I know you might be feeling anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed.

And those emotions are so loud that when I say you gotta “feel and clear the emotions,” you think you’re not capable of feeling more.

But there’s a difference.

Right now, you’re looping in anxiety and overwhelm, but you’re not processing the emotions.

When you truly process an emotion, it moves through your body, and then you feel relief.

And yes, you do have the time to do it.

It might not feel productive, but think about how many hours you spend struggling to complete a task, switching to the next item on your to-do list, then coming back without completing anything at the end of the day.

Feeling stuck and overwhelmed is what steals your time.

Releasing an emotion can take you 10 minutes.

And for the record…

I remember years ago I thought I was doing inner work by tracking my habits and reading self-improvement books.

I thought that was enough to take care of myself.

But even though those habits can be useful, I was just intellectualizing my emotions and problems.

Clearing the overwhelm doesn’t come from understanding why you are stuck. It comes from giving the physical tension in your body a safe exit.

Now, before you say, “Okay, I understand what you’re saying. But I literally don’t know how to stop thinking and start feeling. I need a step-by-step guide or a framework on how to do it.”

And I got you.

You don’t need complicated frameworks or to learn a bunch of new skills.

You just need a somatic workflow that gives you the structure your brain wants and the safe space your body needs.

And I have that for you.

HER Relief & Reset Dashboard is a plug-and-play Notion Dashboard for women creatives & entrepreneurs.

It includes an immersive video experience that guides you through 3 exercises designed to clear the mental overwhelm you feel every time you look at your to-do list and unlock aligned momentum in 4 steps.

It’s a FREE tool I built to be medicine for women who are exhausted from living in their heads, overthinking.

And it’s exactly what I would have wanted when I was stuck staring at a blank page trying to write.

And it’s free for you right now.

Thanks for being here.

-Carolina.