In this second episode of the Summer Series, I’m going to share some things I’ve learned about pleasure and how it’s the foundation of a sustainable, successful business (and life).

This was one of the most impactful lessons in the Feminine Fire course.

“With our recent invitation to find pleasure in our work, I approached my tasks with a loving attitude, instead of something to push through. I enjoyed it much more than I normally do, and accomplished more work in less time.”
“My biggest win from the course is feeling I have permission to bring pleasure back into my life!”
“I'm asking myself how I could enjoy myself more in general, and yes, I think I'm even finding more pleasure in doing the washing up!”

Listen to a snippet of the course here:

I used to start every day by opening my laptop, staring at the jobs on my to-do list… and then finding approximately eleventy million ways to put off doing every single one of them (anyone relate?!)

The tasks weren't even particularly difficult or unpleasant - writing a newsletter, updating my website, reaching out to a potential collaborator. But somehow, I'd turned them into a chore I had to endure in order to "earn" my pleasure later.

This is how our culture has trained us to think about work and pleasure, as opposites that can never coexist.

However, pleasure doesn’t have to be just a reward for suffering through our work, it can be found in everything we do.

And it's actually the key to doing our work with ease and consistency.

Our culture teaches us that:

Pleasure is something to be earned through suffering.
If you enjoy doing something, it somehow "doesn't count" as real work.
We need to rush through tasks to get to the "good stuff" later.
Struggle is what makes our art and contributions valuable.

But what if this entire framework is not only wrong, but actively keeping us stuck?

The procrastination-pleasure connection

When we believe that work needs to feel difficult and depleting in order to be worthy, our nervous system naturally resists it. That resistance shows up as procrastination, perfectionism, or that familiar feeling of avoidance.

But, what if the task itself could be pleasurable?

Instead of rushing through your work to get to pleasure on the other side, what if you wove pleasure into the moment-by-moment experience of your business?

This isn't about making everything "fun" in some forced way. It's about:

Finding the aspects of your work that genuinely light you up.
Creating conditions that make each task more enjoyable.
Following your natural rhythms and desires, rather than arbitrary schedules or “rules”.
Approaching your business with curiosity and play rather than grim determination.

In practice, this might look like:

Writing your newsletter from your favourite café instead of forcing yourself to do it at your desk.
Scheduling client calls during your most energised time of day.
Creating content about topics that genuinely excite you, not just what you think you "should" share.
Taking breaks when you need them instead of pushing through.

When you stop treating pleasure as the enemy of productivity and start seeing it as your guide, procrastination naturally releases.

You find yourself drawn to your work rather than avoiding it, because you actually enjoy the process. Your most inspired, daring offerings flow out of you with ease because you’re in alignment with what’s most alive in you. You can talk about your work with confidence because you’re showing up in ways that feel good.

Following pleasure is how you discover YOUR unique blueprint for success.

A success that is:

Softer (doesn’t require you to muscle and push through),
Sustainable (you keep showing up because you love how you’re spending your time),
Sacred (your pleasure unlocks your truest gifts and soul’s offerings).

We spend most of our lives in the doing, so let’s make sure the doing is delicious!

This is one of the core principles of my work, how to build a business that feels nourishing rather than depleting, where your work becomes an expression of your aliveness rather than something you have to force yourself through.

~

Exercise for the week:

So simple but so impactful - whenever you remember, ask yourself “how can I enjoy this moment twice as much?” See what happens!!

Prioritise pleasure for a day, when you look at your schedule or to-do list ask yourself “how can I make each hour/task today more pleasurable?” See what you discover as you begin to weave in pleasure throughout your daily life.

~

I'd love to hear from you:

What's one task in your business that you've been procrastinating on? What would it look like to approach it with pleasure rather than dread?

An invitation...

If you’ve missed any episodes of Refuel Your Brilliance, you can catch up here.

If the themes of this blog resonate with you, I’d love to invite you to join my next Community Conversations on 5th August where we’ll be taking a deeper dive into the transformational power of curiosity, pleasure and play, and 26th August where we’ll be delving into power, community and presence.

Sign up for 5th August

Sign up for 26th August - ADD LINK

If you’re enjoying this series, and would like to go deeper, my six-month mentoring programme opens again in September - join the waitlist here for early bird pricing and exclusive bonuses.

With delicious possibilities,

Erika x