If You Are Neurodivergent and in Business – Wellbeing Has to Be the Goal
Wellbeing HAS to be the goal
Ask any new business owner, budding entrepreneur or aspiring leader what their goal in business is and watch the answers appear.
I’ve sat in coaching calls, mastermind groups, and across café tables and heard it all:
“I just need to hire this new person and I’ll be back on track.”
“I want to scale into this new market, with a 20% revenue increase target.”
“I’ve found this new software and it’s going to make everything so much faster, so we can bill more.”
“Maybe if we rent a new premises or fund a fit out then we’ll be set.”
Heck, I’ve said them too.
But here’s the thing: not many people will tell you that their goal in business is wellbeing. And if you are Neurodivergent and in business, I believe it has to be.
Why Wellbeing Matters More Than Growth
Lots of Neurodivergent people experience chronic illness. Not always, but often. I’ve seen it across reports I’ve written as a therapist, and lived it myself.
I still remember the shock of scrolling my psychologist’s blog and seeing a list of chronic illnesses linked with Autism. It read like my own medical history. Seeing it all in one place was like someone finally turned the light on in a room I’d been stumbling through for years.
From 17, I’ve lived with autoimmune conditions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat across a desk from a specialist only to hear the words “it’s stress-related.” I rolled my eyes so many times I thought they’d get stuck there.
For more than a decade, I lived waiting for the next crash, the next flare, the next collapse that would flatten everything I’d built. In 2015, the biggest crash hit. Three months housebound. Three years clawing my way back. And the quote that stuck with me—something I probably found on Pinterest—was:
“Health is the crown the healthy wear but only the sick can see.”
As a young person still figuring out her neurotype, those words were both devastating and validating.
Burnout Will Make the Choice for You
So why do I say wellbeing has to be the goal?
Because if you don’t prioritise it, your nervous system will.
Burnout doesn’t ask permission. It will stop you in your tracks, whether you’re ready or not. For me, every major stressor from the age of 15 carried a physical consequence. My nervous system was wired for survival, hyper-attuned to the world, and deeply impacted by every shift around me.
And once I saw the connection between my health conditions and my neurotype, the pattern became impossible to ignore
Sustainability as a Business Strategy
When I finally accepted that my body wasn’t broken, that my “stress responses” weren’t a failing to be fixed, something shifted.
I stopped performing and people-pleasing. I started listening to the interoceptive cues my body was giving me—the early warning signs of burnout.
And I realised that if I wanted a sustainable business, I needed to stop building it on someone else’s terms.
The systems that say “more hours, more hires, more revenue, more scale” are not designed with us in mind. They’re designed for neurotypical brains. For us, sustainability starts with wellbeing. Because from wellbeing comes creativity, innovation, and profit that doesn’t burn us to the ground.
What’s My Goal Now?
Sure, I can still talk about scaling, creative projects, or the newest system I’ve found. But those things are secondary.
My real goal is this: to work in a way that authentically meets my neurotype needs and puts wellbeing first.
Because without wellbeing, the rest doesn’t matter.
Want to Learn How?
This is exactly why I created my masterclass:
What I Wish I Knew: 5 Lessons for Working in Alignment With Your Neurodivergent Brain in Business
And why I started the community:
🌿 Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs: Business That Fits Your Brain
Because when we build from wellbeing, the rest—creativity, income, impact—will follow.
After all, health is the crown. And once you see it, you’ll never forget it.
disclaimer: this blog is an opinion piece, shared by the author and is not a replacement for individualised health advice. Please always seek information from your healthcare providers