The Delusional Bonus Phenomenon: When Your Business Isn’t Actually Down (But Your Mindset Is)
Let’s talk about something I call The Delusional Bonus Phenomenon.
It’s a mindset trap I’ve seen happen way too often, especially with marketers, ecom founders, and creators who hit a spike in their business... and never mentally recover from it.
Here’s the story that inspired this:
I had a friend. A good guy, smart, hustling hard, running an ecom brand. One month, out of nowhere, he did $250k in revenue. Big spike. Ads were hitting. Product was trending. Everything clicked.
Then, as things naturally settled, his business leveled off to about $50k/month.
Now here’s the catch…
Instead of realizing that the 250k month was a bonus, a fluke, or just a temporary wave of momentum he started thinking his business was “down.”
Even though his business is actually higher than before the spike, with profit, stability, and freedom he felt like he was losing. Because his mind kept comparing everything to that one peak moment.
That, my friend, is The Delusional Bonus Phenomenon.
The Trap of Comparing to a Peak
Here’s why it’s dangerous:
Your mind locks onto that highest high and starts using it as the baseline. Everything below it feels like a failure even if it’s actually success.
It’s like someone hitting a home run once, and now thinking every single swing that doesn’t go over the fence is a loss.
No. That home run was awesome. But it was a moment. A spike. It’s not your average. It’s not your baseline. And it’s not a fair benchmark for how you’re doing.
Normalize the Bonus. Don’t Benchmark It.
Yes, you can absolutely use those peak moments as motivation. As proof that it’s possible. But don’t anchor yourself to them.
Because that $250k month?
- A flock of course buyers because your offer was new.. (yes this is a thing)
- Some solid referral traffic you had no idea
- Maybe a competitor was in the downs and you were the right choice
- Maybe the moon and the stars were aligned for you.
- Maybe you have a rich girlfriend or boyfriend and they wanted to be nice and bought a bunch of your products, thinking it was a unique person
Trying to recreate luck is exhausting. And treating an outlier as your new standard will mess with your head.
Your Business Isn’t Down Your Expectations Are Off
So if you’re making $50k/month now, and it’s sustainable, profitable, and growing even slowly you’re winning.
What you might need isn’t a new strategy. It’s a new perspective.
Don’t let The Delusional Bonus Phenomenon steal your momentum.
Celebrate what’s real. Build from your actual baseline. And treat those spikes as the bonuses they are not the goalposts for your entire self-worth.
TL;DR
The Delusional Bonus Phenomenon is when you think your business is failing because you're comparing it to a temporary spike. Don't do that. It's a mindset trap. Focus on consistent progress, not chasing a high that you probably should just consider to be a bit of a bonus.