If you’ve ever tried to work on your own business, you know the discouragement that comes when setbacks or unexpected outcomes occur. Maybe the discouragement made you hungrier to succeed, or was enough to stop you from exploring your dream all together or at least put it off for a little while? The passion and desire to explore your business further is still present, it’s just that the fear of failing comes up every time you try to act on it.
Well, it’s very natural for these feelings to come up. It’s your mind trying to protect itself; it’s a survival instinct to not get hurt. Most of us feel like we’re hitting an enormous wall that feels like it can’t be scale. This wall is just an illusion; a very convincing illusion, but an illusion nonetheless. It might feel over-whelming, but there are tools you can use to handle any discouragement that comes your way.
The tools mentioned below are not permanent, one time solutions. They will not destroy all future feelings of discouragement around your business. But you can use these tools to continue working when feelings of discouragement come up:
1) Meet other enthusiastic entrepreneurs
This is a solid way to get yourself out of your worries, out of your head and get excited about your passions again. When you’re with other, like-minded, positive people, you will be more present to the plans and passions that you have. You will be less focused on what could go wrong. You’ll remember why you had the desire to start your own business in the first place.
2) BE with it
I know it feels like it’s too over-whelming and that you’re at its whim, but you DO have control. You don’t always have total control of your emotions, but you do have control over how the emotions affect you. It may feel like a matter of life or death, but, remember, it’s just an illusion.
If you allowed yourself to feel whatever you’re feeling, without automatically trying to run from it, trying to fix it or feel good again, then you can handle anything. If you could be nervous, scared, terrified and acknowledge that it’s all apart of the normal process of creating something new, then nothing can stop you.
Sit quietly and listen to your body. How do you feel? Do you feel shortness of breath, tense shoulder muscles, tight chested, lightheaded? Acknowledge these feelings, take a deep breathe and remind your self that this is all apart of the process. It should be celebrated, not feared.
3) Write out your end goals
With all of the anxiety and uncertainly that comes up, it’s easy to forget why you started your own business. It’s important to remind yourself on a regular basis. Write down what you want to get from your life and how your business will help you get it. Get excited about the possibilities. Write out pages and pages of notes if you can. It will be powerful ammunition to combat discouragement.
This is a solid way to get yourself out of your worries, out of your head and get excited about your passions again. When you’re with other, like-minded, positive people, you will be more present to the plans and passions that you have. You will be less focused on what could go wrong. You’ll remember why you had the desire to start your own business in the first place.
2) BE with it
I know it feels like it’s too over-whelming and that you’re at its whim, but you DO have control. You don’t always have total control of your emotions, but you do have control over how the emotions affect you. It may feel like a matter of life or death, but, remember, it’s just an illusion.
If you allowed yourself to feel whatever you’re feeling, without automatically trying to run from it, trying to fix it or feel good again, then you can handle anything. If you could be nervous, scared, terrified and acknowledge that it’s all apart of the normal process of creating something new, then nothing can stop you.
Sit quietly and listen to your body. How do you feel? Do you feel shortness of breath, tense shoulder muscles, tight chested, lightheaded? Acknowledge these feelings, take a deep breathe and remind your self that this is all apart of the process. It should be celebrated, not feared.
3) Write out your end goals
With all of the anxiety and uncertainly that comes up, it’s easy to forget why you started your own business. It’s important to remind yourself on a regular basis. Write down what you want to get from your life and how your business will help you get it. Get excited about the possibilities. Write out pages and pages of notes if you can. It will be powerful ammunition to combat discouragement.
The most important thing is not to beat yourself up too much over any of these feelings. Forgive yourself for feeling these things. It’s only natural to feel discouragement, as all truly successful people in history have had to go through many, many rough patches on their path to success. You’re in good company, so give yourself a break and a pat on the shoulder regularly for being willing to take these steps to start your own business.
Amar Kumar is a Business Consultant for Effensource Global Services. He runs Networking Events and 1-on-1 Consultations to help people get over the intimidation of starting and running their own business
1 comment:
Amar,
Thanks for a very interesting and supportive article.
All the best,
Mary-Kay
Post a Comment