The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Staying Sane
Blog
July 5, 2018 | Nicole Toombs - Hondros College Contributor
The life of an entrepreneur is filled with things they think they must do to make their business a success. While they may reach that goal, it could come at a high personal price. In fact, 32 percent of entrepreneurs experience two or more mental health conditions. Starting a business isn’t easy, but it helps if you take the time to recognize signs that you’re not taking care of yourself and do something about it.
Start by Recognizing That You Need to Help Yourself First
Whenever you fly, the flight attendants tell you that in case of emergency you should put your oxygen mask on first before you try to help other people. The same is true for an entrepreneur. Your business will have a much better chance at success if you’re healthy physically and emotionally.
Pay attention to symptoms that may relate to depression, anxiety, or ADHD. Those are the three most common issues entrepreneurs need to manage. If you make yourself a priority, there are things you can do to avoid those types of problems. Keep in mind that ignoring your health is self-sabotage.
Learn to Manage Stress
The best way to manage stress is to address it directly.
- Identify your triggers: Whenever you feel extreme stress such as fear, worry or doubt, work backward to identify what caused those feelings. You may find that you’re worried about money, or the problems you’ll face if a new employee doesn’t work out.
- Manage your self-talk: You probably have negative thoughts running through your mind. Turn those negative thoughts off by recognizing the issues you’re facing and thinking about how you can address them successfully.
- Find ways to relieve stress: There are many ways to relieve stress, as you’ll see below. Make creating balance in your life a priority.
Find Ways to Relieve Stress that Make Sense for You
Experts have identified an abundance of ways to relieve stress. The important thing is to choose those stress relievers that fit into your lifestyle. If a stress reliever makes sense to you, you’re much more likely to continue using it. Here are some excellent alternatives.
Take a Day Off
Many entrepreneurs get into a habit of working seven days a week. If you’re guilty of that, too, you’re really asking for trouble. Force yourself to take a day or two off every week. More importantly, follow through by not doing anything work related during your days off. Don’t go to the office, and if your office is in your home, take a day trip with friends or family to avoid sneaking into your home office for just a few minutes.
Turn Off Your Phone
This is difficult, but it can be the best thing you could do for yourself. Take that day off and truly unplug. It will give you a new perspective when you plug back in. Recognize that one day of being unreachable isn’t going to destroy your business.
Schedule Time for Exercise
You schedule everything else during your days, so treat time to exercise as another one of your critical tasks. Find one or more types of activity that you enjoy. Alternatives include going to the gym, taking a hike, and riding a bike among many others.
Strike a Balance Between Your Work and Personal Life
Make sure you have your priorities in the right places. As an entrepreneur, your business is your passion or you wouldn’t be an entrepreneur. However, you also need to have a personal life. You need the release of focusing on yourself on a regular basis and the support of family and friends.
The Choice Is Yours
It’s easy to believe that you can’t be an entrepreneur and take time for yourself. Many entrepreneurs believe that their business will self-destruct if they aren’t focused on it 24/7. Those things aren’t true, but you need to take action to prove them wrong.