Every entrepreneur you meet is of course passionate about the project or business they are building. So passionate in fact, that they put their heart and soul into every facet and as a result, often end up putting themselves last.
They constantly worry about letting their team members or investors down and are willing to put in the many, many hours it takes to realise their startup’s potential. Entrepreneurs often sacrifice sleep, friendships, family, exercise and a well-balanced diet all in the name of their startup and this can all lead to chronic stress and fatigue which has a devastating effect on an entrepreneur’s mental and physical health.
A study, done by Michael A. Freeman, a researcher of the University of San Francisco highlighted evidence of a mental health crisis that is prevalent among many entrepreneurs today. According to this study, just under half (49%) of entrepreneurs suffered from at least one mental health condition during their lifetimes.
Further evidence suggests that many entrepreneurs are more prone to developing mental health conditions as compared to the general population, with many experiencing anxiety, self-doubt, depression and loneliness.
But what if this could all change? What if compromising yourself for success wasn’t as necessary as one thought? What if entrepreneurs could learn to work through the daily challenges and stresses more effectively so that they wouldn’t develop chronic stress and fatigue as a result? Enter self-awareness training. Designed specifically for entrepreneurs to enable better decision making and ultimately lead better lives.
The basic self-care strategies like winding down before bed, taking care of your body by eating a balanced diet and taking regular breaks are proving to be not enough to shift entrepreneurs strong mindsets. The belief that they need to take on huge amounts of stress and sacrifice their personal lives in order to see their business succeed is one harmful way of thinking that leads to different sorts of mental health issues.
If entrepreneurs were able to understand more about how their minds and bodies worked through self-awareness with regards to their thoughts and feelings and physical and emotional responses then they could be empowered to make better personal choices when faced with everyday stress.
By following a simple framework for building self-awareness, one could develop the tools necessary.
4 steps to begin building entrepreneurial self-awareness
1. Pay close attention
Self-awareness begins by making an effort to notice what you are feeling, thinking and how your body is responding to what is happening in the present moment.
2. Identify
What is it that you are feeling and with whom in the present moment? Identify that feeling and label it. For example, I am feeling rather annoyed with my team.
3. Look for a reason
Okay, so you are feeling annoyed, and that’s okay. Now, without judgement and condemnation, reflect on this feeling and see if you can try to identify why you feel annoyed. Why am I feeling this way? Is because they are not living up to my expectations?
4. Choose to move forward
This is the most important step of all because a resolution is what we are looking for here. Make an informed choice on what you would like to do based on the above self-reflection techniques. For example, either choose to let it go or decide to have a chat with your team and tell them, in a nice way how you feel. It’s important that you don’t think about this more than you need to.
Following these steps coupled with meditation and mindfulness will help to significantly reduce stress and anxiety as well as regulate your emotions.
Establishing your own weekly meditation or mindful practice into your busy day will be worth your while. Don’t view it as another thing on your to-do list but rather choose to prioritise this essential practice to maintain health and wellness.
Taking five minutes out of your day to pay attention to what is happening around you. Notice what you are hearing, seeing and experiencing and then note the thoughts that you have and how they make you feel.
This will start to pay off and create a noticeable behavioural change in you as well as help you through stressful situations.
It’s important to mention that incorporating self-awareness into your daily life isn’t a magic bullet and it won’t alleviate stress altogether. It will, however, lessen the constant stress that is fuelled by your passionate desire for your business to succeed.
