Have you ever seen that meme about a day in the life of an entrepreneur? You know the one. It’s a line that moves up and down throughout the day and the emotions vacillate between “It’s working!” to “Oh sh-t. What have I done?!?”
Such is the life of a business owner. It’s one heck of an emotional ride filled with really high highs and really low lows. I was recently experiencing one of these lows myself and immediately went to my arsenal of pick me ups to take me from stressed out business owner to blissed out entrepreneur.
Here are some of the best pick me ups if you ever find yourself feeling like a stressed out business owner. At least in my opinion.
Inspiring Podcasts
I often joke that my business and finance education has been from bingeing on podcasts. It just so happens that podcasts have also helped me get out of more than a few funks.
For example, I was recently freaking out because I took a financial risk in my business and as the universe would have it, I was having issues with cash flow that month (because that’s how it always goes down). I went from feeling confident to being a stressed out business owner in about two seconds flat.
I’ve come to realize that the best thing I can do for myself in this situation is to find stories and examples of inspiring people who are making it in business. I’ve also found that I really dig audio because I can listen to it while I’m cooking, cleaning, getting ready to go to the office, etc.
By putting two and two together (inspiration plus audio), I realized I needed to get back into an old habit of listening to podcasts produced by people I admire. So that’s what I did.
By listening to inspiring podcasts, I get positive reinforcement in terms of believing I can overcome obstacles as a stressed out business owner. I also discover new solutions to problems that I may not have come up with on my own.
Inspiring Videos
Depending on my mood and how much time I’ve got, I may trade in a podcast for a video interview. In fact, some of my favorite podcasts also have the interview on video which I can find on YouTube.
I have a unique superpower where I can accidentally stumble upon an interview where someone will say exactly what I need to hear in that moment, even if the title of the interview looks like something entirely different.
All of this to say, feel free to explore different inspirational videos on YouTube. I sometimes get inspired in the weirdest ways when I’m open to exploring.
Exercise
My schedule has been hectic the last few weeks because of frequent travel, so naturally, my regular yoga schedule has gone out the window. I’ve been doing yoga long enough to know what my mind and body feel like when I don’t keep up with my practice, and it’s not cute.
With that being said, I’ll find some ways to sneak in exercise. If I can only hit up the yoga studio on Monday then so be it, but I’ll be there. Or, I’ll make sure to get a lot of walking in when I’m traveling. Maybe I’ll do some stretches in the morning because that’s all I can fit in.
The point is, moving my body helps me tremendously when I’m feeling like a stressed out business owner. In fact, the more stressed out I feel, the more I need to carve out some time to move my body.
As an aside, I try not to beat myself up too much if I’m not exercising as much as I’d like or in the way I’d like to do it. I’ve come to realize that we go through seasons and I just happen to be in a really busy one. This means I need to take a chill pill and improvise.
Meditation
I started meditating back in 2011, and I credit my meditation practice for much of my success.
As I recently mentioned on a podcast interview, meditation helps keep you out of your own head. It also gives you a little buffer so you’re not so reactionary when stressful situations inevitably come up.
For example, when I was freaking out over cash flow problems, I immediately found some sort of guided meditation that helped me focus on abundance and gratitude. This helps keep me grounded and out of my emotions that I can actually come up with solutions.
Affirmations
I’ve been re-reading “Overcoming Underearning” and “Secrets of Six-Figure Women” by Barbara Stanny. In those books, she mentions the power of positive affirmations when you’re trying to change the way your brain thinks about money.
Sometimes the reason we may feel like a stressed out business owner is because of a subconscious block. With repetition, the affirmations cut through that and you start re-wiring your brain.
Affirmations are actually something I relied on back in 2015 when I was going through a rebrand and breaking even in my business. I made a list of about 30 positive affirmations based on the blocks I knew I was experiencing at the time and taped them to a white board at my workstation.
I saw these affirmations and repeated them every single day, and by the end of 2015, I accomplished everything I’d set out to do. Since I’ve already had success using this technique, I decided to try it again – except this time I’m making a list on my phone as well.
Final Thoughts
Running a business can be extremely stressful and emotional. That’s why it’s important that business owners create a toolbox of practices and techniques that can help keep them grounded when they start feeling stressed out.
In creating this toolbox, we’ll have what we need to cut through emotions that may be clouding our judgment. We’ll also be more receptive to finding solutions for our perceived problems.
Give some of these a try and let us know how it goes.
