Put on your thinking cap.
Have any idea what that all-important “number one factor” is?
If you’re coming up empty, here’s a hint: There was once a BIG stigma attached to this factor, draped in a cloak of shame and embarrassment.
People never used to talk about it — as if the subject were taboo. Bring it up at a dinner party or business meeting and you were repelled like a bad odor.
What a sad shame.
Nobody wanted to engage in a discussion about something so vital to your life and livelihood. People preferred to ignore it, avoid it, or sweep it under the rug.
Thank goodness those days are gone!
Still no clue what this factor is that makes you look, feel, and perform better in your business?
Then it’s time to inject a little story.
When I was a kid, I loved roller coasters. I didn’t care about any of the other rides at amusements parks, especially any dizzying rides that went around in circles. Those made me nauseated. I wanted to spend the day as a thrill-seeking speed junkie!
Running your own business is a very different kind of roller coaster ride. The ups are great and the downs are … well … not so great.
I want to address the downs – as in feeling down.
As a small business owner, you likely have many competing demands on your time, sleepless nights, frustrations, and debt. Not to mention doubts – which lower the needle on your self-confidence meter.
Add the stress of deadlines, responsibilities to your family and pets, unexpected household, car, or medical expenses, and those impossible clients from hell and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a nervous breakdown.
And the more you try to mask these demons, the uglier and the meaner they get.
Nothing is as critical as your state of mind and overall well being. It plays into every aspect of your life, including your role as entrepreneur.
Your “mental health” is that “number one factor” in maintaining a vibrant and fruitful business.
If you don’t keep tabs on your mental and emotional well being, your business will go down the crapper.
Here’s some food for thought, taken from an article on Inc.com, “The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship”:
“Successful entrepreneurs achieve hero status in our culture. We idolize the Mark Zuckerbergs and the Elon Musks. And we celebrate the blazingly fast growth of the Inc. 500 companies. But many of those entrepreneurs, like Smith, harbor secret demons: Before they made it big, they struggled through moments of near-debilitating anxiety and despair–times when it seemed everything might crumble.”
[Bradley Smith is the CEO of Rescue One Financial in Irvine, California]
Take it from one who knows (that would be me): Internal struggles can cause external troubles. The least of which is insomnia and weight gain. Been there. Done that.
The solution is simple. Share your feelings with others. Really. Just do it and see what happens.
And don’t discount the healing power of humor.
I assure you the stigma surrounding mental health issues and the ban on the battle has been lifted. Amen!
My go-to counselors and confidantes are my fellow blogging buddies in the Word Carnivals group. If something is bugging me, they listen. Without question, these folks are some of the busiest, most creative, and hardest-working professionals on the planet.
Yet they consistently and willingly take the time to lend support, laced in love and virtual hugs. It’s something we do for one another and it’s beautiful.
My entrepreneurial life would be garbage without them.
By the way, today’s post is part of our monthly Word Carnivals. Treat yourself and your soul with the opportunity to meet some of these sanity savers by catching their take on “Mental Health and Your Business”. You’re worth it!