Being a business owner can be so frustrating sometimes.
Regular Business Frustrations
There are the easy frustrations that we all understand, like “My sales numbers aren’t where I wish they were”, or “This has been more stressful”, or “I’m having employee problems”.
Those are the business stresses that seem fairly straightforward.
But then there are these little things that can pop up as well that can really drive us crazy.
Emotional Derailing
For me, just a few minutes ago, I went to edit my videos to get ready to send them out to my list and put them up on YouTube, and for some reason, there was a buzz underlying the entire video. This hectic bzzzzzz the whole time ruined my videos. There was no way to clean it up.
The time I spent recording the previous video has been wasted and I had to scrap the project. Instead of editing and putting it out there, I have to start all over, and it is very, very frustrating for me.
I’ve had clients or friends miss times that we were scheduled to hang out or have a consultation. That can knock me off kilter.
Dealing With The Emotional Rollercoaster Of Being An Entrepreneur
It is important as an entrepreneur to recognize that these things happen, and usually, there are a few steps here in dealing with it.
Validating My Feelings
The first is that usually whenever my video is messed up, I think, well, in the grand scheme of things, that’s so small, who cares?
That’s actually a lie, though. I care a lot. It really disrupts me.
If I don’t acknowledge how even that kind of, “small of a thing” can have a big effect on me, and I sweep it under the rug, well, it’s going to come back to haunt me for sure.
So first of all, I have to recognize that the feelings of getting messed up and derailed are valid and that I’m not a robot. I can be affected by that.
Engaging In An Emotional Reset
The second is I have to establish what my emotional reset options are.
Whenever I see that and I’m frustrated, I can try to bury that and carry it around with me all day. I can let that affect my client interactions and mess up lots of parts of my business because of it.
Or I can start to have a list or a protocol or some ideas of how to manage that.
Maybe I
- go for a walk for a while,
- do some pushups to let that energy out,
- go for a walk out in nature,
- read a book,
- just take some time for me,
- have a nice snack or a coffee.
Some of those small gestures can give me some space between the stressor and the event so that I can move on and be affected by it for 2, 3, 5, or 10 minutes and not the whole day or the whole week.
It allows me to put it behind me.
The Well – Your Energy Bank Account
On an even deeper level, running a business takes a well of energy. I think of this like a bank account.
Withdrawals
And as you do all these creative tasks in your business, you’re going to get drained in that bank account. It’s going to slowly go down in your emotional bank account.
If you’re only making withdrawals and you’re never making a deposit, eventually you’re going to feel really flattened out.
You’re going to feel really, really messed up.
That’s why I try to deal with those small emotional resets as I go. It seems like it has less of an effect on draining that bank account.
Deposits
But you also have to know how to fill up your bank account as well – how to fill yourself back up energy-wise.
- What makes you feel good and happy?
- Why is it worth being a business owner?
- Why do you want that freedom?
- What is that freedom for?
A really good rule of thumb on noticing what fills up your bank account is that the less action an activity has, the less it probably fills up your account.
Some days I’ve worked a really long day or week. I’m very exhausted. I go home, have some food, and I just want to watch Netflix and not really be very active. On those days, I don’t get filled up at all, really. But that’s about the level of energy I have that day.
Other times I find that if I can get up and go for a walk in nature, on a hike, hang out with some friends, play some board games, do some activities, go biking, I get filled up even more.
A good rule of thumb is the more active an activity is, the more it fills up your bank account.
Action Steps
A common mistake I see is
- People don’t know what their emotional reset is.
- They don’t know what fills them up.
These are both important parts of knowing yourself, which is one of the really key steps to Managing Yourself, which is one of the 8 Key Skills To Be A Successful Entrepreneur.
I want to plant that seed. It’s normal to have things that derail you.
You need to find out what your emotional resets are, and how to get back on track. (Make a list!)
It is important to know what fills you up over time. (Make another list!)
If your energy bank account drains too much and you’re just drained out – you end up in this death spiral where you’re burnt out. You’re making yourself do more work, and you just get stuck here.
It becomes harder and harder for you to make yourself do any more work.
Whether that time comes in months or years or decades, eventually it catches up with you if you’re not filling yourself up and making it all fun.
So hang in there.
Find ways to get your emotions reset on this emotional roller coaster that is entrepreneurship.
Have a great day.
