I haven’t met a founder yet who does not resonate with this scene from The US Office.
Kelly): “Well, I manage my department. I’ve been doing that for several years now, and, God, I’ve learned a lot of life lessons along the way.”
Jim: “Your department’s just you, right?”
Kelly: “Yes, Jim. But I am not easy to manage.”
Why is it so hard?
- Is it due to the natural personality traits of someone who sets up their own business?
- Or strong reactions to previous experiences in the restrictive world of employment?
- Or the level of responsibility felt to provide for yourself, your family and your staff?
- Or feeling pushed to follow plans of what others say you should do, rather than what you feel is right?
- Or your mischievous mind trying to protect you from harm and convincing you to play smaller?
It’s all of the above. Along with the below.
The shame, guilt, anxiety and isolation cycle
Shame on you, you useless human! For not being like Richard Branson. Or Steven Bartlett. Or Steve Jobs. Where is your consistent 20k month? And constant kerchings from a passive income stream? And why exactly are you not able to do all this whilst taking three days out every week to take your kid to Disneyland?
I’m going to let you in to a little secret…THAT is the anomaly in entrepreneurship, not you…there are decades of proper economic statistics to prove it…
You know why you set up your business. You want a work-life mix that suits what you value. Only 1% of UK businesses want to achieve world-domination and be super CEO of their international industry. However, that story is the one mass media likes to push, as it sounds way more exciting.
But the ever-present anxiety and guilt you feel from having to choose a work activity over life, or a life activity over work, all day, every day is quite enough excitement, thank you very much!
Every decision you make gives or takes away from something you value in your personal and business life mix.
Wouldn’t it be a relief to feel clear that what you decide to spend your time, money and effort on this year is based on improving performance in what you value most, right now?
Managing the mischief in your mind
You know what you should really be doing to move towards what you want.
But your mind convinces you to procrastinate. Or do something more ‘busy’ instead. Or do something that feels safer or known.
It’s an absolutely natural survival response. But you’re wanting to thrive, not survive, right?
So it’s time to get creative…with what is hindering your brain. You can do this by translating the actions you need to do into a language that works for your brain, not against it.
Why did you set it all up in the first place?
What do you want to feel from your work and personal life?
What do you really want to spend your time, money and effort on every day?
And do your daily personal and work activities truly reflect that?
What guiding principles do you use for deciding what to do, how and when? Do they align with what actually matters to you? And what makes you feel like a worthwhile human, experiencing the joy you set up your business to give?
A few years ago I heard the phrase “When you cry, you’ve found your why.” Dig deep enough and you will know inside what you truly want to focus your effort on every day.
After really getting to your why, you get a GPS location of where you are now in your business and life journey, and where you want to head.
You can then develop your business model, plan, and action list to map your steps towards it.
And use your personal values as a compass for making decisions at forks in the road along the way.
Mind Your Business® has research and methods that can help
Business ownership is officially classified as an extreme occupation. It creates extreme rewards, with extreme stressors. This means that business owners are significantly more likely to experience mental ill-being than people who are employed.
Our global award-winning Durham University research into ‘The Deterioration of Self-worth in Entrepreneurship’ has been developed into a course to help founders manage themselves, so that they can enjoy everything they personally value in their work and personal lives.
Find out more in our posts, website and podcast.
Co-founder LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/pablomunozroman
Co-founder LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jase-smith-zero78training
Co-founder LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kat-sykes-business-not-as-usual
Website: www.mindyourbusiness.uk
Audio Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/founders-matter/2472247/
YouTube podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersMatterPodcast
