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The mental toll on entrepreneurs is real and not talked about enough. Research shows that 72% of founders report negative mental health impacts of starting a business, including high stress, anxiety, burnout, depression and panic attacks. That’s a big percentage.
As founders, we’re often moving too fast to recognize the power our mindset and mental health have on our business.
What we say to and how we treat ourselves can make or break our mental health and, ultimately, businesses. Our mindset doesn’t just impact us; it impacts everyone around us.
So, if we’re burned out, too afraid to fail or wary about our organization’s future, we’re A) missing out on important opportunities and B) not showing up as the best version of ourselves for our people.
I’ve been on my own mindset journey over the years. Once I started prioritizing my mental health, I learned that the right perspective can be rocket fuel as you scale.
Here’s what I’ve learned from training my mind over 18+ years in the game.
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Trust your gut and intuition
Decision-making as an entrepreneur is stressful. But it’s part of the job. On a daily basis, you’re required to make hard decisions quickly that could impact the future of your company. On top of that, you’ll likely have input from others who also have an opinion on how you should proceed.
Hearing others’ perspectives on an issue is important and should be considered, but when it leads you astray from your own intuition, you can run into trouble. Because when you really listen to your inner voice and intuition, it is usually right.
My co-founder Brendan Schwartz and I faced a big decision in 2017 when we received an offer to sell Wisita. We listened to others and considered all the information — nearly everyone thought we had hit the jackpot with the offer.
Ultimately, we made a decision that was authentic to us and that we thought was best for the long-term interests of our team members and our company vision. We did the unexpected: we turned down the offer, took on $17.3 million in debt, bought out our investors and took complete control of Wistia. Last year, we paid it off.
At the end of the day, when I’m faced with a hard decision, I ask myself: what will leave me with a clean conscience and better sleep at night? Whatever decision leaves you with that feeling is often the correct one in the end.
But in order to trust your gut and intuition, you have to build it. This means you can’t be afraid to fail. The only way to learn and improve at something is to try it, so the faster you get comfortable with failure and risk-taking, the better. Trying and building new things is the backbone of everything in our society and ultimately trains our intuition.
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Adopt a positive mindset
I have a saying that I often come back to: “No one ever got rich telling you all the reasons why you’re wrong.”
If you think about it, being a pessimistic entrepreneur rarely leads to success. I’m fully aware that staying positive is challenging in the startup world, and it’s good to have a healthy dose of skepticism. However, over the years, I’ve adopted two tricks to maintain a generally positive mindset on a daily basis.
First, a different perspective is everything. Sometimes, all we need is someone to help us reframe our situation and offer some validation.
As entrepreneurs, it’s so easy to fall into a certain track and headspace. If you’re struggling to remain positive about your business, talk to someone outside of your company who has been following your journey.
Second, make time to exercise. I think we can forget how much our mental state is tied to our physical state. Exercising your body in any way can be a physical escape. It makes us happier.
Exercise not only brings mental clarity but also helps us handle emotional stress. So, the next time you think of using the 30 minutes you set aside for exercise to get ahead on some work, think again.
When we’re in a more positive mental state, it’s easier to accomplish difficult things and make better decisions. Your mental capacity and productivity will skyrocket. So, if you choose the exercise, the payoff will be better in the end.
Related: How Mindset Plays a Role in Your Entrepreneurial Success
Remain emotionally present
Society conditions us to believe it’s best to live in the present moment. But as an entrepreneur, how do you live in the moment while in a job that constantly requires you to look into the future and plan for what’s ahead?
I’ve figured out that the ideal state for doing this job well is to try to stay emotionally present. This helps prevent me from becoming anxious about the future or depressed about the past. I try to take note of my emotions and let my feelings pass without self-judgment.
Of course, remaining emotionally present is easier said than done, and I’m still trying to master it. However, a few things have helped me along the way. One is recognizing that worrying about things you can’t control is not helpful, so try identifying the things you can control.
Meditation has also helped me – it brings me back to the present, stops racing thoughts and reduces my stress. During a particularly stressful time, I once meditated for 500 continuous days. And it totally rewired how I deal with stress.
And finally, just give yourself time to think and solve problems.
As entrepreneurs, we must take on each day with confidence, positivity and presence. If you have a constant internal narrative of “things never work out for me” or “I can’t afford to fail,” this is your moment to make a change.
If you believe that you can manifest good fortune in business and life, you need to keep yourself in the game long enough to generate luck. You have no chance of creating luck if you’re on the sidelines. If you’re persistent, conditions ripe for generating luck will eventually occur. It’s only a matter of time.
