Stress and anxiety are a way of life for most business owners. You have staff, customers and vendors all relying on you to be successful and grow your business. And that little voice in your head will remind you that at every turn. If you find yourself struggling to turn that voice off and get stuff done, you need to practice these 3 mantras.
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1. I Don’t Control The Timeline.
I can influence. I can impact, but I don’t control the timeline. Recently this year my own business coaching company, Maui Mastermind, needed to make a really important key hire. We had it set to make the hire in quarter one, and it turned out that we didn’t actually find the right person and on-board them until mid-August. Again, we can influence but we can’t control the timeline. We worked with recruiters…we had ads running…we went to our network…but ultimately we knew that hiring the right person was more important than just filling an open position.
We could impact things. We could influence things but that didn’t bring us the right person in quarter one. Recognizing that there are things outside of our control can go a long way to quieting your anxiety. Just relax and do what you can.
2. I Am Making Progress.
Tell that anxious voice in your head to take a walk by reminding yourself that you are actually making quite a bit of progress. I have a practice that I do every week that helps drive this point home and calm my anxiety.
For example, I might journal about how I spent two and a half hours yesterday working on my new book. Or how we finally made an important key hire. Or I might journal about how I exercised that day or ate really well. Basically, if it was progress towards an important goal (business/personal or health) I document in my goal journal.
I will also journal magic moments. For example, I got to watch one of my sons playing soccer yesterday and I was so proud watching him play. The joy and abandon he had on the soccer field was so amazing and we had a really special talk on the way home that evening. It was really a sweet moment and one that I wanted to capture.
As an ambitious business owner, it is really easy to focus on what is left to do but by documenting progress towards goals, blessings and magic moments it helps remind me to enjoy and savor the journey and I think as a business person that’s a really important point.
3. I Will Change My Perspective.
This third mantra is one that comes in the form of three powerful questions. One of my business mentors, Stephanie shared with me the three questions that she uses whenever she has an important decision to make.
What matters most?
Stephanie is an extraordinary woman. Not only is she an incredibly successful serial entrepreneur who built her last manufacturing business up and sold it for an eight-figure payday but her current business is already valued at nine figures, three years into operation. And her success isn’t just in the business world. She has a wonderful husband and has raised two kids, along with helping in her community.
These three questions have helped her focus on the truly important pieces, which in turn can quiet an anxious mind.
Anxiety is a way of life for entrepreneurs, but there are concrete things that you can do to minimize the impact that it has on your business and personal life.
So repeat after me: I don’t control the timeline. I am making progress. I will change my perspective.