Any business owner will tell you that one of the major challenges they face is getting the right work life balance and learning to cope with stress.
For any business owner there are a hundred and one different things to do – organising staff, products and services to get out to customers, marketing strategies to implement, networks to forge and competition to stay ahead of.
While pushing your business forward is inevitably accompanied by a great deal of stress as you come against obstacles and challenges, successful business owners and entrepreneurs ensure that this does not become an obstacle in itself by having a number of coping methods in place that help them manage on a day to day basis.
Staying cool in those moments of heightened tension is something the majority of top performers are good at. So how do they do it?
According to Forbes it’s not easy:
“Entrepreneurs, in particular, frequently struggle with chronic, excessive stress. It’s frequently rooted in the fear of failure or loss of finances, and can be difficult to escape.”
Positivity and Gratitude
Coping with high levels of stress in your daily life is about having the right attitude. If you are a “glass half empty” kind of person, then any problem cropping up during the day can seem insurmountable. Most top performers are not only positive in their outlook, no matter what the situation, but are also grateful for the opportunities that have come their way. Look for the positives in all situations and treat all hurdles as a chance to learn something new.
Don’t Be a Perfectionist
No one hits the sweet spot all the time. If you are too focussed on being a perfectionist, you could be creating a recipe to greatly increase your stress levels. Successful people cope with stress better because they spend less time worrying over the little things that don’t make a difference. If you fail, accept it, learn from it and move on. Perfection is for artists not for entrepreneurs.
Look After You
It might sound simplistic but top entrepreneurs cope with stress better because they are aware of how it can damage them. Work towards a good work-life balance and make sure you maintain a healthy outlook. It’s easy to hit the caffeine in moments of stress or spend too much time at your desk rather than getting some valuable exercise. Entrepreneurs who stay healthy and balanced are less likely to be stressed out and then burn out. Eat properly, exercise regularly, and sleep well. You may be an entrepreneur but you are not a machine.
Learning to Delegate
When you are running a business it’s natural to see it as your baby and be reluctant about letting others get involved too much. You have a plan, after all, and you don’t want someone else scuppering your path to success. Top entrepreneurs know how to delegate and find the right people to take over some of the workload of running a business. There are plenty of ways to outsource nowadays, whether that’s for handling general office duties or putting together a solid marketing plan. Don’t try to do everything, concentrate on the important things and delegate the rest.
Learning to cope with stress is not about absorbing everything the business world has to throw at you and feeling guilty about finding this difficult at times. It’s about having that right balance and working intelligently. Stress, of course, is part and parcel of the world we live in and it’s often pretty good for us. But successful people also know that it is something which needs to be controlled and managed if you are to perform your best.
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