Entrepreneurs And The Need For Self Care

As a business owner, you will face many challenges, both internal and external. You can’t always control the inner struggles that come with running your company, but you can manage your relationships with others.
Your colleagues and collaborators will put in time supporting you while you are developing and growing your business. They will also leave when you ask them to.


It is important to have conversations about what you are working on and how they feel about it. If someone doesn’t agree, try to be understanding and keep moving forward.


But don’t forget yourself! Take breaks, pursue activities outside of work that make you happy, and invest in self-care practices (such as yoga or meditation) that help you relax.


Self care isn’t just for rich people, and it shouldn’t be done only at times of leisure. It can be anything from going to the gym after hours, having a cup of tea before bed, or spending time with friends you haven’t seen recently.


Whatever you choose to do, just be sure to form something you call “myself” time. This could be 30 minutes every other day, an hour every week, or half an hour several days per week.


I’ve talked about self-care as part of workplace wellness programs, but I think we need to reevaluate our attitudes towards it.
Why is self care important?
A close second to having an income source is understanding why self-care is necessary. Most successful people recognize that taking good care of yourself is very important, but they also make time to do things they love or at least thing they are passionate about.


They understand that enjoyment of life comes in many forms and can be done at any level, from watching a movie you have watched dozens of times to going out with friends to exploring new hobbies.


Self-care includes everything from giving yourself deodorant to go shopping to eating foods that taste delicious to doing activities that you enjoy. It is not only okay, it is essential to take some time to nourish your mental, physical, and emotional well-being.


Entrepreneurship is a lot of work, which can sometimes feel like more than you have energy for. Creating and running your business can easily burn up all your energy, momentum, and motivation.


It is easy to get stuck in a rut when you don’t take breaks and don’t give yourself rewards for hard work. Even if you don’t feel like you're accomplishing anything, self-care can help restore your sense of motivation and creativity.




Ways to practice self care

As mentioned earlier, being an entrepreneur comes with its share of responsibilities. Starting your business can be difficult at times due to all the demands that are made upon you.


Running a company involves keeping in touch with friends and family, as well as other commitments such as work. This is why it is important to have adequate time away for yourself. You need to acknowledge this and make time for it.


It’s also worth noting that while having money is always nice, investing in things like health insurance or counselling services can give you more long-term benefits than just medical attention. 




Health and wellness opportunities exist beyond the four walls of a doctor's office, and exploring them could help you deal with whatever is causing you stress.


Self-care doesn't mean doing nothing. It means recognizing that there are ways to feel better even if you don’t feel like working. Take some time off to do what you want to do, and invest in activities that make you happy.


You're not necessarily suffering from burn out unless you recognize it, but instead you're experiencing something called non-functional overwork.

 

Luckily, most people begin to show signs of burnout around the five year mark, so try to start now by practicing these basic strategies."


Hopefully you've already done some of these things for your own personal needs, but thinking about how they apply to your career will help you keep moving towards that goal.




Self care strategies

As an entrepreneur, your success depends on you being one with yourself. You need to recognize that it’s going to take time to restore your health after investing in the work-life balance necessary to succeed as a person first before becoming an entrepreneur second.


That means giving up things like staying up late to meet your deadline or putting in extra hours at the office without taking off time to connect with friends and family. It also means accepting that you won’t feel well and don’t feel well and that’s okay!


Because if you don’t look after yourself, no one will. Your colleagues and superiors are looking to you as someone who sets high standards and can be relied upon, and they know that you’ll come through for them when needed. But they aren’t going to have that trust unless they see evidence of you caring for your own mental and physical wellbeing.


You wouldn’t expect anyone else in the world to do their job if they weren’t able to focus properly, so why should you? Reasonable people achieve great things by creating space and systems for self-care.




Taking breaks

As discussed earlier, staying motivated as an entrepreneur is a constant struggle at best. When you are in full-fledged business mode with no break, it can quickly become something you need to add onto your schedule.


Having a routine that includes taking lunch or dinner alone every day may be what you need to do to keep yourself sane. Or perhaps going through one of your favorite hobbies or activities outside of work helps you feel relaxed and refreshed.


Whatever works for you, remember that this is important self care for you. You should make time for these things because they matter to you, not because I’m telling you to do them.


Staying motivated takes effort and energy, which we all have limited amounts of. We get into bad habits by spending too much time working and being busy, so making time to relax and take breaks really helps re-balance our mental state.




Talk to your friends

As an entrepreneur, you will need to talk about your business with people at every turn. You can’t afford to keep it to yourself anymore!


Talking about your business has several benefits. It helps you stay motivated as you work towards your goals, and it creates relationships that are supportive and trust-worthy.


Friends who know what you do can help you focus on your career by giving you honest feedback and telling you things you should consider doing or not depending on if they feel your efforts are in the right direction.
It also gives them insight into how you operate as a person which is helpful when they want something from you.


Self care is important because we spend a lot of time talking about ourselves and our lives, so why shouldn’t we take good care of ourselves? If you're struggling to prioritize self care, try making calls on someone's phone once in a while, taking a break after working hard, leaving some messages on voicemail instead of responding immediately, having lunch with colleagues or family members, etc.




Get a partner

As an entrepreneur, you will need to spend time in front of your computer or other equipment to accomplish your business goals. You can’t effectively do your job if you don’t have proper sleep, so make sure that you are giving yourself this important piece of self care.


Finding someone who is as motivated about growing their own business as you are can be tricky, but it is totally worth the effort. Having a supportive friend or family member who also understands what you go through as an entrepreneur may give you the push you need to keep up with health care practices like sleeping well and eating well.


There are many ways to find inspiration from people around you who work hard and take good care of themselves.




Practice meditation

A lot of people get hung up on whether or not they can “practice” mindfulness. They believe that you have to be sitting still with your hands on your knees in silence to really achieve it.


No, you don’t!


Practicing mindfulness doesn’t mean staying within strict rules about what you eat, how long you spend doing something every day, and engaging in activities at a consistent level. It is actually an internal state of being.


You can practice mindfulness by simply taking a few minutes each day to focus on what you are doing, listening to yourself, and understanding why you are feeling a certain way.


This can include things like thinking about all of the good things you have done recently, talking to yourself (yes, you have a voice!), giving yourself compliments, and asking yourself if this is the most important thing you should be doing right now.


If you find that you’re too busy to take time off work, no matter what stage you are at, try setting aside 30 minutes twice a week without fail. You will need to plan ahead but it will help you restore your mental health and give you more energy for other parts of your life.


Learn to laugh

Starting your own business can be stressful, which is why it’s important to learn how to relax and take care of yourself.


You will need lots of breaks during the process. Take time off work or reduce working hours so you have enough energy for the next stage. Give up things like going out with friends so that you don’t have to worry about anything.


Cut down on alcohol as much as possible because it costs money and can deplete your resources. Create a habit of practicing self-care by leaving this article for later and doing something that makes you feel better immediately.


It may seem impossible at times but remember, you are not alone in this journey! There are many other entrepreneurs who have been through what you are now experiencing, and most of them did too. You are not unique, which means there are also plenty of people who have done similar things to you.


Surround yourself with these people and get help from those who know you well. Ask if they would be willing to give you some slack while you're trying to focus on your career.


Drinking heavily won't make the stress go away and could even put more pressure on you. Your colleagues and loved ones will probably start to notice changes in you and this can hurt your business and personal relationships.