If you run a small business then you’ll know your ‘to-do’ list is never fully done. There’s always a task that needs doing, a problem that needs solving or a new opportunity to be explored. A recent YouGov survey found that 43 per cent of business founders say they’ve felt burnt out in the last 12 months, so there’s no denying that managing wellbeing and mindset is essential for sustainable business success.
I brought together 30 co-authors from around the world who specialise in mindset in The Time Poor Series: Mindset book. Here are some effective mindset shifts from these authors that can help you cope when things are overwhelming.
Celebrate the small wins
When you’ve got your focus on the long game, it’s easy to forget to celebrate little wins along the way. Cathay Jimenez points out that small bursts of joy are actually more important for happiness than intense moments, with research suggesting that happiness is more about frequency than intensity.
As Cathy says: “What if your next project takes a year to complete? Are you willing to postpone joy until then? If you’re waiting for one big thing to make you happy, science advises you to stop waiting. Big intense moments of happiness don’t make as much of a difference as we think, and their effects don’t last very long.
“Instead of waiting for one grand event, try breaking down your projects into smaller milestones and celebrate each achievement.”
Improve your “mojo”
Mark Zimmerman uses the word Mojo to describe the motivation, passion, energy, enthusiasm and drive that flows through us – it’s essential fuel for business founders if we’re going to cope with setbacks and keep showing up, day after day.
According to Mark, a key aspect of maintaining your Mojo is to start well.
“You’d be surprised how many business owners are really good at setting grand master plans, mapping it all out and never progressing past the first step. We all need to know that to master each of the stepping stones that lead to milestones and goals, we have to set ourselves up to start well.”
Starting well means looking after your health, getting enough sleep, and having a good morning routine so you can get up on ‘the right side of the bed’.
Mark also says it helps to get in the habit of tackling the tough stuff first.
“Get the most challenging tasks out of the way as early in the day as possible, otherwise, they’ll just create anxiety all day. This will set create a sense of achievement and will set you up to smash through the rest of what the day has to throw at you.”
Catch, check, change
Stuart Taylor recommends the ‘Catch, Check, Change’ strategy for business founders trying to reflect and reframe when times are stressful.
This strategy encourages you to pause and ‘catch’ negative thoughts and emotions, then ‘check’ on these emotions and thoughts – are they helpful? Are they true? And finally ‘change’ the thoughts and emotions to get to a better outcome.
“In a work situation, it might be around the idea of getting up to do some public speaking, or taking on a new project or role which might cause a level of panic, concern or worry,” says Stuart.
“These situations present a great opportunity to use the Catch, Check, Change strategy to help us understand the problematic dialogue and emotions, identify the replacement dialogue and emotions, and practice making that change to achieve a more positive outcome.”
Give yourself a 30-second brain boost
Your brain is your greatest asset, and the field of neuroplasticity has shown that it’s possible to change the structure and function of your brain by creating new circuits and connections.
Dr Helena Popovic says all you need is 30 seconds each day to start to boost your brain and develop your neuroplasticity. She suggests creating a ‘CAN DO’ jar by labelling an empty jar with ‘CAN DO’.
“Neuroscientists have discovered that we can boost our creativity and problem-solving ability by removing the word ‘can’t’ from our vocabulary. The human brain responds to everything we think and say as though it were an instruction or set of commands. Therefore, the word ‘can’t’ has the effect of putting our brain in a straitjacket,” says Helena.
Every time you catch yourself thinking ‘it can’t be done’ or ‘I can’t do this’ put a gold coin in the jar. This visual reminder is a great way to break the habit of ‘can’t’.
This post was originally published on here
