In no uncertain terms, starting your own business is hard! You’ve no doubt seen others doing it and heard from them that it was the best move they ever made – they’re happier, have more time for family, control their own work load and take on only what they want to do. And that’s exactly what you want too.

Right now, though you can’t see the wood for the trees and you’re feeling like you’ve got no headspace left for any more responsibility.

It’s not fun; you’re over worked, over tired and you’re finding it hard to picture that vision you had when you began this journey.

What you need is to find the resilience to bounce back from challenges that have knocked your confidence or been a source of stress.

I define resilience as the ability to recover quickly from difficulties and demonstrate toughness with a positive attitude. With the help of resilience, we can face anything that life throws at us, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Resilience is a skill that requires practise

That’s the good news. Like with any skill resilience can practised and improved upon. Here’s six ‘exercises’ to help you build that inner strength.

1: Identify your stressors

Are you aware of what is making you stressed? As your awareness develops you can recognise those stressors in advance and face them as challenges. Learning more about the things that stress you out helps you to better understand the way they work.

Try to identify what helps you in a stressful situation too, so you can prevent spiralling.

2: Communicate

Once you’ve identified the stressors, it’s vital to be able to speak out about things that need to change. Whether it’s speaking to your team, your business mentor, or personal confidante, effective communication, where both parties play an active part in listening and responding creates a positivity and encourages true team players to emerge.

Try growing your social support network through business networking or group mentoring, where professionals provide support for one another.

3: Focus on health and wellbeing

Step away from the computer, put your out of office on, switch off your phone… Do whatever you need to do to make sure you get time to focus on your health and wellbeing, preferably taking in some exercise where you can.

‘In both the short- and long-term, exercise encourages something called neuroplasticity.[iv] Neuroplasticity allows the brain to adapt to changes in external factors, helping you to cope better with stressful events.’ Anxiety UK

4: Practise relaxation techniques

And breathe… As simple as it may sound, making sure you use your full lung capacity ensures a steady flow of oxygen to the brain and body. If you don’t practise yoga or meditation, just taking a minute to sit up straight, take a few slow deep breaths will make a difference.

5: Try reframing threats as challenges

When we perceive something to be a threat, we naturally want to back away from it. If you can reframe the situation as challenge, you will recognise the opportunity for growth or development. You may even feel excited and energised!

6: Support others

If you have a business with a team of people to support, it can be extremely beneficial to see them flourish and grow their own skills and resilience.

What kind of boss are you? How can you show them leadership skills and support their wellbeing?

If you don’t have a team, there is ample opportunity to support others in your network by sharing on your blog, social media, or networking groups.

Gain control

All these exercises are designed to help you feel in control of the situation.

In my mentoring clients I have seen first-hand, examples of how resilience has developed during the pandemic. One client saw their turnover drop considerably and somewhat suddenly during the first lockdown. However, rather than burying their head in the sand or backing away from the challenge, they took the opportunity to develop new products to suit a remote working environment. These now compliment their original offering and gives greater choice to their customers.

If you would like further support through 1-2-1 business mentoring with me, I offer a free one-hour session where we can focus on a specific challenge your business has presented you with.

If you need more personal support with your confidence, I can recommend some excellent personal coaches that would be happy to hear from you.

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