It is interesting to know that not every entrepreneur lives a stressful life. Some know just how to deal with the everyday challenges of the adventure without losing their health and fitness. As an entrepreneur, even as you master the business terrain on which you play, you need to master your health and make sure you stay fit always. For you to enjoy good health, you must consciously work at it and not sacrifice your health on the altar of your business success.
It begins from realizing that getting stressed up is a matter of your choice. It is about taking charge of your thoughts, emotions, actions, schedule, and the way you handle problems.
Already, in my post titled, “Seven Main Causes of Stress For Entrepreneurs”, I discussed on those leading causes of stress and for each one, I tried to recommend an antidote which could help to prevent stress. They are:
1. Focus your attention more on competition, not competitors. Remember sometimes that you could be a very big success without necessarily being the best in your domain. Be satisfied with good success and compete with yourself more.
2. Set realistic goals. Don’t strive to achieve what is not possible with the resources you have. This does not mean your goals must be small. In fact, they must be big enough to scare you. But they must be realistic with the resources you have.
3. Be sure to set aside more than what you think you require as start-up capital. Don’t underestimate what you think you need for a start and to run the business for some time.
4. Ignore the expectations of others, if there are any. Know that everyone has issues in his/her life, to face. Be accountable to yourself alone. Work hard to succeed, not to satisfy anyone, because no one ever gets satisfied.
5. Don’t be a Mr. do-it-all-alone. Apply division of labor, one of Henry Fayol’s 14 Management principles. Reduce tasks to little action steps which can be carried out by any category of your workers, and empower them to take initiatives.
6. Consider seriously your decision to increase/expand your services. Be sure you are well prepared in terms of resources, to cope with the increase/expansion.
7. Know that change is inevitable in life and very often challenging to cope with. However, there is nothing else you can do about change than to prepare for it, welcome it, and move with it. In fact, a good entrepreneur is an architect of change himself.
In this post however, I move on to share with you some simple practical ways to prevent stress that comes from the everyday issues in the life of an entrepreneur. They are:
Eat Well
Your diet has a lot to do with your health. Many people don’t know that their brains need food just like any other part of their bodies. The first thing your brain needs every morning is amino acids. Also, foods loaded with Vitamin B6 help produce more of the calming hormone, serotonin. While coffee is good with moderation, too much of it could lead to increase blood pressure. In short, visit a nutritionist and plan your feeding well.
Quiet Time
Whether you acknowledge it or not, you need to have some time away from your business, family, friends, fun, etc. and just be alone to reflect over life. During such time you will need to think about the essence of life, more than the goals of your business. You will need a quiet place and one without distractions in order to meditate. Meditation and keeping contact with your God, is a great way to prevent stress. Most natural sites will be good for this.
Exercise Enough
One can never overemphasize the importance of regular exercise and if there is just one group of people who need exercise, it is entrepreneurs. Exercise does the relaxing job so perfectly and keeps you healthy and stronger to face business with better aptitude. If you can’t enroll with a gym, spend at least 3 days a week doing at least 30 minutes of stretches and jogging. This will produce endorphins which will help you relax.
Enough Sleep
Most entrepreneurs don’t sleep enough. They retire late and are up very early to begin the business of the day. Sleep is a natural gift from God to help us shut down from all our activities and get rest so we can function again. It is possible to postpone sleep but not possible to refuse to sleep. Even when you postpone sleep or not get it enough, you risk a breakdown. When we are stressed up, we lose the desire to sleep and eat. On the other hand, when we sleep and eat well, we hardly get stressed up.
Socialize Often
Socialization helps you to get involved with people and happenings. It is very necessary. An hour of socialization is capable of distracting you from some stressful thoughts and making you take life easier than you normally do. Go out to events like weddings, anniversaries, ceremonies, etc. with friends, family and loved ones. Enjoy every fun of the day by switching off all connections to business, and distracting yourself as much as possible.
Learn To Say ‘No’
It is very challenging to say ‘YES’ to every opportunity that presents itself to you in life, but even some times more challenging to say ‘NO’. Some new ideas, products, markets, strategies, always keep beckoning. But, you must be able to say ‘NO’ to some of them. Stick to the ones that are working for you and the new ones you are sure you can cope with and succeed.
Discover A Hobby
Personally I love watching football, playing games, watching comedy and listening to good music. These are hobbies that have done a good job over the years, helping me to relax when I am getting stressed up. Finding something you love so much and doing it often can help prevent stress. However, be careful that the hobby you choose is not one that makes you more anxious and stressed up. Let your hobby be a relaxer, something that makes you smile/laugh alone.
Travel To New Places
One way of preventing stress is to travel to new places, make new discoveries and meet new people. It is a natural way to distract yourself from the stressful life. Some of the stressful experiences we have are attributable to our environment, which includes the people in it. So, changing environment temporarily will do a great job of disconnecting us from our environment and preventing us from getting stressed up.
Don’t ignore stress, it is a killer. Don’t blame it on others, either. Identify the sources of stress in your life and face them. Avoid those that should be avoided. Preventing stress is possible, so why wait to manage it when it comes?
There are surely many more ways to prevent stress. These above are just the
few I could share with you, which are very effective. Begin today and be faithful in applying them. I am sure from now you are in control. Make your comments below.
By Kadzem Claude
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