Starting your own business and being your own boss may seem like the ultimate vacation – you get to call the shots, you can call in sick anytime you want, you get decide what you’ll work on today and you don’t even have to get out of your pajamas all day!! And it’s true, it’s pretty sweet most of the time. But there will be days when you just don’t feel like King or Queen of your Online Empire and things just seem out of whack and nothing is going your way. Same goes for rockin’ a dream job! It may be wine and roses 90% of the time, but everyone has their off week now and again.
These days are inevitable and it’s important to:
– Know this will happen occasionally
– Accept that days like this will happen
– Prepare for days like this
And sometimes, these days are actually more like weeks. Sometimes it’s merely a plateau in your success. You rise and rise and rise and occasionally your success will plateau. This is normal and nothing to worry about.
Other times, you’ll get into a funk. It could be nothing, just a growing pain that will pass with time. Or it could be that you’ve gotten off the right path, that your business/career is no longer in alignment with your VIV’s (Very Important Values) or simply isn’t matching your personality. If this is the case, take a break and figure out what’s out of alignment or what isn’t working for you.
(This photo was taken in my new picnic spot – a secret forest-y garden where I’ll be spending some quiet time every day from now on. Scroll down for a video of how I use this special spot to recharge my batteries and how important it is to my business…)
Never forget – one of the reasons you created this business from scratch is so you can design it to match YOUR personality and YOUR values. Make sure it 100% reflects your joy and your interests. Otherwise, you’ll crash and burn and the business will never succeed.
And if you’re rising to the top of your dream career, don’t fret! You might just need to tweak your role a little to keep it lined up with your strengths or restate to your boss what your goals are and how that benefits the company. There’s always room for evolving and designing your ideal lifestyle.
To help you overcome this kind of plateau, struggle, mis-alignment or whatever funk you may find yourself in, here are 6 killer tips to see you through the fog and back into the sunny beaches of entrepreneurial bliss!
1. Take it easy.
Sometimes, we’re just off and we need to be patient with ourselves until we’re on again. The important thing is to not beat yourself up about it. Go easy on yourself, take things slowly, allow yourself more time and more space to get things done. As much as humanly possible, don’t force anything. If you don’t feel like doing something, try not to do it. Is someone hounding you because they’re waiting for a response from you? Let them know that they are at the front of your mind and top of your list but you just don’t have an answer for them yet. Ask them for more time, more patience while you work out what your response will be.
2. Allow Extra Time For Everything
If you have appointments, show up super early so you can get settled and get comfortable before the appointment starts. This will also leave you a buffer of time if anything causes you to run late. If you normally get something done in an hour, allow yourself an hour and a half to get it done this time. Giving yourself extra time to accomplish things, especially things you’ve done many times before, will take some of the stress and pressure off and you won’t end up freaking out about missed deadlines or being late to meetings which will only make things harder.
3. Communicate More Than Usual
It’s ok to let people know that you’re not 100% your usual upbeat self so that they understand why your communications sound a little more harsh or unusual. If you’re not open about this, it may cause discomfort when they can’t figure out why your energy seems off and they may interpret it incorrectly. Better to admit it then have them think the wrong thing, possibly something much worse! Don’t leave this up to others’ imagination! Be honest with your discomfort.
4. This Too Shall Pass
Remind yourself that this feeling is temporary and you will be back on top soon! Take care not to let it affect long-term decisions because your future self will barely remember this feeling but will have to live with the consequences if you make any drastic changes to your lifestyle or biz.
5. Practice gratitude!
This one is SOOO important!! Being grateful for what you have will help you see the reality of your situation instead of the exaggeration of negativity caused by the funk. Being grateful also opens the door for MORE abundance in your life, so spend time each day reviewing what you are thankful for. You can incorporate this into your yoga, meditation or falling asleep rituals.
6. Take Extra-Awesome Care Of Your Bad-Ass Self
Most importantly, take extra good care of yourself when you’re under stress. Go to bed early so you can get an extra 30 mins of sleep (or an hour if you’ve been sleep deprived lately!). This alone will do wonders! Let your morning routine last longer than usual, eat a healthy breakfast, meditate more. One of my favorite exercises when this happens is to sit still and chat with my heart. I literally ask my heart what’s wrong and what can I do to fix it and my heart always tells me – and it can be brutally honest!!
I asked it today what was bothering it and it immediately told me that it wasn’t comfortable with the box I was trying to fit into.
My coaching is all about helping others get out of the box by doing things differently in their business and careers (a MUST if you want to stand out as an entrepreneur!) and yet here I was trying to play a marketing game that I’d grown bored of.
I needed to stop what I was doing and go back to being my authentic self. Sharing honest posts with y’all like this one. This is me being true to myself, not following a formula for how to get more followers and add people to my email list.
My heart started to feel more at ease after following all these tips. I’m still not my best, but I know I’ll get there. The more I re-align with my VIV’s (Very Important Values) and let myself be my silly/weirdo self, the better I feel.
Here’s a video I shot from my “secret garden” – a forested little spot I go to everyday to sit in the sun and recharge my batteries. I explain how this spot makes a huge difference in my business and actually helps me create some of the key features my coaching practice is known for – spaciousness and room to dream big, gaining new perspective and thinking outside the box!
What about you? Do you ever have days like this? What are your tips for getting over a funk? Jump over to the Real To Ideal FB page to join the discussion: Real To Ideal Facebook page. I’m betting I’m not the only one who could use your help! :D