Coping With Stress

Running your own business can be one of the most satisfying things you will ever achieve. It can also be one of the most stressful activities to undertake.

You can be guaranteed not everything you set out to achieve will work, and not everything you meticulously plan will pan out the way it was supposed to. There will be nights when you lay awake worrying, or thinking about what needs to be done. There is little you can do to avoid those times, but you can minimize the effect that stress will have on you, your employees and your family.

The first thing you need to learn to do is to identify what is causing the stressful situation and accept it, rather than explaining it away by blaming someone else or trivializing the issue. It might be helpful to write down the occurrences in your diary or journal, that way you can also document what you did to deal with the stress.

Think about how you deal with stress and be aware of the damage that some coping mechanisms have on you and other people, such as drinking, sleeping patterns, withdrawal from family and friends, procrastination and particularly those angry outbursts. If that’s how you typically handle your stress then it’s time to look for some new methods.

Avoid stress. Easily said than done, but some situations are avoidable. It might be a particular person that causes it; maybe you can spend less time around that person. Reduce your to do list, by reviewing what’s important and dropping off things that you don’t need to do. If you have employee’s then DELEGATE! One of the more important things we can do in business is learning how to say no. You will be amazed at how the stress level drops when we start saying no to people.

If you can’t avoid the stress then avoid the situation that causes the stress. Communicate your feelings with those around you. Compromise, look for the middle ground. Assert yourself, tell people that you are too busy to have the conversation and most important, manage your time better. Plan ahead as far in advance as you can and then try to focus on the task in hand rather than what’s on that list.

Another method to minimize that stress is to change yourself. Look at the situation that’s causing the stress from a more positive point of view; look at the benefits you will get from dealing with the problem. Don’t forget the big picture; is this really going to matter in a month or a year? Try not to be a perfectionist. The standards we set for ourselves are sometimes unachievable, so be realistic, remember you are not a superhero.

You should also learn to accept that there are things and people in our life that we simply cannot change. You cannot control the world; that’s that superhero thing again. Sometimes we just have to let the situation roll off our backs. Again easier said than done, but if you can achieve that particular skill, life will get a whole lot easier to deal with.

Ensure that you take time out for relaxation and fun! As a business owner it’s very easy to get caught up in the moment, and before you know it a week has gone by, you haven’t seen your family; you are tired, grumpy and intolerant. It happens to everyone, but is so easily avoided by penciling in time throughout the week to relax; it will put what you are doing into perspective and remind you that there is more to life than work.

Lastly and most importantly, talk to someone about your stress. It might be your partner, a colleague, your accountant even your bank manager. If you need to, talk to your GP or get counseling, if the stress seems impossible to deal with.

We want you to grow old and successful not young and washed out!