Do you remember the first time you thought of being an entrepreneur? The excitement, joy, happiness, and good emotions that surrounded that moment. Several entrepreneurs who go through those happy motions sometimes quit after their first heartbreak. The difference between those who go far and those who quit is their mastery of resilience building techniques.
Resilience in entrepreneurship is much more than knowing how to bounce back from failure. It is tenacious endurance, an ability to keep working at your vision till it becomes productive. In this article, we will introduce you to resilience building techniques every entrepreneur should master.
How Does Resilience Fit into The Entrepreneurship Picture?
Resilience is sometimes mistaken for “crashing oneself,” but that’s not true. Resilience does not mean grounding yourself or damaging your health. Instead, it means knowing when to accelerate, pause, evaluate, or restart.
Entrepreneurship has several uncertainties and challenges. Some of them come in hard chunks that could crush the most intelligent person. As a resilient entrepreneur, you are not to give up because things are not working. When the challenges come, embrace them as a springboard for the expression of your creative genius.
8 Essential Resilience Building Techniques Every Entrepreneur Should Master
1. Embrace A Growth Mindset
This is one of the most important resilience building techniques you should master. In case you are wondering what a growth mindset is, we will explain. A growth mindset is a belief that skills and expertise can be developed. It shuns impossibility and embraces challenges as a learning curve to master new skills.
Entrepreneurs who have a growth mindset do not view failure as a dead end. Instead, they see it as feedback that propels them to learn more and work harder.
2. Build A Strong Morning and Evening Routine
When several people hear about resilience building techniques, they do not realize that simple things like routine are important. What do you do at the start of the day? How do you end the day? Your daily routine is very important as an entrepreneur. They give you some form of stability when you are surrounded by uncertainties.
3. Develop Emotional Stamina
Entrepreneurship is not a bed of roses. Sometimes, you feel so overwhelmed that you want to give up and shut everything down. Resilient entrepreneurs have learnt how to feel emotions without being controlled by them. They have learnt the importance of building emotional strength and channeling emotions positively.
Having emotional stamina does not mean you will pretend when all is not fine. Rather, you recognize what you feel, acknowledge it and respond instead of react.
4. Surround Yourself with A Solid Support System
When the chips are down and you can’t go far, the people around you determine your next course of action. You need a solid support system that will constantly keep you going. This set of people will inspire, challenge, encourage, and keep you going.
As a rule of thumb, ensure your support system cuts across different categories. You need mentors/superiors who will challenge you to grow and become better. You need peers and mates who understand the challenges you are facing. Finally, ensure your support comprises friends and family who will give you the emotional support you need.
5. Take Breaks, But Don’t Quit!
You might want to read that again: TAKE BREAKS, BUT DON’T QUIT! Sometimes, you feel overwhelmed because you need a break. It is not a weakness when you take a break as an entrepreneur. It is one of the most important perseverance techniques that ensures you do not burn out.
Breaks give you the avenue to think, refresh, and reconnect with your creative genius. This unleashes trapped productivity and makes you perform at your best. You don’t have to wait till you can afford a long vacation for yourself. Start small with a weekly non-negotiable “me time” on your schedule.
6. Master How to Make Decisions Under Pressure
If you always delay your decisions till there is calm and quiet, you won’t go far as an entrepreneur. Sometimes, you have to take the risk when the waters are raging. In such situations, the unideal conditions cannot be an excuse for you not to make quality decisions.
One of the best ways to prepare for crisis moments is to have a decision framework that guides your actions. When faced with impromptu decisions, develop the skill to map out the best and worst-case scenarios. Also, gauge the impact these outcomes will have on your business.
7. Always Keep Your “Why” in Sight
Why did you start the business? What picture was on your mind when you took the first step? Where did you envision your organization if all factors were equal?
Your answers to these questions should not be buried at the bottom of your heart. Write them boldly and position this vision in strategic locations where you can find them. When you feel discouraged, cast your mind on why you started and the drive that motivated you. This will help in developing grit and resilience to weather the storm.
8. Fail Forward and Celebrate Your Small Wins
Never define failure as the opposite of success. Such wrong definitions serve as a stumbling block in your entrepreneurship journey. Instead, view failure as a part of success. Each time you fail, journal the lessons learned from that failure. This will save you from repeating the same mistakes later.
Similarly, celebrate your wins. Never consider a win as small or insignificant. No matter how little the milestone looks, it is your win, and you should boldly celebrate. Each time you celebrate your wins, you are reminded that your efforts count, and this motivates you to keep going.
Conclusion
Never forget why you started the entrepreneurship journey. When things get hard, remind yourself about why you started and reach out to your solid support system. Always remember that successful entrepreneurs are not people who have never failed. They have only learned that failures are one of the resilience building techniques they need to embrace.
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