Chances are that running your own business is more than just some thing that you do on the side.
It is how you put bread on your table.
It is how you pay your bills.
You have come this far, and it doesn’t make sense to quit now. The problem is that you may have hit a snag. A road block. Something that you don’t know how to get around. Maybe you just lost a big customer. Maybe you were counting on some money coming in and it didn’t happen. Now this is causing you to doubt your current path. You’ve become uncertain. Thoughts of “Should I keep doing this, or should I just quit and go get a job?” run through your mind.
Uncertainty stinks. I know I have lived through my share.
What I have found for me is that I am most uncertain when I feel isolated. Like there is no one out there who can identify with me. Worse, like there is no where I can go for help. I see others being incredibly successful. Why not me? Where’s the boundary between “persevering through the tough times” and outright stupidity?
Then there are times when the clouds part — they invariably do in time — and I can see things more clearly. I can see how my business can provide for my family, pay the mortgage, pay the bills. This space. This mental space where I can see possibilities is where I want to live. This is where I want to stay.
Here’s the tricky part. I know that cloudy days are unavoidable and that obstacles will find me no matter what. AND I know that I will go through the same cycle of doubt that I’ve experienced before. Here’s the two part trick that I know I need to master.
- I have to allow myself to go through the cycle without beating up myself for being here. If the cycle is part of who I am (I believe it is part of us all), then it is only a natural part of self-management.
- Make my time here as short as possible. I’ve been here before. I have learned from it. I know the short cuts out. I have to give myself some time to accept that I’ve had a loss. Mourn it. And then get on with business. I know that dwelling on my loss and dwelling on my “situation” it is what keeps me here in the loss-mourn-loathe cycle.
How about you? What helps you overcome an obstacle or setback