By Christi Ratcliff, Business and Personal Coach
If you are an entrepreneur, you have experienced at some point in your journey bouts of overload and possibly anxiety. Owning a business creates challenges every day that can be extremely stressful and exhausting, especially if you don’t take the time to step away and disconnect.These strategies can help you calm down, cool your nerves, and move you forward.
1. Brain Detox
The brain was not created to hold information but to be creative. When there is an overload of information with no outlet, we start to struggle with brain fog, mental overload that leads to feelings of anxiety. The key is to take 20 minutes and write down everything that comes to your mind, that infinite list that you believe you can remember with a snap of your fingers. It is not going to happen. You will lose details in the rabbit trails.
2. Mental Time Out
Once your brain is clear of stuff, take a mental break. Meditation or a mental time out will help relax your mind and give you a break, allowing for a reset. Do this for 5 or 10 minutes.
3. Shift Perspective
Get on the other side of the problem. This means to look at the situation at hand from the back side. This will help you see the worst outcome of the challenge, recognize the weight of it, and allow your brain to come from the perspective of solution instead of just problem.
4. Celebrate
When we are faced with challenges, we tend to have short memories. We are so caught up in the challenge that we forget the wins. It is very important to make a list of wins to remember where you have been and what you have accomplished. Don’t wrap your entire identity on a few challenges.
5. Simplify
Your brain is wired to solve basic problems and will quickly choose between fight or flight if you make those problems too large. The strategy here is to break everything down into micro-commitments.Small steps that you are 100% guaranteed to win. This takes the mental load off your brain, limits your feelings of anxiety, and sets you up to win. Create an efficient action plan for the next 30 days. This will leave you with a sense of control and confidence.
6. Take Action
Once you have written everything down in micro-commitment steps, you can execute your action plan.Staying on this micro-level eliminates feelings of intimidation and keeps you focused on the steps that will ultimately bring your vision to reality.
7. Frame the Win
Recognize how you handled each challenge. Imagine taking a mental picture of the result and putting it in a picture frame so that your brain can quickly come back to that pattern. Just like in football, we call plays and high five when it is executed well. It is key to do the same each time so that your brain creates a pattern that moves you towards solution and then execution instead of anxiety and being overwhelmed.
Christi Ratcliff, a business and personal coach, can help you identify and break the habits and misconceptions that are keeping you or your business from transformative change. For more information, email [email protected] or visit her website.
