The early days of entrepreneurship are fast-paced and exhilarating but after a time, you hit your rhythm and the days get easier. It’s great that your business is operating successfully, but now you have a new problem: staying motivated.
The mundane tasks of running a business day-to-day can drain us, leaving us bored, disinterested, and longing for change and that can de-motivate us to face challenges. However, you need to be able to weather downturns and other temporary problems to run a successful business for the long haul.
But you don’t need to stay stuck. Here are 4 ways you can stay motivated as an entrepreneur.
1. Set Goals That Stretch You
Malcolm Forbes said, “When you cease to dream, you cease to live.” Falling into a rhythm with your business is helpful to keep you productive and on task but it cannot motivate you. One way to handle this is to set new goals in both your business and your personal life.
If your business is stagnating or has hit a plateau, it’s time to think about moving it forward again. This can take many different forms, such as:
- Creating a new product offering.
- Obtaining a dream client that you may think is out of reach.
- Partnering with a non-profit organization to boost your brand.
- Organizing a local event with fellow business owners.
However, if your business is doing well and you can’t increase your current workload, you might want to set personal goals instead. These can be related to your business – or not!
- Writing a book based on your business story.
- Creating an organization that works on something you care about.
- Running your first race for charity.
- Traveling to an exotic destination.
The key to setting new goals like these is making sure that they will challenge you. Even if you don’t achieve your goal (at least this time around), the journey will be healthy and can expand your self-confidence and success.
2. Get Into Nature
The plague of every entrepreneur is long, boring hours in meetings or in front of the computer. Unfortunately, this can adversely impact your health and wellness. We often hear about how kids are spending too much time on their screens but have you considered how it is affecting you as an adult?
It’s not just the common maladies of eyestrain or neck and backaches that are at issue here. According to Psychology Today, too much screen time can harm your brain. Long stretches of “must-do” tasks at our desks lead to apathy.
The antidote, however, is simple: spend more time outdoors. Sunlight can help improve many physical ailments, but it’s most beneficial for good mental health. A good walk or jog in the sunshine, a bike ride, or a quick game of basketball or volleyball can get your mental juices flowing again.
Research shows that even having a photo or hearing sounds of nature can improve mood but there’s no substitute for the real thing. However, if your workload requires you to be online your phone or computer several hours a day, here are some ways that you can access that sunshine:
- Eat lunch outside every day as long as the weather allows it. Try different outdoor food providers or brown bag it in a nearby park.
- Find a local space where you can host outdoor meetings with your team.
- Use technology in your office that can help you: a blue light filter on your devices, a vitamin D sunlamp or Himalayan salt lamp, plants, a recording of nature sounds.
- Take a complete break from all your tech for at least a few hours when you have time off and spend that time outdoors.
3. Find Your Community
Oftentimes as entrepreneurs, we are laser-focused on acquiring clients and strategic partnerships that benefit our businesses. These are well and good, but that means that most of our relationships are focused on our business of personal growth.
It’s time to step out of that boundary and build relationships that can motivate you. Joining a group of like-minded people that are more focused on personal development rather than business is a great way to re-energize yourself.
These relationships do not have to be limited to business and networking groups. Some ideas include:
- Group coaching (business, personal development)
- Group training (business, fitness/sports, other lifestyle interests)
- Mastermind groups (business, personal development)
- Support groups for just about anything!
The goal here is to find people who can inspire and encourage you to break out of your doldrums.
4. Become A Mentor
Another way you can build relationships that motivate you is to share your knowledge by mentoring, coaching, speaking, or teaching. Reach out to organizations such as:
- SCORE, a resource for business mentoring and education
- Networking groups in your area
- Local chamber of commerce
- High schools, as well as local colleges with majors appropriate for your industry
Finding motivation is a challenge for every entrepreneur at some point. By stepping outside your day-to-day business obligations, you can re-ignite your passions and take a step towards creating a healthier experience for your businesses and yourself.
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