How to stay motivated in tough times is a question on everyone’s mind, and entrepreneurs are no exception. Starting or running a business can often feel overwhelming.
Until recently, many entrepreneurs believed that success in business requires concealing vulnerability. There’s even a popular saying to this effect: “Fake it till you make it.”
While it’s important to project confidence so that clients and potential investors take you seriously, we cannot ignore the reality that there are times when we feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
There are moments when it feels like all the effort you are putting into your business is yielding no results. Such periods can lead to anxiety, burnout, and mental fatigue.
However, one thing every entrepreneur must understand, according to Florence Chikezie, is that, “passion may get you started, but it won’t carry you to the finish line.” You must consistently show up for yourself and your business, even when you don’t feel like it. That’s how you achieve the results you want.
It’s essential to recognise that challenges are an inevitable part of the business cycle. These challenges might include market competition, new government policies, personal setbacks, or economic fluctuations, among other factors.
As an entrepreneur, you must tackle these challenges whenever they arise. In this article, we’ll explore ways entrepreneurs can maintain their vision and drive during difficult times.
How To Stay Motivated in Tough Times
Here are some tips to help you stay motivated during tough times:
1. Revisit and Redefine Your Vision
When you are feeling overwhelmed, the first thing you need to do is pause, take a breath, and evaluate the source of your fatigue.
Remember, working hard is good, but working smarter is even better and will move you closer to your goals. At this point, it is smart to revisit your vision and assess whether it still aligns with your goals. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to redefine that vision.
How does revisiting and redefining your vision help you stay motivated during tough times? The following steps will break it down for you:
Write Down Your Goals
Go back to your business plan and remind yourself why you started your business. Then, take a pen and paper and write down your goals along with the objectives needed to achieve them. There’s a calming effect to the traditional practice of writing down your goals with pen and paper—it helps you focus.
Visualise Your Success
Picture where you want your business to be, for instance, in the next five years. Creating a mental picture in your mind can give you renewed determination.
This visualisation will inspire you during tough times and help you develop a resilient mindset, empowering you to achieve your goals as an entrepreneur.
2. Break Big Goals into Small Segments
You may be feeling overwhelmed because you are looking through the lens of one giant goal. This can definitely lead to burnout.
Breaking down your goals does not mean that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Rather, it means that you celebrate milestones on your journey to the bigger goal.
These are a few ways you can do this:
Set Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Objectives
Doing this will help you focus on tasks that can be achieved in the short term. However, these short-term goals must contribute towards achieving your long-term goals.
Also, completing these smaller tasks can give you a sense of achievement and boost your productivity.
Celebrate Milestones
When you acknowledge little victories, it helps you to be patient while achieving the bigger goals. This can give you a morale boost. According to Jody Michael, a Forbes Council Member, “celebrating small wins can boost life in many ways.”
Breaking down goals into smaller segments is one way to stay motivated when things are not going the way you want them to.
3. Have a Support System
Many entrepreneurs underestimate the power of having a support system. A good support system is the fuel you need when your body’s engine becomes weary.
Having a support system or group doesn’t translate to weakness. It simply means that you have people to lean on and draw strength from when you are feeling low. You cannot go at it alone.
Who Can Be Your Support System as an Entrepreneur?
Your support system can come in the form of a network of supportive friends, family members, mentors, and even your entrepreneurial peers.
The most important thing to note when choosing a support system is that they must be like-minded people. They must understand the challenges you are facing, and they must be people who inspire you positively.
In addition, you can also join communities both offline and online, participate in niche forums, and network with masterminds.
Our Newsletter Community is a great example of this. Join entrepreneurs like you and access the tips, strategies, and resources you need to successfully launch, grow, and scale your business.
To stay motivated during tough times, you must be committed to your mental well-being. A good support system can impact your mental health positively.
4. Focus on What You Can Control
You might be an entrepreneur with big dreams, but remember that you are human first. What this means is that, as humans, no matter how hard we try, we cannot control everything.
As an entrepreneur, trying to control everything is a one-way ticket to being overwhelmed and depressed. However, if you find yourself going down this rabbit hole, do these to keep yourself grounded:
- Focus on the areas in which you can make an impact.
- Identify key drivers and focus on them.
- Do away with perfectionism.
- Constantly reevaluate to know when you are biting more than you can chew.
- Don’t be afraid to cut down activities or strategies that are not yielding results and focus on the ones that are.
5. Invest in Tools and Resources to Stay Organised
Being disorganised can lead to disorientation, sensory overload, overwhelm and burnout. And as an entrepreneur, you don’t want any of these things because they will amplify stress during tough times.
In other words, you don’t want to be struggling with disorganisation when there are other pressing challenges like the ever-changing market trends.
To avoid this, you need to invest in tools and resources to help with organising and coordinating your activities.
Examples of such tools are:
- Productivity tools like Trello or Asana. The tools help you to prioritise and manage your tasks effectively.
- Financial tracking tools to help monitor cash flow and spending.
- Business automation tools like Zoho to automate your workflow and organise your business process.
Additional Tips to Help You Stay Motivated in Tough Times
- Acknowledge Your Humanity: It’s normal to have downtimes. These moments are temporary and should not define your attitude toward your business.
- Prioritise Your Health: Take care of your physical and mental well-being. Exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, and stay hydrated—drinking enough water can improve mental clarity and focus.
- Embrace Resilience: Understand that setbacks are part of the journey and can be opportunities to learn and grow.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. However, tough times don’t last—tough people do. By maintaining a resilient mindset and focusing on continuous growth, you can overcome challenges and keep pushing forward.
One Response
This is quite encouraging to me at a time like this when the economic situation is affecting sales. Inflation is a big challenge