Motivation plays a massive role in the success of your business. The longer you have a business, the more you'll see the ebbs and flows.
Sometimes, you might even hit a rough patch. You might be struggling financially, finding it difficult to find the right employees, or you're feeling burnt out.
It happens and you're not alone! If you want to make a change to get yourself back on track, here are 8 ways to help you stay motivated.
1. Focus on your goal
If you don't know where you're headed, it's going to be tough to keep the energy and momentum going. Sometimes your goal might feel too big and it's overwhelming you. If this is the case, try and break it up into smaller goals that you can assign to a set duration (quarter, month, week, and day).
When you've been running a small business for a while, getting distracted from your goal is inevitable. If you're feeling like there just isn't enough time in the day, and you don't have control over your own schedule anymore, you might be spending your time on the wrong things.
2. Remember & celebrate the wins
Sometimes there are difficult clients, or frustrating roadblocks that derail your day. It's in these moments that you need to remember your successes. If this is a challenge for you, write a few "wins" on a post-it note and stick it on your monitor.
Life seems to have a way of challenging you, but, this often ends up being before things turn a corner and start going your way.
Celebrating the wins along the way is a great way to make sure you maintain your excitement and passion for your business.
3. Consume positive content
There's a lot of negativity out there. If you let it, the news, social media, and opinion pieces can really start to get you down. Instead, focus on positive content that motivates you to pursue your interests and think differently.
People are attracted to positivity. Make an impact by sharing some goodness and learning something new!
4. Change it up
If you're feeling stuck, bored, unhappy or stressed, it's time to try something different! You don't have to make a major change if that sounds too overwhelming, but do something that deviates from your usual routine.
Work outside, take some time off, play around with your schedule - get creative!
There's nothing wrong with wanting to try something new to see if it helps you feel more energized and happy. Who knows, it could end up being just what you needed.
5. Keep your to-do list simple
It can be tempting to make a never ending to-do list. But, this can actually end up making you feel more overwhelmed, trapped and eventually, burnt out. Instead, focus on 3 priorities that you need to get done that day, and then once you've completed them, you're done.
You can decide if you want to do something different (maybe something creative, or a thought exercise that involves working on the business), or just take the rest of the day off! Some business owners forget that you're your own boss. What's the benefit of being your own boss if you never get to enjoy it?
6. Find a mentor or accountability partner
Some business owners have no problem setting goals, but they struggle some with the follow through. Things come up, and before you know it, the week has flown by!
This is where a mentor or an accountability partner can help you stay on track. Setup a weekly standing meeting and stick to that day and time.
This way, you'll have a set reminder in your week that you need to tackle your remaining priorities, and if you don't, they will gently remind you of them so you can get back on track. Consider starting an accountability group of like-minded professionals.
Meet on Zoom so you don't have to worry about travel time or logistics. All it takes to make the meeting happen is your computer, the internet and showing up!
7. Reprogram your brain to be more positive
You might not even realize you currently have a negative way of thinking about things, but if you're constantly feeling like things never go your way, you have a cynical outlook (you might say you're being realistic, but realistically, it's not fun to be around), or you feel frustrated a lot of the time, you're probably stuck in a negative thinking pattern.
The first step is becoming aware of your thinking pattern. If you're not happy with where you are now, you need to make a change, so you can start on the path to where you want to be. Deciding you want to make a change is key! No one can force you to be more positive, it's up to you!
It's a lot more fun to live with a positive mindset, and you'll start to see how you attract like-minded people.
8. Remember to reward yourself
Rewards can be anything from ordering your favorite take out, getting a massage, or a getaway trip with your person. The point is to make time for joy in your life because we all have a limited amount of time.
If you're constantly working with the mindset of "one day I'll get to enjoy this" or "when I retire I'll get to do what I want" we challenge you to figure out how you can find more joy now.
What brings you joy? Is there something you could add to your day that would make you happy?
Running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. So, it's important you do everything you can to take care of yourself. If you don't, who will?
We hope you found these 8 tips helpful and feel motivated to add more joy to your life. Share what your most excited to try at info@border7.com, or post a comment below!
Still feeling stuck and want to talk things through?
Schedule a free strategy session with our team. We'll talk about where you are now, where you want to be, and how our process can help you get there. Our goal is for you to leave the call with actionable steps you can take to improve your mindset & your business!
