Entrepreneurs often set out on journeys filled with passion, ambition, and dreams of success. Yet, the road to achieving those dreams is rarely a straight path. There are days when insurmountable obstacles and the weight of responsibilities can feel overwhelming.
For example, Melanie Perkins, the CEO and founder of Canva, faced over 100 rejections in three years before finally witnessing the launch and incredible success of her startup.
Difficult times may stem from failures, personal problems, or pressure from investors, customers, employees, or colleagues, but that’s the point of entrepreneurship. It’s not merely for passion or money. It is a great character-building experience that strengthens you as an entrepreneur and a person.
Consider the journey of Justin Welsh, who initially struggled with the challenges of building a solo business. Facing uncertainty and financial pressure, he pivoted his career after years in the corporate world and built a highly successful personal brand as a solopreneur. Through resilience and constant adaptation, Justin turned those difficulties into a thriving business, proving that tough times can lead to extraordinary outcomes.
In this guide, we’ll explore practical strategies to help you stay motivated during difficult times, drawing from real-life experiences and insights that inspire you to keep pushing forward.
How do Entrepreneurs Stay Motivated During Difficult Times?
Embrace Vulnerability
Acknowledge that it’s okay to feel vulnerable. As an entrepreneur, you may feel pressure to be strong and resilient, but embracing your vulnerability can lead to growth. Accepting your feelings can open the door to healing and self-discovery.
Take the example of Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. When she started her journey, she faced numerous rejections from investors and doubts about her idea. Instead of hiding her struggles, she openly shared her raw story and personal and professional failures.\
Source: Forbes
Blakely embraced her vulnerability, which allowed her to connect with her admirers and helped her establish a brand that resonated with women seeking empowerment and body positivity. She learned to navigate her challenges by acknowledging them and turning setbacks into stepping stones for success.
Reflect and Look Inwards
As you navigate the entrepreneurial landscape, take a step back and reflect on our inner thoughts and emotions.
Acknowledge your feelings by allowing yourself to feel and process your emotions. It’s okay to admit that you’re struggling or feeling overwhelmed. By recognizing these feelings, you can better understand your mental state and work through them.
- Identify your triggers: Take note of what specifically causes you to feel demotivated or stressed. Is it external pressure, a heavy workload, or perhaps the fear of failure? Grasping what sets off your reactions enables you to formulate better-coping mechanisms to deal with these triggers.
- Practice self-compassion: Treat yourself with the kindness and warmth you would offer a younger sibling or a friend. Understand that setbacks are a part of growth. When you’re feeling low, speak to yourself positively, acknowledging that it’s normal to have ups and downs in your journey.
- Journal your raw thoughts: Writing can be an insightful tool for reflecting on your life. Spend a few minutes daily journaling about your feelings, challenges, and successes. This practice can help clarify your thoughts and provide a safe space for self-expression.
Practice Self-Compassion
Treat yourself with the same kindness you would offer a friend. Understand that setbacks are a part of growth. When you’re feeling low, speak to yourself positively, acknowledging that it’s normal to have ups and downs in your journey.
Learn from Setbacks
Steve Jobs famously said, “You can only connect the dots looking forward and not backward.” Looking back at these times, you’d realize the importance of this moment, even if you hate it right now.
Instead of dwelling on mistakes or failures, analyze what went wrong and extract valuable lessons from each experience. Look inside at what you can improve or approach for the future. This not only fosters personal growth but also equips you with the knowledge and skills to overcome similar challenges moving forward.
Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is rooted in the view that obstacles pave the way for learning and development. When encountering difficulties, remember that such experiences contribute to acquiring new abilities and building toughness.
Rather than interpreting failure as a measure of your value, consider it a valuable milestone in your path of progress. For example, Thomas Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Adopting this mindset can help you stay motivated during difficult times. You must understand the faster you fail, the closer you get to your goals.
Reflect on Your “Why”
Remind yourself of the passion and purpose that led you to start your entrepreneurial journey in the first place. Write down your “why” and revisit it whenever you’re feeling disheartened.
This reflection can reignite your motivation and remind you of the impact you want to make in the world. For instance, if you started your business to provide a unique service or product that makes people’s lives better, keep that goal at the forefront of your mind.
We suggest you learn about Simon Sinek’s principle of “Start With Why,” which is especially relevant for entrepreneurs. Reflecting on your “Why”—the deeper purpose and motivation behind your business—can serve as a powerful anchor when faced with adversity.
It clarifies your motivations, providing resilience during challenges by reminding you of the positive impact your work has on others. A strong “Why” fosters unity and purpose within your team, encouraging collaboration and innovation, even in tough times.
Consume Encouraging Content
Music or movies can significantly boost your mood and help you find courage in difficult times.
Music to uplift your spirits:
- “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
- “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten
- “Stronger” by Kanye West
- “Rise Up” by Andra Day
- “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey
Films that inspire:
- “The Pursuit of Happyness”
- “Rocky”
- “The Social Network”
- “Joy”
- “Moneyball”
- ”The Shawshank Redemption”
- “The Founder”
- “Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year”
- “AIR”
Podcasts for motivation:
- “How I Built This” with Guy Raz
- “The Tony Robbins Podcast”
- “The Tim Ferriss Show”
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Seek Feedback
Sometimes, an outside perspective can help illuminate blind spots. Talk to trusted friends, mentors, or colleagues who can provide constructive feedback. They may offer insights that you haven’t considered, helping you to navigate your challenges with a renewed perspective.
Reflect on Past Successes
Look back at previous challenges you’ve overcome. What strategies did you employ? How did you feel after achieving those goals? Remembering your past victories can reinforce your belief in your ability to overcome current obstacles.
Visualize Success
Take a moment to visualize where you want to be in the future. Picture your achievements and the impact you wish to have. This mental imagery can be encouraging, helping you stay focused on your path.
- Understand neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity or neural plasticity, represents the brain’s remarkable capability to rewire itself, establishing fresh neural pathways at any stage in life.
This extraordinary ability enables the brain to adjust to novel situations, assimilate new knowledge, and heal from trauma. You strengthen neural pathways that promote confidence and resilience by consistently visualizing your success.
Various studies, including those using brain imaging techniques like FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans, have demonstrated changes in brain structure and activity associated with learning, memory, and recovery from injury.
- Take help from your subconscious mind
Harnessing the power of your subconscious mind plays a crucial role in this process. Your subconscious absorbs the imagery you create, reinforcing your belief in your potential and enabling you to overcome obstacles that may come your way.
The mindset you cultivate during these visualization exercises is equally important. Adopting a growth mindset—believing that you can develop your abilities through effort and persistence—will help you embrace challenges rather than shy away from them.
- Practice affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that can help shift your mindset, reinforce beliefs, and motivate you to take action.
Practicing affirmations can be a great way to impress favorable beliefs into your subconscious and program your mind for success. What you think about is what you become!
Brain neuroplasticity allows you to impress new beliefs and thinking models in your subconscious mind by using affirmations.
Practice Equanimity
Equanimity means looking at every outcome as exactly how it is and not judging it as whether it’s favorable, unfavorable, good, bad, etc. It’s a stoic and Buddhist thought process that welcomes life as it is.
It can give you the ability to maintain a balanced and even-minded approach to both positive and negative experiences. It’s a healthy way of detaching yourself from the results of your outcomes and just focusing on the task at hand.
Practicing emotional regulation and equanimity is essential for maintaining balance, especially during challenging times as an entrepreneur. Practices like mindfulness and vipassana meditation can help you effectively practice equanimity.
Emotional Regulation
For regulating your emotions (note: not controlling), you can use the Emotional Guidance Scale, developed by Esther Hicks, which is a tool used in the Law of Attraction philosophy to help individuals understand their emotional states and guide them towards more positive feelings.
Using the Emotional Guidance Scale
- Awareness: Recognizing where you are on the scale can help you identify your emotional state and understand how it impacts your actions and thoughts.
- Shifting emotions: The goal is to gradually move up the scale by consciously choosing thoughts and actions that elicit better feelings. For instance, if you’re feeling frustrated, you might aim to reach boredom before aspiring to optimism.
- Alignment: By focusing on raising your emotional frequency, you align yourself with more positive experiences and attract better outcomes.
Source: Reddit
Tackle Major Challenges by Dividing Them into Manageable Tasks
Transforming daunting challenges into manageable tasks can significantly reduce their intimidation factor. Instead of viewing the entire project as one overwhelming hurdle, break it down into smaller, more attainable objectives.
By focusing on these bite-sized goals, you’ll experience the joy of accomplishing each one, which serves as a powerful motivator.
You can use Gary Keller’s ‘One Thing’ principle for this. The One Thing principle by Gary Keller emphasizes focusing on the single most important task that can make other tasks easier or unnecessary.
It encourages individuals to identify their highest priority in any area of life—whether personal or professional—and dedicate their time and energy to achieving that goal. By concentrating on one primary objective, distractions are minimized, leading to increased productivity and effectiveness. Keller suggests asking, “What’s the one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” This principle promotes clarity, prioritization, and purposeful action for achieving success.
Stay Adaptable
The entrepreneurial landscape is constantly changing, and adaptability is key to navigating challenges. Be open to adjusting your plans and strategies based on new information or circumstances. Flexibility can help you pivot when needed and seize unexpected opportunities, turning potential setbacks into stepping stones for growth.
Final Thoughts
It’s okay to take your time, reflect on things, and then come back strong. Use any of the above tips to get you through these difficult times, but find a reason not to give up on your dreams.
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