3 tips for staying motivated in your business.

“Starting and running my business was super easy. Everything went exactly how I wanted to” - said no one ever. 

Starting and running your own business is not easy. Sometimes it feels like no one can understand or appreciate all the things you do or accomplish for your business. One day you can be on top of the world with a new high ticket client and the next day feeling like you are a complete failure wondering why you even started your business in the first place. 

We’ve all had that feeling of being completely defeated. It could be that you are trying out a new marketing strategy that just feels like it isn’t gaining traction. Maybe it’s been a long time since you’ve been able to book a client or make a sale. Maybe imposter syndrome is getting the best of you and you feel like you’ll just never be good enough. Maybe you are just simply burnt out. In one way or another, every business owner has their ups and downs. Even the really successful ones. It’s just the name of the game. 

Think about it this way. If you never face the lows in your business, how will you know when you're on a high? You have to know what it feels like to fail or do something wrong to know what it feels like to succeed or do something right. 

So the next time you reach a low in your business, remember these tips to remember that your next big achievement is right around the corner. 

Remember the Goal

Sometimes I go into an overwhelming, downward spiral of self-loathing, anxiety, and regret. I just want to curl up in a ball, sleep, and ignore my problems. Natural emotions for an entrepreneur right? 

When this happens, I only let it go on for about a minute then I shut it down. I refuse to entertain these thoughts because they are not benefiting me in any way.

One thing I have found very effective in blocking out these thoughts is taking myself back to the beginning. I think about why I started my business in the first place. I take a step back, look at the bigger picture, and think about the ultimate goal. 

I started my business before I ever had a 9 to 5. I knew that living the traditional 9 to 5 lifestyle was not going to work for me. It wasn’t meant for me. My second greatest passion next to design is travel so I made the decision to begin a career path that would allow me the freedom to work on the road and travel the world. 

So whenever that evil little thought pops into my head, “I can’t do this” I squash those silly, useless thoughts and actively think, "Oh, but I can". I think about working at a cafe in Amsterdam or on the beach in Bali and I remember, this is all worth it. 

Think about where you were a month ago.

The one area I often feel defeat in my business is marketing. I have taught myself everything I know about marketing and there is a lot of trial and error that goes into finding something that works. Sometimes it can be sooooo frustrating. This is the one thing in my business that makes me really want to give up.

This feeling often comes from just being way too hard on ourselves.

If you can relate, here is what you can do:

Think back to where you were even a month ago and I promise you will find significant improvements.

Make comparisons between your knowledge, your skills, and your business stats. Write down the things that you learned or the skills you acquired. You can make comparisons from last month or last year. It doesn’t matter. Just realize how far you’ve come. You didn’t have a boss telling you what to do and what you needed to accomplish. That was all you. 

So Whenever I'm feeling frustrated with Pinterest, I take a look at my Pinterest and thinking about the beginning, when I had absolutely no idea how to utilize Pinterest from for my business. I remind myself, look how far I've come. 

Turn the negative into positive.

My last tip for staying motivated is simply just staying positive. 

Whenever something in your business isn’t going the way you hoped it is very natural to have negative thoughts about it. Maybe nothing particularity bad has happened but nothing great has happened either, and this has left you feeling “meh” 

Negative thoughts are natural but don’t let them consume you. When you are having a negative thought try and actively turn it into something positive. 

For example, at the beginning of this post, I stated that you have to know what it feels like to fail to feel the benefits of success. 

Try thinking of a mantra to tell yourself when you are in a negative rut. 

My mantra is, “As long as I keep trying, I will succeed” 

Because the truth is you aren’t truly a failure until you quit. 

You'd be surprised how far positivity can take you. If you haven't, it might be worth reading into manifestation. 

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wake up feeling positive and everything just goes right? One really great thing happens and you are high on life the whole day and you start to notice all these other great things happening? With your positive energy, you may be manifesting things without even know it.  

By manifesting something you are simply putting positive energy into the world to get positivity out. It is quite a simple concept, right? Try it. See what happens. 

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The next time you are feeling defeated and unmotivated in your business just remember these three tips. I hope you find that at least one of these methods will be able to pull you out of your rut and keep you moving forward towards success.