The rapid rise of women entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon and at the same time, the competition amongst businesses in various industries are at a new time high.
New startups are popping up everyday, existing companies are growing and scaling at a speed like never before through rounds after rounds of fundraising and better yet, consumers are becoming more and more demanding. So what could this all mean to the well being of women entrepreneurs? What can be done to ensure peak state of mind and energy day in day out? Is it even possible to become healthier when time seems to be the most scarce resource in the life of an entrepreneur?
This article is dedicated to the amazing women entrepreneurs out there who are going and giving their 110% everyday. These individuals are, ready to defy the norm of the unhealthy lifestyles many entrepreneurs subject themselves to because you believe that the ultimate goal of entrepreneurship should actually be about living the life of vitality, joy and fulfilment through the existence of your business. Here, we share with you three vital steps to make this possible for you.
1. High intention low attachment
We all treat our business like a baby. Yes, we get it and no one can takes care of it as well as you do. From inception to where it is right now giving you the kind of pay off keeps you going everyday while so much is at stake; it’s natural to keep everything under a close watch all the time. As a result, many entrepreneurs neglect the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle because it just seems impossible to make time to workout and stick to healthy habits amidst chaos. The illusion of “one day I will” might seem real at times, but more often than not, it’s the mind playing tricks. The truth is, it’s not so much about having more time, rather, it all starts from the mindset of an entrepreneur. Start empowering others and allow them the space to make mistakes, start leveraging time of others and give yourself the gift of time to do what you need to do and what others can’t do for you, which is to keep your body and mind in tip top condition in order to lead the pack. Remember the livelihood of others strongly depends on your business, which is under the massive influence of your health and well being as a leader.
2. Less coffee, more sleep
With constant deadlines chasing, endless meetings and discussions while keeping tabs on the sales and performance of the team, many entrepreneurs will choose getting things done over getting sleep in. Many entrepreneurs turn to coffee, coffee and more coffee as a way to power through the day. It could be an effective way to get you charged up temporarily, but as we know, a quick fix is never sustainable. Even worse, excessive amounts of caffeine from beverages like tea, coffee or energy drinks can inhibit absorption of vitamins and minerals and increase their excretion from the body. Just imagine iron and calcium (which are important for women) is lost day in day out as you chug more coffees down, what will it do to your health and vitality in the long run? Treat yourself to the sleep you deserve because entrepreneurship is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Better sleep means you are able to keep your metabolism on point, keep your stress level down and hence, allowing you to make more intellectual decisions which could be pivotal in your business.
3. Trigger your endorphins!
Yes! And on purpose too! Endorphins, known as the body’s natural “feel good” chemicals, gets released when we are exercising, eating certain foods and drinks, having sex, getting a good massage or having a laugh. As an entrepreneur, you will need a lot more of these to ward off stress, frustrations and perhaps anger due to things not turning out the way it should (which happens a lot). Primarily, we are going to deploy the most impactful one, which is to perform some form of exercises (moderate intensity) at least 4x per week and a minimum of 30 minutes each time with a warm up and a cool down. Exercising will no longer just be something to get you lean and toned. It should be about using exercise as a tool to prime your body and mind to achieve exceptional feats in your work and that’s what makes an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur. An average (or less than) health will inevitably produce average work, an average work ongoingly will then reflect onto the business. So now, we know the power is within YOU, start linking the well being of you and your business together as a direct correlation, will you need anymore reasons to get your endorphins going via the means of exercise?
Building a thriving business is not all about having the right knowledge, tools and resources. In fact, I believe it has a lot to do with the health and well being of the entrepreneur / business owner. By implementing the above three steps on a regular basis, you will be able to truly live the life you deserve as a result of taking charge of your body and mind which your business and the people you work with can all benefit from. Finding it hard to get started? Sometimes, all you need to do is gather like-minded entrepreneurs to get you going because the environment is stronger than willpower.
This article has been republished with permission from PurelyB