4 Strategies for Coping with Entrepreneurial Stress

Today’s post is by Pete Campbell, the lead Content Strategist for Gompels.

Zuckerburg, Branson, Jobs, Hoppen; the self-made and super successful occupy a glittering place in our society. These super wealthy entrepreneurs are symbols of what is possible with a good idea, a little innovation, some business acumen and a good dose of hard graft. They’re something to aspire to and their personal successes seem seductively achievable, even for the smallest start-up CEO.

Yet beneath the strong, confident surface of our entrepreneurial heroes there could well lurk incredible levels of stress, anxiety and mental health issues. The life of an entrepreneur is certainly not a stroll in the park, no matter how great the ultimate success.

Whether you’re an established serial entrepreneur or planning to launch your very first start up, this article will highlight the substantial amount of stress many of the world’s would-be and existing entrepreneurs suffer – offering a few coping tools to help support you through those frenzied periods along the way.

Stress under the surface

It’s difficult to admit weakness when you’re in business. In order to win confidence, win funding, win support, win customers and ultimately achieve success, it’s crucial to present a cool, collected and confident front. Looking even remotely frazzled could prove disastrous for your venture. Yet concealing stress can be an incredibly painful and harmful experience. One important lesson to remember is: you’re not alone.

Entrepreneurial stress may still be kept relatively quiet, yet increasing numbers of self-made business people are now coming forward to talk about their personal battles with stress, self-doubt and anxiety. Ben Huh, the man who founded the humorous online “Cheezburger Network,” published a searingly personal account of his battle with depression back in 2011. A year previously, omnipresent digital marketing tycoon Neil Patel published another deeply personal blog detailing his experience of handling incredible levels of stress.

The truth of the matter is, entrepreneurship is stressful by nature and, frankly, if you’re not feeling the pressure, you’re either completely atypical or not pushing yourself hard enough. Haywire entrepreneurs may not seem to be everywhere, but stress and start-ups? They’re very, very rarely mutually exclusive.

Are you riding a lion?

One helpful analogy which I’ve seen appear in many different sources is this: A business person is seen riding a lion as it runs through the forest. Everyone who sees the pair pass is impressed, exclaiming “my goodness! That person is riding a lion! They must be incredibly brave!” Meanwhile, as the business person is carried on a wild ride through the jungle their mind is screaming “Oh my god! I’m riding a flaming lion! What if I fall off? What is it eats me? How do I get off?”

Essentially, this little story illustrates the reality of entrepreneurship. From the outside, entrepreneurs look fearless and confident. Internally, like all human beings, they are generally stressed, anxious and holding on for dear life through an often terrifying ride with high stakes.

Learning to share

Again, however, the very fact this example exists is proof that individual entrepreneurs are not alone with their fears. And there are plenty of people who have walked the entrepreneurial path before who have pearls of comforting wisdom to share, just like author Peter Marshal who says:

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”

Another soothing, well-known business truism is the fact that 50% of entrepreneurs know they’re terribly stressed, the other half are just repressing it.

Meanwhile, if you’re keen to start seriously tackling your stress, we’ve compiled a few key coping strategies:

4 simple coping mechanisms

KISS

Keep it simple, stupid. Stress is often an inevitable part of entrepreneurial life. The only thing you have true control over is how you handle it. Keeping your lifestyle as regular and healthy as possible will help you to avoid situations which can worsen your stress.

Many people turn to unhealthy mechanisms to combat their stress (such as alcohol or dangerous, negative behaviors). Instead of relieving stress, these behaviors can make the situation worse. A regular, healthy routine which you maintain even throughout stressful periods can help to keep you steady and prevent the stress from spiraling out of control.

See the funny side

It might sound flippant to suggest you look on the bright side in times of stress, but humor can be a powerful tool in your coping arsenal. Learning to laugh in tough times can lighten the mood, release positive endorphins and even help you to see creative solutions to tricky situations.

Grow your support network

Colleagues, friends, family – these are the people who can help you to laugh at your situation, and listen to you as you work through the stress. They can provide invaluable external perspectives, listen when you feel you’re alone with your problem and love you through it all.

When you feel stressed, do not shut people out. Remember that a problem shared is much more bearable than a problem kept to yourself and bear in mind that you are not alone. Cultivating close relationships with other entrepreneurs can be particularly helpful on this front.

The little things

If you just need a little burst of confidence, the Gompels team have put together a helpful Stress Relief Generator ready to give you a little moral support from big names in the entrepreneurial world (and beyond).

Alternatively, for more information about stress and how to deal with it, you may find the following resources helpful:

– NHS – Useful facts about stress is and some suggested next steps

– NHS – 10 fast stress busters

– Big White Wall – An online platform for sharing and working through mental health problems

– Mental Health Foundation – Indispensable PDF on coping with stress.

– Pete Campbell is the lead Content Strategist for Gompels, an online healthcare wholesaler. This year he also setup his own agency, Kaizen and has been on a personal journey of learning how to manage and deal with entrepreneurial stress.

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Photo: File:Hair pulling stress.jpg by stuartpilbrowat Flickr