Be kind to yourself. Entrepreneurs avoid burnout through mindfulness and by prioritizing self-care and kind treatment. Your mental health directly impacts your success when a sense of being overwhelmed increases self-doubt. As a business owner and founder, you don’t have time for steps back when kindness to your very self is the cure. How can entrepreneurs be kind to themselves? Know that mindful practices are not just a trend. The insights and self-care actions you put in place positively impact your abilities, your health, and your business.
Performing random acts of kindness. Doing a good turn daily. Being courteous. These are all thoughts that should shape our lives. As we bestow kindness to others, we often overlook ourselves. Don’t. Being kind to yourself is not about being selfish. It’s simply showing ourselves the same grace we show others.
What advice do you give others to boost their levels of confidence and self-esteem? You tell them they ARE good enough. You tell them to take care of themselves and their needs too.
Airlines tell us to put on our oxygen masks first because we can’t help others if we don’t survive long enough to help them. In other words, your selfishness becomes their lifeline.
You incorporate these intentions into your day for family, friends, and clients, but your entrepreneurial spirit may stop short of doing random acts of kindness for yourself. Our mindsets typically have us focused on others.
While we consider self-care and try to make healthy choices, we don’t want to be selfish and we’re busy. We plow through the day without typically considering breaks and time for ourselves that also needs to be well-spent.
So ask what’s good for you too. Honor yourself as you wish to honor and impact the lives of others.
You are an entrepreneur’s greatest asset. Think from an outsider’s point of view for a moment. Be your own friend, while also knowing you fully deserve kindness and happiness resulting from actions you take for yourself.
“Self-compassion is simply giving yourself the same kindness that you would give a friend.” ~ Christopher Germer
Prioritize acts of self-kindness
How entrepreneurs can be kind to themselves. 9 effective suggestions.
If you have forgotten yourself in your day to day grind, here are small acts that lead to big results. Be kind to yourself. Know you’re doing something important, because in the end, what’s important is you – your motivation, creativity and wellness is what keeps this business going.
Random acts of kindness for yourself may be:
- buying yourself a cup of coffee
- a seasonal hand sanitizer for your desk
- the nice tissues during allergy season
But they can also be simply free – Experiences.
1. Engage in mindfulness practices.
- Follow a mindful morning routine.
Life is stressful. A great way to begin each day is through routine acts that include intentional movement and breathing, saying kind motivational words to yourself and others, meditation, reading, and writing.
It’s less about email and more about a firm ‘no’ and taking kinder approach to yourself and your day.
Stress takes a toll. Surround yourself with peace and a bit of supportive planning.
- Incorporate mindfulness activities throughout your day.
Plan out your priorities. Read something positive as you take a 10 minute walk.
The list is endless. Saying affirmations at any time. Enjoying a healthy drink in a fun cup is a great choice.
The interesting thing about routine is that it can and should also be flexible! It’s meant to keep us on track, but flexibility is a big “YES!”
“Be kind to yourself. It’s hard to be happy when someone is mean to you all the time.” ~ Christine Arylo
2. Practice gratitude toward yourself.
- Compliment yourself as you would sincerely compliment others.
- What do you appreciate about yourself? Know this answer.
- Ask mindful questions that make you think about who you are and how you came to be. What shaped you? What worked? What did you overcome? What makes me feel good? What leaves me feeling like – wow?
Know exactly how awesome You Are.
“In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.” ~ Andrea Dykstra
3. Remember patience is a virtue.
It’s not just an old saying. It’s a psychological game-changer.
- Count to 10 before you get angry with yourself.
- Don’t nag others. Don’t nag yourself!
- Speak to yourself with kindness.
- Forgive yourself. Learn from it. Don’t just harbor guilt. Move through it to a positive conclusion.
It doesn’t take time and effort. It doesn’t waste time and energy. There’s no limit on kindness.
Reject rejection. Reject criticism.
It’s not easier said than done. Drop that excuse. Be nice. To yourself.
“Having compassion for yourself means that you honor and accept your humanness.” ~ Kristen Neff
Entrepreneurs avoid burnout through self-care.
4. Don’t just read a quote today, act on it.
- Recognize a short-term success every week.
- Recognize a long-term success every month.
- Don’t let someone including yourself steal your peace.
- Work on something today. Let words motivate and inspire you.
Aspiring entrepreneurs love quotes.
Invest in yourself as a result though. Put those quotes into action.
“You have peace,” the old woman said, “when you make it within yourself.” ~ taken from Mitch Albom’s “The Five People You Meet In Heaven”
5. Prioritize self-care as an act of self-kindness.
- Get a haircut. Give yourself a haircut.
- Get a manicure or pedicure – go or do yourself. It’s not just for some. Buy or create a footbath and sit on a step. Soak as you scroll. It’s about the moment of relaxation and cutting off work and stress. It’s about cleanliness and a professional, cared for exterior as much as the interior of your being!
- Take 10 and clean something. Can’t do the whole floor? Do a small section. Wipe out your car. Clean a dirty window.
- Create or add to your mindful morning and evening routine.
- Getting regular exercise is not an unreasonable request.
Self-care is not weakness, wasting time, gender, or colored polish. If you think so, you missed the point.
Fend off chronic illness. Help that sore shoulder. Start taking vitamins as recommended by your doc. Self-care and practicing mindfulness are acts of self-kindness.
“Self-care is a key ingredient to practicing kindness toward others and sustains our ability to help others.” ~ Eleanor Brownn
Increase productivity. Make better decisions. Develop insight.
6. Go somewhere new.
It doesn’t need to be costly. Just expand your horizon and don’t be judgmental.
- Walk up a different street.
- Leave your workplace and take a different route. Stop. Look. Develop empathy.
- Go to a small local park and notice the green and brown things. What’s budding, what’s thriving, what’s decomposing? Who lives there? Listen.
- Drive somewhere with water. Sit down in the sand or grass. Stay until you listen and appreciate.
- Go to a museum that never piqued your interest and appreciate it.
- What’s to know about your local historical society?
- Take a lesson to develop a new skill. Why do people like to golf? It’s different than hitting a bucket of balls at the driving range. Do it just once. Go with a friend. Go alone. Laugh.
- Go play putt putt on the top of a beachfront building. Again – Go with a friend. Go alone. LAUGH.
Many of us have tunnel vision at least from time to time. Work better by opening your eyes to new ideas – and new target audience interests. It’s always possible to expand your vision and your business. You need to open your eyes to possibilities you hadn’t considered. Create a bit of friction that forces you to think differently before life does it for you!
Take that walk. Or moment to sit. And look. And absorb.
“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ~ Robert Greene
7. Do what’s right for your workday and your business.
That doesn’t mean work 16 hours a day and treat everyone else like garbage.
That means:
“You’re allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.” ~ Sophia Bush
Self-kindness throughout the day begins with managing priorities.
8. Work your business plan.
What working your plan looks like in action:
- Actively use your business plan as a living document.
- SMART goals. Emphasis on S, M, A, R, and T.
- Base your daily plan upon business plan priorities.
- Start on time. End on time.
- Take your breaks each day. Move & fuel up Recharging is important.
“What if I told you that taking breaks and doing nice things for yourself was not a waste of time? What if I said that they were not counterproductive but actually one of the most productive uses of your time?” ~ Robert Duff
9. Reflect upon your day.
Take 5 minutes. Take 10 if you’ve got it.
- Don’t focus on the negative.
- What went well? Acknowledge it.
- What can you do to make it even better?
- What made you happy today?
- What’s on tap for tomorrow?
“Only in still water do we see the depth of our reflection.” ~ Taoist proverb
In other words, you will not see your reflection in running water. Take time to stop and reflect. Use what you see to have a great impact on your tomorrow.
Be kind to yourself. Today and every day. That doesn’t mean shirking responsibility and not getting out of bed in the morning. That means doing the right thing by yourself and your priorities, but knowing we all face hurdles and need to get over or around them and actually trying.
The impact of your acting with self-compassion is far reaching and will go a long way in helping you succeed but also in creating your sincere efforts to be kind to others.
You got this.
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