Yesterday I was poleaxed by a virus. Literally could not lift my head from the pillow. But I had my newsletter to get out. And I simply couldn’t do it. So I reached out for my phone, tapped out an apologetic message and promised to get it out today.
Here it is.
When you are a work at home person, an entrepreneur…whatever you want to call it….things are always going to go wrong at some point. Your computer will crash, the boiler will blow up or you will be struck down by a random virus.
The trick is not to let any of this be a disaster but rather a blip in the road.
And yes, far worse things can happen. They have happened to me. Serious illness in the family, desperate times, worst nightmares coming true. The trick is still not to let it be a disaster but rather something you will manage as best you can.
You are, after all, only human. I am sure that you do your best. So forgive yourself when life throws you a curveball if you don’t handle it as you would like and resolve to do better next time.
To help you, here are some great resources to turn to when that happens as well as to help you ensure that you protect yourself as best as possible from the rollercoaster ride that this solopreneur life can be.
Let’s start with this because I think it helps remind you of what it takes to succeed when you’re being an entrepreneur in some capacity, online or off:
Now, those are great questions but they don’t all have to apply for you to be able to make it. Just keep them in mind and work towards being able to answer all of them as they will put you in a stronger position should things go wrong.
So what do you do if things don’t go to plan? Well, there are some good suggestions here:
Although, as any successful person will tell you, it’s not so much what happens to you as how you handle it.
Here are the ways ten successful people handle it when life gets tough or goes pear-shaped:
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-things-successful-people-when-things-wrong.html
I also like the suggestions here, especially the good old-fashioned method of making two lists – your worries or problems and then how to deal with them.
Simple but it works.
Especially as you can always admit to not knowing what to do and then have a look at all the suggestions here for ideas:
Self-care is also hugely important – after all, your business and possibly your family or your pet dog rely on you. If you’re unable to function, they suffer too.
I am therefore a big advocate of practicing self-care on a daily basis. Tough, I know, when there are a gazillion other things to do but I’m getting better at it and so should you because then you are far more able to handle anything that comes your way.
Here are some excellent self-care tips from 8 wildly successful entrepreneurs:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326643
And more superb and highly practical tips here:
https://growthlab.com/what-self-care-really-looks-like-for-an-entrepreneur/
On that theme of looking after yourself, here are not one but a selection of TED talks to enable you to do that or do it better.
The first is on the importance of emotional first aid:
Then there is how to make stress your friend:
And this inspiring talk on how gratitude can make you happier…which, in turn, will impact positively on everything in your life:
As for me, I am grateful I can lift my head from the pillow today and write this for you.
