How To Survive Your Stress, Fears & Anxieties in Business

I am giving you an opportunity to survive your stress, fears and anxieties in business by learning from the mistakes I made along the way.

Together with my first husband, we bought our first small business together in 1983. I remember the day very well, it was August 12^th, a glorious day and my son’s very first birthday. We sold our house and put all our savings into this little business, a massive risk back then with no business plan, just backed by a suggestion from a friend who thought it had potential and a strong desire to do something different.

Our business was a run down grocery store in Yorkshire, we cleaned up the place, filled the shelves with stock and smiled at our customers.

We sold this business at double the price we paid including stock in less than a year and then invested in a Spa Shop.  This type of store is similar to the IGA in Australia.  We were successful but decided after a few years that catering was the business to be in.  With the grocery store, a lot of money was tied up in stocking alcohol and cigarettes.

We had friends who had sold their businesses and invested into Fish and Chip Take away shops and decided this was a great idea in that the food was turned over quickly with little stock.  What we didn’t realise until later, was that one of our friends ended up bankrupt from struggling with his catering business and the other one ended up with a mental illness and was admitted to hospital.

 

I guess we were lucky in that my husband seemed a natural at producing a tasty fish and chip supper.  I say that lightly, because only I know the hours he spent cutting large fillets into smaller portions, plus the day to day running of a busy restaurant with up to 30 staff in the height of summer.

We  both worked hard and reaped the benefits, although one of my main struggles back then was guilt.  I felt guilty when I was at home with the kids and guilty if I was at work and the kids were left with friends or child minders whilst we both worked. Other than that, the only disadvantage being the smell of fish that was difficult to get rid off on our clothes.

We both  worked really hard, made mistakes, had some luck and fabulous financial rewards.  We both drove around in BMW cars, had a four bedroomed detached house overlooking the sea and took the family to Disney World in Florida many times as a reward for not being around in the Summer.

We gained new friends, lost a few along the way and sadly, one of the victims of our business success was a failed marriage.

I  found myself single at 40,  with no job, a depleted bank account, more wrinkles and worry lines on my face than a dried out prune and no idea on where my life was leading.

Fortunately, over time I was introduced to my gorgeous current husband and together we carved out a new life together.

At one point, I bought a tearoom in Whitby, North Yorkshire and as I was also by then a qualified, remedial massage therapist, reflexologist & kinesiologist. Qualifications I had gained over the years as a hobby.  I introduced Tea & Therapy into the town.

I loved the tea room and the therapy but the two together became too much of a challenge and so I sold the catering business and worked on building my coaching practice.

In-between all of my business ventures, I somehow managed to raise two wonderful children, married my gorgeous current husband and moved to the opposite side of the world. Not to evade my tax duties I might add, but there are benefits of starting a new life in the land down under with a partner where we can just be ‘us’ without being identified and judged by our past.

I have spent some time musing over some of my highs & lows over the past 33 years, something I often do when a birthday is coming up.

I got to thinking that I have a lot to share with you.

Some Key Lessons:

• You are always doing your best
• Remember to be ok learning
• Some you win, and some you learn. Look for the learning
• It’s always your thinking, never the situation or the event causing you stress
• It’s important to take time out
• Find ways to communicate with your loved ones
• You can do it
• If you don’t think you can, ask how can I learn?
• Face up to your fears – fear is false evidence appearing real
• Accept yourself just as you are. Then you can free up resources from within
• Some people suppress their fears in business – usually end up with some illness.
• Some people avoid their fears – they have a tendency to pop up and bite you
• Some people go on and on about their worries, boring people and not doing anything to change their circumstances
• The best thing to do with your worries is to RELEASE them

 

How to Survive

•  Learn from someone who has been there first.
• Ask for help
• Learn strategies to help you to cope when the going gets tough
• Understand your strengths and your weaknesses
• Work on your strengths and manage your weaknesses
• Ask yourself if you are living your own life or the life others expect of you.
• Spend some time learning about you, your values, beliefs and what drives you.
• Understand your faulty, insecure or contaminated thinking that results in your stress
• Create a plan or strategy regarding your business and what you desire to achieve. Including financial success as well as emotional wellbeing.

You can click on this link to one of my blogs that gives you a technique in which you can relax your mind and feel good within minutes.

Simple Technique To Help Reduce Your Stress

 

Question for you to answer in your own time:

If I could wave a magic wand and release you of your strongest worry, anxiety, stress or fear in regard to your business, what would be different?

What would you see, hear and feel that told you that things had changed?

And, how good does that feel?