One of the minor differences between a regular job and owning a business is the feeling of dread or anxiousness. It’s not that you don’t get the feeling that everything can fall apart while working for a company. It’s just that when you’re in charge all the pressure is on you.
And it’s not that you worry about yourself. That certainly plays a part, but you think more about others. You think about your spouse. You think about your children and anyone you’re responsible for like employees and partners. And you also have to think about how people would be disappointed in you if your business were to fail.
These are really feelings that many business owners feel. But if you have a better understanding of these feelings you can get past the feeling and know how to deal with it properly.
A recent post on PsyBlog examined a study that looked at the biggest causes of depression. The biggest cause was traumatic life events. But not all people that suffer from that leading cause or the other main causes suffer from depression. The ones that don’t seem to be able to figure out a way to deal with the issue.
The article said that the main ways to deal with the potential depression finding ways to get rid of depressing thoughts, reaching out to others for help with the coping and not blaming yourself for everything.
In another post, there are 8 ways to get rid of depressing thoughts. I especially like the one about writing about the thoughts you’re having. I think Rand Fishkin recently did this with his very brave post on his depression.
As for not blaming yourself, PsyBlog has a post on self acceptance and how that can lead to happiness. I like the idea of seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow. Instead of being so hard on yourself, accept whatever happened and look at it as an opportunity to become even better. It’s like children, they learn to walk and they fall over and over again. They don’t care. They accept the failure and learn that they can’t do what they just did if they want to walk. In fact, children are very good at accepting themselves and learning. If only we could stay like that forever.
I also like the one about learning new things. When business is challenging and on the brink of depressing, it can really work well to try something new. It could be related to your business, but it could have nothing to do with business at all.
I haven’t been depressed, but my wife and I are trying something new with a podcast. It’s been fun and has given us something else to focus on. We don’t know what it will turn into, but so far I can say that’s it’s been a positive, happy experience.
There are lots of things in business that can make you depressed. It seems there are many ways to avoid letting that depression sink to the point where you can’t function normally. Having perspective on the situation is a good first step. Then accepting it and looking at it as an opportunity is a good next step. And if you need more then try something new that maybe you wouldn’t have otherwise tried.
What have you got to lose?
Only your feelings of anxiousness.