There are those in times of crisis who get overcome by fear and those who rise to the occasion. They know they have the mentality not just to survive but to succeed in the midst of turmoil. They realize that what they are doing right now will decide what sort of life they’re going to have ten years from now.
Who distinguishes those people from the vast majority? It is not really money or the achievements of the past. There are plenty of people who have money but who live in terror. And there are people who thought they had worked out their business, and now they are forced to reinvent themselves because it has changed everything.
People who excel in turmoil have the opportunity to stay calm under intense pressure and focus on who they need to become to be confronted by it. When reality shifts they have the potential to alter their view. They’re not trying to disagree with reality by wanting things to not be a certain way.
They have that which we call emotional fitness.
Mental fitness is not synonymous with emotional intelligence. While the two are related, the capacity for empathy is emotional intelligence. Emotional strength is the ability to stay on your feet when the ground beneath you crumbles.
You do know what exercise brings. You can do all the study you like on the ideal workout times or the right yoga pants, but if you don’t get into the gym and do the work before you start sweating, all that doesn’t mean anything. As for mental health, the same is true. You can read anything you want about staying calm under pressure, but the only way to really increase your emotional fitness is to do the inner work necessary to increase your ability.
Here are five ways in which entrepreneurs can boost mental health.
1. Check-in several times a day
Your response to whatever stimuli is before you is to a degree unintentional. If you step on a LEGO, you get angry at the same time that your foot is shooting up with pain. You get nervous when you watch the craziness on the tv. Those feelings and thoughts will come to you before your logical brain has a chance to keep up. Take a minute to check in with yourself, and find out what you are focused on, at least two or three times a day. Follow the concentration, and see what causes the emotions. Are you stressed out because you’re focused on the bad stuff happening, or are you excited about the opportunities ahead?
Most people may not know, but our minds subconsciously focus on all the bad things that happen because of the desire to live. It’s easy for those negative feelings to overwhelm everything else when you are on autopilot. But you may make a conscious decision to change your attention and disrupt the habit of being on autopilot by consciously bringing consciousness to your thoughts and emotions. Through checking in several times a day with yourself, you give yourself the data to understand why you’re feeling the way you’re doing, and where your concentration is during the day.
2. Understand the emotions and thoughts
The moment you understand your emotions and thoughts is the moment you will become aware of the trigger that triggers the thought or emotion. As I said earlier, our subconscious mind is constantly focused on negative emotions and thoughts, especially early in the day. If you don’t recognize those feelings, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle the whole day. Your brain will release the cortisol stress hormone, as your brain would act as though you were battling an enemy because your body will be wasting energy battling itself.
Studies show that simply acknowledging negative thoughts and realizing that being in reactive mode is normal for your brain gives you the ability to make the conscious decision to shift and focus on the opportunities instead of the problem. Be more mindful of them, rather than trying to address them. You don’t have to “fix” the emotions. The catalyst that made you feel this way is the thing to repair, not the emotions themselves.
3. Don’t “mislead” your emotions
Your emotions are feedback on your understanding of your present reality. When you find them wrong so you believe the current condition shouldn’t happen to you. That’s when you start to disagree with truth and search for something to blame, or someone. We have this impression of not thinking a certain way, or of being frail by knowing what we feel.
By recognizing that you are not your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, instead of responding to them, you become open to receiving input and learning from them.
4. Feel your emotions fully
We continuously judge ourselves and do not give ourselves permission to truly feel our emotions. Like the feeling of relief which mixes with sadness at times. Our feelings will bring out guilt and shame, so we don’t think we should feel that way. The guilt and shame are what prevent us from increasing our capability. There are the feelings and there are the causes and you can’t just interrupt this chain. Then you must complete the circuit and truly experience the emotions.
The moment we allow ourselves to feel the emotion, this is the moment you bring light into the darkness. The fear and uncertainty which consume our energy will start losing strength. We put light into the darkness and remember that we were more afraid of the darkness than what it hid.
5. Win the fight before it is real
Much of our worries and stressors are triggered by what we think could happen. The fear is not really most of the time and just exists in our heads. The worst-case scenario thoughts are all set in the future and inspired by a bit of past pain. The sensation of being trapped in the middle of an unchanging history and an undetermined future eliminates our certainty. It is the impotence that amplifies all the other emotions. But the secret weapon is that in the same position you too can win certain battles: your mind.
If you are a leader in your business, the negative energy that we have in this pandemic can’t afford to consume you. Increase your emotional fitness every day, and when the storm passes you’ll become stronger. One of my favorite mantras I say to myself every day is “the best is yet to come.” And if you believe that you can find opportunities for every single cell in your body, and offer confidence to those who live in fear. Your role as a leader is to increase your power, increase your ability, and bring hope to your staff, clients, and family. You were made for this kind of moment.
