Ever look at the sky and see the black clouds roiling and churning up dismal and bleak sense of unbalance? Mother Nature has a way making that happen, and unfortunately, it happens to business owners, too.
When a black cloud of obstructionary (yep, coining) thoughts hits your business psyche, then everything is off balance until it’s not. This week, I’ve experienced that sense of forboding. Maybe it’s the time of year when there’s pressure to spend more money than you want on personal things and holidays. Perhaps it’s that constant feeling of playing catch up because there is never enough time to be the best social media buddy any more AND bring in the client work AND service it.
Perhaps it’s the fact that life happens and emotions get the best of us turning what was a solid pathway into a twisted, pot holed crevasse.
When all this kind of life happens and your business psyche are put at risk (because we all know a healthy mind, body and spirit make for an even healthier business), what are the things you do to take a turn for the better?
Here are 11 ways I try to deal with all things black cloud:
1. Cocoon and let the darkness slide in and around until it passes and the light comes on again. Don’t reach out to anyone unless it’s short conversations.
2. Stay away from topics on blogs that push buttons and don’t comment unless it’s neutral and positive.
3. Focus outward on others who need attention.
4. Belly laugh because it relieves stress immensely.
5. Eat comfort food like what I did for supper tonight — grilled cheese and tomato soup.
6. Hit the tennis court after working out the kinks on the treadmill and stretching to open the chakras.
7. Breathe in the nose deeply and slowly and breathe out the nose.
8. Watch mindless TV or read mindless books with no business connection.
9. Write a blog post to clear the head because bloggers are full of ideas and the mind becomes cluttered with topical tension.
10. Ask for a hug.
11. Call a friend and shed a few tears to detox.
Do you have certain things you do to ease tension and get your business back on track? When humans run businesses, it’s expected that human emotion can sometimes get in the way. It’s up to we as business owners to recognize the signs that emotion overdrive is hitting and put remedies in place to manage it.