We talked a few months back about the Grit and Gumption needed to survive by every business owner. Yet there are some days when it gets on top of you, the pressure is too much and you are not sure what to do. How do you keep on keeping on? What does it take for you as a business owner to cope with the pressure and not just survive but to actually thrive under that pressure?
The problem with problems is almost completely based in how you look at things. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is the glass half full or half empty? If you were given a sack filled with manure would your answer be oh Sh** or Where is the pony that made all this?
I am not offering some magic bullet. The viewpoint is really important in building what is the buzz word for 2020. RESILIENCE.
When we are faced with a problem the issue usually is; diagnosing the problem in the first place. the first thing to do is to examine it from all angles. Many people make the mistake of only examining the problem from their own perspective. Maybe you need a different person’s perspective. When you look at a problem from other viewpoints; when you listen to other people a simple solution often becomes apparent. I say that the solution is simple but perhaps not easy or cheap. But there is always a solution. Then it is about a severity scale. How serious is the issue? Scale of one to ten looking at short, medium and long term potential impacts.
It is the undecided, the unresolved issues that cause paralysis and stress. That is what takes the emotional toll on business owners. Resilience is the emotional elasticity to know how far you can or should bend without breaking, even when pulled in multiple directions at the same time.
Here are a couple of the many strategies for developing resilience that I found helpful
- Ask yourself:
- What can I do now? Is action the right course right now?
- How can I contribute to the outcome I want? By word or action?
- What resources are available and accessible to me?
- When the right time and what steps do I need to put in place to resolve the problem?
Truthfully you only want to address the problem once and get it right once. Right?
- Figure out what the price is (whether it is paid in time, money, service or whatever) and be prepared to pay it willingly.
Once you have done these things ACT. Get it done. Now the problem has no power over you any more. When you get in the habit of using this process with issues as they arise you will find a clearer headspace with less stress.
Learning to not repeat mistakes is the most powerful resilience tool of all. So here are 3 ideas to think about:
- If you don’t examine why a situation arose you won’t be able to prevent it recurring
- You have to be honest with yourself and examine your own response to the events. Was it the best, most appropriate response? What would you now do differently?
- Journal.
Write down how the experience was for you and learn from it. Note particularly how you felt before during and afterwards and the points at which the feelings changed and why they changed both positively and negatively. What did you do well or badly and what would you do differently in future
Now you know what, when and how you overcame the obstacle, who helped you and how it felt. The process creates a personal tool box of resilience.
It boils down to three words:
- Diagnose
- Remedy
- Learn
I already said that it is the unknown, the unfamiliar that causes us problems. Resilience is that moment when you can say: I know how to resolve this. It might be that you have a process, or you have a person to talk to but it is the awareness that there is a solution within your power that allows you to bounce back, to be resilient.