Anxiety disorders are common with people belonging to various age groups. A survey has revealed that more than 40 million Americans are suffering from anxiety. Anxiety can be identified with stress, panic attacks, muscular tension, fatigue and much more. A person’s everyday activities and responsibilities are affected due to anxiety.
In case you are an entrepreneur and run your business yourself, anxiety could prove to be a major productivity killer. It can make it tough for you to get through your day as planned and the fear associated with it can also lead to panic attacks.
Anxiety is a perpetual cycle, which leads to unruly behaviour in particular type of situations. Chronic anxiety can be associated with symptoms such as sleep deprivation, fatigue, heart palpitations, difficulty in focusing, trouble breathing, etc.
Anxiety leads of poor performance
Emotional and psychological exhaustion can be related to anxiety. Feeling unmotivated, irritability and fatigue are some of the precursors of anxiety, and all of this affects your overall productivity. In case you own business, then anxiety can add to your woes. If left untreated, it will lead to slow productivity, minimising the amount of work done. In case your employees suffer from anxiety, it will lead to lost productivity and hamper the overall growth of your business. Providing employees with empathetic supervisors who can help them deal with it, will have a positive impact on your business.
Introduction of relaxation techniques
There is no doubt that our minds are overworked in today’s age and time. Once the body becomes tense, it can get tough to control the mind. Regular practice of meditation and deep breathing can help in managing anxiety. In case you are a business owner, then you must introduce and support meditation at the workplace. Meditation will not only cut down on the anxiety and prevent panic attacks, but at the same time, it will help in improving the overall productivity of the team.
Anxiety stops you from thinking clearly
Being a business owner, it is imperative for you to have clarity of thought. Not being able to think straight can lead to some problems with regards to your business. But at the same time, it is a sign that you are undergoing too much stress. There are many techniques which can help you relax and think clearly. Deep breathing is a quick and easy way of shedding the clouds of anxiety and being able to think coherently.
Balancing your need for perfection
It is important to realise that you do not need to be on top of everything, every time. Nobody is perfect, so learn to be okay with imperfections sometimes. A Perfectionist suffers from anxiety; for their incessant need to do everything right in one go. Stop being hard on you and beating yourself down, as this can exacerbate stress levels. Though it is always nice to aim for perfection, it is not right to think that if it is not perfect, it needs to be re-done. Perfection is a subjective matter, so, what is perfect in your eyes may not be perfect in the eyes of someone else. Yes, always aim for perfection, but sometimes settle for things a little less than that. There is nothing wrong with it.
Being a public pleaser can lead to increased levels of anxiety
In case you own business, you have to meet a lot of people and communicate with them. Employees, business delegates, partners and trustees cannot be pleased at the same time. While some decisions may please some, it might displease the other so do not seek to impress everyone. This type of thinking can be counter-productive for entrepreneurs. Decision making is an important aspect of running a business, so try and take decisions which will be beneficial for the company instead of pleasing the people around you. Do not let anxiety take away from your power of decision making.
Have a positive outlook towards stress
As we all know, life as an entrepreneur can give satisfaction, financial security, freedom but it also comes in a package deal with a bucket load of stress and anxiety. If you can use your pressure in the positive direction and make yourself into a workhorse, it will help you. Stress can be used to better your business, but there is a technique to it. Having said that, too much anxiety can never be right for your business.
Help others to reduce your stress
Helping others and caring for them can assist in reducing your stress levels. Try volunteering for good causes, or help out some in your neighbourhood. Doing good will automatically alleviate your senses. Not only are your stress levels reduced, but you feel relaxed, happy and ready to focus back in your business.
Practising mindfulness will keep stress at bay
If you are mindful of the surroundings, you can predict what is coming your way. If you have an idea of the future, be it right or wrong, your stress levels would not shoot up when it happens. Improved communication with employees and colleagues along with customers will help in being mindful. Instead of being overly focused on yourself, look around, take a whiff of the surroundings, understand what is happening, it will prepare you for the times to come and keep you relaxed.
Be aware of the uncertain odds
Owning a business can be a rewarding experience, but at the same time can have a downside to it too. While some ventures are successful, others can be a big time failure. Though it may sound scary, failures are often the stepping stones to success. So instead of falling prey to anxiety, use that failure to analyse why it went wrong in the first place and try to make it better the next time. Learn from your mistakes.
The points mentioned above verify that stress and anxiety are bad for your business. However, you can smartly move things around a bit by incorporating these tips and tricks in your daily life.
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