Looking after your mental health while running your business is so important. Being a business owner can impact your mental health in many ways, including being lonely, stressful, feeling overwhelmed and increase anxiety. There are approaches you can take to support your mental health in different areas of your business.

Finding your escape

Running has not always been a big part of my life. At school I hated it even though I enjoyed sports going for a run was my least favourite thing to do. However, since having children and starting up my business this has changed.

Running is important to me to support my mental health. Running allows me time to think, clear my head and just connect with nature around me. It is my time to escape and reset my mind.

An area I have struggled with since starting my business is with planning and creative thinking. Over time, I have found the best time for me to do this is while I am running. I have a clear mind with no distractions, and I can just let my mind go.

Loneliness as a business owner

Being a business owner can be very lonely. Especially if you work from home by yourself. Finding ways to connect with others is really important. Having a community, you feel comfortable in can help overcome these feelings. I am very lucky to have connected with so many fantastic people through networking including other Virtual Assistants. Connecting together and sharing our experiences makes you feel part of something rather than trying to cope on your own.

Imposter Syndrome

Talking to other business owners, you start to realise you are not alone in feeling these feelings. Imposter syndrome is another area that can affect how we run our businesses. You think you are alone in these feelings, but rest assured there are a lot of people feeling exactly the same. Talking about it with them can show you how inspiring you are and help you to realise what a fantastic job you are doing. If you suffer from imposter syndrome, set up a folder in your inbox and save all your feedback into this folder. When you feel like you are struggling go straight to the folder and read through the lovely feedback you have received for your work.

Support each other

Finally, finding someone you can confide in and bounce ideas of with is essential. Growing your business means challenging yourself and pushing your boundaries. Having someone to discuss this with can boost your confidence and help you push your self to the next level.

The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week this year is Kindness. Being kind to each other and supporting each other is so important. Collaboration not competition. I feel very lucky to be part of the Virtual Assistants community where it is all about collaboration. The support is invaluable.

Now more than ever, share you struggles with those you feel comfortable with. You may find they are experiencing the same or have in the past.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at info@rubymoonva.com