Is Your Mental State Dictating Your Businesses Success?

Posted June 28, 2011

I am often scanning the net for articles that inspire advice or pointers for small businesses.

Things like hot tips on cash flow, recommendations for latest technology, or ideas for managing resources, but today I was pleasantly surprised when I came across an article on smh.com.au (http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/staying-optimistic–and-realistic-20110622-1gemf.html) that was focusing on the mental state of a business owner rather than the financial state of the business. Too often people are caught up on the numbers and sales of their business that they don’t stop and look at their own psychological condition and how in fact it could be affecting their business.

The article mainly touched on optimism, pointing out that optimism creates opportunities and is an essential ingredient for a prosperous small business.In fact as Dr Russ Harris points out “The more optimistic you are the more opportunities you are going to be exposed to”

I suppose it comes down to energy and the vibe your are giving off. People are less likely to engage or do business with someone who exudes negative energy or a backwards attitude.

It goes further to talk about how your level of optimism could be holding you back, making you scared to step out of your comfort zones. Which we all know is a death wish when growing a small business.

What’s also interesting is that optimism isn’t just about positive feelings; it’s also about accepting negative feelings, which so often come along with things like resisting change or picking yourself up after a bad month. Dr Harris calls this ‘mindful’ optimism which teaches yourself to learn and grow from an experience rather than dwelling in the negativity of a situation.

Below are some tips straight from the article on cultivating optimism.

TIPS FOR CULTIVATING OPTIMISM

1. Reframe your thinking so that whenever you face a challenge, ask yourself: ‘How can I learn or grow from this experience, regardless of the outcome?’

2. Whenever you make a business decision, consider all the benefits of making the decision – include material, personal, social and community benefits. The more benefits the greater the motivation for stepping out of your comfort zone.

3. Be realistic about the obstacles, problems and challenges that you face along the way – if you try and pretend they are not there, you are setting yourself up for failure.

4. Stop worrying: it is a huge time-waster; it can eat up hours, days, months, even years. Put a plan in place for the worst-case scenarios and then put worry aside and focus on things you can control.

5. If you maintain a practice of optimism, your antennas will be raised for more optimism and you will be exposed to more opportunities.

6. If you are struggling to maintain optimism in your business and life in general, it may be useful to consult a counselor or psychologist to help you develop a healthy positive mindset.