How To Build Resilience As An Entrepreneur (+ FREE Workbook)

This post will give you some ideas and actions on how to build resilience.

If you’ve ever fallen down, lifted yourself up, and kept going, you know about resilience.

Building resilience is so important as an entrepreneur as it is not always smooth. Resilience involves maintaining flexibility and balance in your life as you deal with stressful circumstances and traumatic events.

It is the ability to adapt well to stress, adversity, trauma or tragedy. It means that you remain stable and maintain healthy levels of psychological and physical functioning in the face of problems or disruption.

Like a piece of elastic, you stretch and then bounce back to your original shape.

Tips On How To Build Resilience

Take decisive actions

The key to resilience is taking action. Be proactive rather than detaching completely and wishing problems and stresses would go away.

If the problem is with relationships, speak to your partner or see a counsellor.

If the issue is financial, make an appointment to see your bank manager or a financial consultant who can offer trustworthy advice.

While you may not feel like talking, taking no action at all just exacerbates the problems.

You end up avoiding phone calls and people, creating more stress for yourself.

Stay optimistic

You can’t change events that have already happened, but you can look toward the future.

Find something in each day that signals a change for the better and expect positive results i.e. expect that good things will happen in your life.

Visualize what you want rather than worry about what you fear.

Focus on the end result –  your goals

Do something regularly, even if it seems small, that enables you to move toward your goals.

Keep perspective

Keep a long-term perspective; avoid blowing things out of proportion and avoid seeing crises as huge problems.

You can change how you interpret and respond to stressful events.

Expect change

Be flexible so that changes or uncertainty don’t upset you or create anxiety.

Expecting changes to occur makes it easier to adapt to them, tolerate them and even welcome them.

Let’s face it, whoever said ‘the only constant in life is change’ was right.

Talk To Someone

Discuss your issues with a trusted friend or mentor – and really listen to them.

Sometimes seeing our issues through someone else’s eyes can help to put them in perspective, or enable us to take actions we may not have thought of alone.

Spending time with others to gain support and encouragement is important. Don’t isolate yourself – this can be easy to do, especially if you are working remotely or at home.

Look after yourself

Do what you can to eat properly (even if you don’t want to, or want to over-eat), get some exercise, rest and relax (without worrying) and get enough sleep.

Pay attention to your own needs and feelings and engage in activities you enjoy and find relaxing.

Stay Positive

Develop confidence in your ability to solve problems; trust your instincts.

Next Steps

Download our workbook for some practical exercises on how to build your resilience – both personally and professionally.