DECOMPRESSION

The Gravity of startups

Succeed or fail, startups can pay a toll on the mind and body. This guide covers a startup topic that is less covered; mental health.

Under Pressure

When you are a founder, CEO of a company, or even as an early employee working at a startup, there is always going to be more pressure to succeed compared to the cushy corporate job. If you have raised capital from investors, your personal reputation is on the line. When you are CEO, you are accountable for your team as their livelihood depends on your executive decision making. When you are an early employee at a startup, your job and effort is likely highly responsible for driving growth, product and success. All to say, tensions are high and there is a tremendous amount of pressure that everyone is under. Thus, it is important to create a company culture where everyone can still have fun, stay healthy and decompress. When you are passionate about your job, it does not feel like work. Typically, there is no 9-5 hour work week at a startup. Any free time will be spent “working” on your startup. Thus, it is even more important to balance your work-life both for you mental and physical health.

feels and Falls

Entrepreneurship is one big paradox. It requires you to sell your dream to others, but you need to convince others to come along in order for your vision to happen. Whether this is a potential investor, co-founder or first customer, you may not be able to make it to the next step without having to fake it till you make it. Toby Thomas, CEO of EnSite Solutions said it best when he described what it’s like being an entrepreneur: riding a lion. People look at him [her] and think, This guy's [girl’s] really got it together! He's [she’s'] brave! says Thomas. And the man [woman] riding the lion is thinking, How the hell did I get on a lion, and how do I keep from getting eaten? You can only imagine all the feelings this can make one feel. Anxiety can keep an entrepreneur up all night. When things go well, you will feel the ups, but when things go sideways or wrong, you will feel all the feels. And the downs are likely to be felt more more often than the ups in the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship.

So how can one manage all the emotions of entrepreneurship? Here are some ways that can be helpful when you feel all the feels:

Talk Therapy

Talk to a therapist. It is important for entrepreneurs to seek talk therapy with a therapist. A LCT can help us understand why we are feeling all the feels and offer tools to manage our emotions. Talk therapy is becoming more accessible with many more affordable options online. Every entreprenuer should be talking with a therapist.

Find Community

If you can’t talk to a therapist, talk with others. It is important to be vulnerable. Talk with other entrepreneurs. While they may not have a solution, it is likely someone else has been in your situation and they may be able to provide the empathy to soothe your situation. Don’t know or have a community of entrepreneurs to connect with? Join our community [coming soon].

Mind, Body and Soul

Find a practice that can be meditative. While meditation is not for everyone, there are many practices that can provide mindfulness. Whether this is reading, spirituality, writing, yoga, running, exercise, get in a routine where you can spend an hour doing an activity which brings you to a flow state that distracts you from being in your head. Your mind, body, soul connection impacts your downstream abilities to perform. The more you can improve your mindfulness and physical health, the more you will be able to think, be in a better mood and have more energy.

Shrink your Ego and Expand your Mind

Psychedelics are now becoming less taboo and more discussed and accepted as a tool for mental health and creativity. Micro-dosing or journeying with a psychedelic can be a tool in your mental toolbox.

Identify as more than an Entrepreneur

Many entrepreneurs struggle with depression, even if they have been successful. This is due to putting too much self worth into the identity of being an entrepreneur. As soon as we do this, our validation of worthiness is driven by our success as an entrepreneur. When we are not succeeding, our lowered self worth can lead to depression. The more we can be aware of this, and identify as more than just an entrepreneur, the more we can manage our self-worth. You are more than an entrepreneur. Perhaps you are an incredible parent, family member, community member, etc. At the end of the day, you are a diverse human!

Decompression Checklist

In this final guide of the LAND! series, we explored all the emotions that come from the roller coaster of entrepreneurship. Not everyone may be in the best place to get on such a ride. Thus, it is important to evaluate where you are with your mental health and decide for yourself whether it makes sense for you to be an entrepreneur. If you do decide such, here are some tools to help you manage your feels:

1. Go to talk therapy with a therapist

2. Be vulnerable and connect with a community of other entrepreneurs

3. Find a practice that brings you mindfulness

4. Shrink your ego and expand your mind

5. Identify as more than an entrepreneur