Everywhere you look, people are extolling the values of hustling, grinding, and burning the candle from both ends. If you just put in the work, the story goes, you’re going to be riding in exotic cars and rolling in money.
Well not so fast.
The reality is that entrepreneurship is an emotional roller coaster. It takes time, grit, and hardwork.
Brian Breach is a comedian, TED Talk Speaker, and successful brand expert having gone viral on social media more than once.
Like many of us, Brian has had his fair share of ups and downs, including deaths in the family, and arrests that at one point of his life, he didn’t think he would make it out alive. Brian’s latest Tedx Talk, does a good job of thoroughly explain how any individual can manage life’s darkest times.
No doubt, living the entrepreneur lifestyle can be exciting, it’s what most of us see in social media. But, in fact, a lot of the work, which happens behind the scenes, can be insanely stressful at times.
“If you’re going to build your life around your business, you have to learn about the ups and downs, and figure out a realistic way to keep yourself from flying off the tracks every time you hit a valley,” he says.
As someone who’s had to walk the line between being an entrepreneur, comedian, and motivational speaker, all at the same time, Brian was obligated to figure out a way to not let fear, self-doubt, and the unknown scare him away from his deepest desires.
His solution? 5 Principles on How to Overcome Any Stressful Situation
1. Remain Calm
Although we all tend to get riled up when things aren’t going our way from time to time, the best thing to do is to remain calm so you can keep your cool.
Easier said than done right? When things become out of our control there is absolutely no point whatsoever in stressing over something.
What does it do for you other then drive you absolutely crazy?
If there is one quote that emcompasses this principle in a nutshell, is this:
“Everything will be alright in the end, so if it’s not alright then it’s not the end”.
Embed that into your brain and it will help you keep calm during very rough times.
2. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
I’ve struggled with this one my entire life. It’s virtually impossible for me to ask someone for financial help so I just wouldn’t. When times get rough though it’s actually a stress reliever knowing you have someone to talk to about it, and at the very least ask for advice.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone who may know better than you on how to get yourself out of a tough spot. You’ll be surprised by the kind of feedback you get just by asking. Trust me you don’t know everything! Nobody does! If you think you know everything you’re lying to yourself.
3. Trust The Process
Look, life is about the ups and downs there is no escaping it. You’re going to experience tough times no matter what. Even if you’re someone who has a great deal of wealth, tough times can apply to an entire spectrum of things from relationship troubles, family squabbles, a shady business deal gone wrong,
etc.
Understand that everything is a process and sometimes you have to let the process take place. Good or bad do your best to enjoy the ride!
4. Save Money
Now I know this one sounds more like advice one would give before things hit the fan but what I’ve come to learn in life from my own experience is that the most calm, cool and collective you can been in tough situations is when actually I had some money saved.
Knowing that I have a year worth of savings, so that even if all my sources of income stops coming in out of nowhere that I can survive a year because of that cushion is a life saver. Trust me you will never be so much at ease as when you have a nice little cushion.
5. Have A Plan
Have you ever heard the expression “When you plan something well there is no need to rush”?
Well feeling overwhelmed like you have to rush puts you in a stressful position. The more you write down your goals, execute, and plan them well the calmer you’re going to be for longer periods of time. Imagine chasing a dream for years with no solid plan and no end in site.
How stressful do you think that’s going to be? At the very least it you set strategic goals for yourself it’s a bit easier to remain calm and feel like something good is going to come out of all the hard work then if you didn’t have a plan. So go get a pen right now and write some plans down!
We all face stressful situations at times. The key, however, is realizing that you don’t need to stop stressful situations from happening all together, that’s impossible. But instead, figure out how to control them, and most importantly how to react to them.
Because, as comedian Jim Carry once said:
“Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you!”