Stop Avoiding The Hard Things

Avoiding your struggles and what frustrates you does not equate to a positive mindset. It’s willful ignorance under the guise of positivity…and it’s going to destroy your business.

I see far too many business owners who take self-care and following their gut, and knowing their worth, and all that stuff to this extreme level where doing anything uncomfortable, anything of compromise, or the like, are seen as bad, and avoided at all costs in the name of self-care and boundaries. But there are hard things in business. There is a learning curve for everyone. There are uncomfortable situations you have to face head on. Hate to break it o you, but it’s not rainbows and unicorns every day. And this idea that just ignoring the hard things is somehow helpful to you is actually really harmful.

Now don’t get all up in the comments like I’m advocating for 80 hour work weeks and compromising your beliefs or taking clients who are dangerous or something. I’m not taking it to that extreme either. Like in almost everything else in life, there is a middle ground here.

A client that rubs you the wrong way but isn’t throwing out major red flags might teach you some interpersonal skills, or open your mind to how someone else’s mind might work differently than yours.
When you’re desperate for clients because your business is hanging on by a thread, you may need to pound the pavement and go to every business around to network and make connections, or attend every free marketing event even if it doesn’t seem like the perfect fit, because you’ve got bills to pay and all you have to spend is time right now.
You may hate tracking your finances and analyzing all the numbers, but it’s a crucial, fundamental part of running a business. So you either have to get over it and do it yourself or you have to fork over the money and hire it out. Either way, it’s got to be done.
During the building phase or expansion phase of a business, your dream of a 20 or 30 hour work week might go out the window, and you have to go through a phase of 60 hours a week and sleepless nights to get you over that hump so you can get to that dream schedule.
You may not want to pick apart your faults and how you get in your own way in business, but it’s also the only way to really get a grip on what you need to change to move forward.

So even though none of these things are comfortable, they’re necessary sometimes.
Get comfortable with doing the hard things or hire them out if you can, but either way, your struggles still need to be overcome.
You still need to face your own faults.
You still need to overcome them.
You still need to learn and grow.
You still need to work on yourself just as much as your business.
Avoiding either isn’t being positive, it’s damaging.