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Be aware of your expectations

Today I have a quick quiz for all Solopreneurs: Have you felt any of the following emotions about your business in the last month…
frustration?
disappointment?
despair?
disillusionment?

If you’re answering “yes” to any of those, you’re not alone! The solopreneur journey is a challenging one. It can be a winding path that seems to be littered with these potholes of various negative emotions. You set yourself right again and then, wham, another setback. Is it really going to be like this all the way?

Good News: It doesn’t have to be!

While you can’t control all of your outcomes and successes, the good news is that you can control what you think about them. More specifically, you can control what you expect.

You can reduce the emotional rollercoaster if you become aware of what you are expecting. Having expectations about things means having a view of the way we think things will play out. If things don’t play out the way we expect, we’re suddenly disappointed and it takes us by surprise. It sounds crazy when you put it in black and white like this. But yes, we humans expect things to go a certain way (somehow predicting the future?) and then we beat ourselves up when we are wrong. In this way we suffer the emotional ups and downs acutely.

By becoming aware and acknowledging our expectations about things, we can take responsibility for any emotions that may result. Basically, we can create less drama when we look at the expectations that we have of our goals, our relationships and ourselves. Become very aware of what you’re expecting and notice how that influences your emotions.

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Feeling out of your depth?

Feeling Out Of Your Depth?

Ever get that gnawing feeling inside and find yourself thinking “I don’t know what I’m doing”? I get it a lot, usually as I’m embarking on a project I haven’t done before. The idea of starting the project was exciting and then as I decide to start working on it…anxiety strikes. I suddenly feel out of my depth. I have a plan but it somehow seems uphill all of a sudden. I feel uncomfortable and can already see overwhelm approaching… and I’ve only just started. Do you know what I’m talking about? When your drive and confidence melt into doubt.
Well, the good news is, this is not just us. This is what most people experience when starting something new. How do I know? Because it’s the natural workings of the human brain. Your mind is the most powerful resource you have and also the one thing that can and will prevent you from achieving the life and business you really want. Feeling out of your depth is actually a natural response from a thought you are having in your mind. The thought might be “I don’t know if I can do this” (this is a popular one) or as I mentioned before “I don’t know what I’m doing”. These thoughts are just thoughts, not facts. Our challenge in these situations is to learn to notice these thoughts and then move on without buying into them. The more we can practice doing this, the better we become at it. Next time you start to feel anxiety creeping in, ask yourself “what am I thinking right now about this situation?” If it’s something negative, just gently remind yourself that it’s just your human brain’s response to something unfamiliar. Don’t let it stop you from moving forward.