How do successful construction business owners get out of a slump? What do you personally do when things aren’t going well?
Most of us would tend to focus on the negative things and just go into a downward spiral trend. In many cases, we start spouting off self-fulfilling prophecies, which eventually get worse as they happen.
So in this week’s episode, I want to share how great entrepreneurs think about adversity and how they overcome it.
I talk about the Stockdale Paradox, how to get control of the story you’re telling yourself, what a mental hygiene exercise is, and some other proven strategies for turning trials into triumphs.
There are No Good or Bad Things
As the famous William Shakespeare said, “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
Shakespeare, numerous philosophers, and countless other authors assert that we lack the knowledge to classify events as either good or bad, especially in highly emotional situations.
Very rarely will you deal with good or bad things because they’re simply just things! And the only thing, good or bad, about them is the story you tell yourself.
How to Overcome Adversities
Adversities make every entrepreneur from good to great. Great entrepreneurs think of adversity as a defining factor.
But how do you get out of a funk and prevent yourself from going into a downward spiral when things get worse?
Here are nine strategies that every successful entrepreneur has mastered and which you, too, can apply when dealing with adversities.
1. Separate Observable Facts
What are the things that are currently happening? What are the observable facts? Ask yourself these questions and make decisions based on the information that you gathered, and then separate the stories that have yet to happen that your brain is insistently telling you.
2. Detach From the Situation
The most important thing you could do is to detach from what’s going on in your head and be aware of your thoughts.
Remember, your brain is not a great source of information when there’s fear involved. Instead, detach yourself from the situation and get that conversation in your head into the more logical part of your brain.
3. Cultivate the Habit of Gratitude
Focus on what is going well. When you make gratitude a habit, it will rewire your brain. This will make you susceptible to this fear and that scarcity of inner critic-type episodes.
4. Control the Controllables
There are always two buckets of things in every situation – things you can control and those outside of your control.
You don’t have control over the weather, politicians, what customers do, trade partners, etc.
What you can do is focus your energy on the things you can control, or else you’ll waste your time getting worked up on the uncontrollable things.
5. Reframe the Situation
We tend to look at things in a negative frame, which becomes the story we tell ourselves. But the reality is we get to choose which story to tell, and Napoleon Hill, author of the popular book Think and Grow Rich, explained it better than anyone else.
6. The Stockdale Paradox
This strategy is something that Jim Collins talked about in his book Good to Great.
The Stockdale Paradox says that you must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, yet at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
7. Take Ownership
Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I drove here.”. Get out of that victim mentality. Accept that there are things you’ve probably done that contributed to what you’re dealing with.
8. Catastrophizing
When you have all those negative thoughts going through your head, approach that conversation logically.
Answer all the what-ifs and start making a plan by writing them down or saying them out loud.
9. Mental Hygiene
Like the strategy above, a mental hygiene exercise also lets you pour out all your irrational thoughts, fears, frustrations, speculations, etc., and sensibly deal with them by writing them down on paper. Think about journaling!
Want to know more? I talk about all of these strategies and more in-depth HERE. So tune in now to learn more!
Additional Resources:
– Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE
– Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE
– Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE
Books Mentioned:
– Good to Great by Jim Collins
