As has become common knowledge, entrepreneurship is a long, obstacle-filled, lonely process which can backfire when one is not prepared to face the challenges.
Now, while financial problems are a major concern for many entrepreneurs, many never anticipate the loneliness that comes with it. Here is how you identify and overcome the loneliness of an entrepreneur.
Recognize those feelings of isolation
Loneliness will often be more than simply not hanging around enough people. It can also be a feeling of isolation, regardless of whether people are around you or not. So, as an entrepreneur, if you find yourself unable to connect with the people around you, you are headed to loneliness.
To overcome these feelings, first acknowledge them. Sit with them and let yourself feel them. Then, begin to work backwards on how to improve your social connections: rekindle old friendships or reunite with family. These help get you started back towards socialization.
Negative feelings of self-doubt and self-worth
Whenever you enter a period in which you suffer from chronic self-doubt and low self-worth, you will most likely isolate yourself. The more you isolate, the worse they get, leading to loneliness.
To overcome this, put more effort into nurturing your current relationships. Take time off work to go out with friends, to attend birthdays, to just be there with loved ones. Make effort to be there in your friends major upcoming life events and be sure to remain in contact constantly. This helps improve feelings of your self-worth.
New habits
If you work from home, or work late, you will find that your social contacts will diminish pretty fast. These increase the chances of you experiencing loneliness the longer they go on.
So, to overcome this, take some time in your day to visit friends, or actively try to get an office environment to work in sometimes so that you create contact. You can also take walks in the park, or commute regularly. This helps put your brain in an alert position to creating new friends, something that keeps away the feelings of loneliness since the brain will always be eager to see new faces and meet new people.
You constantly feel overwhelmed
Loneliness means that you will always be the one to take care of everything in your life. you are in charge of stimulating your own social batteries, you need to care for yourself when sick, you need to be the one to emotionally support yourself and so on. This can be draining, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed.
To overcome this, therapy might be a good place to start. But also, rekindle old social contacts. Find old friends and link up. Take time off your work to meet new people and make new friends. Find people to connect with emotionally, and this will help ease any burdens you may be experiencing.
Entrepreneurship is very lonely and could be more damaging than rewarding if you are not careful. So, take these signs as a call to you to make changes to avoid becoming lonely.
