Entrepreneurs are the masters of managing the stressbut also the perfect victims.
They usually carry the heaviest challenges of their organization in a certain solitude: the excellence of the product or service, the search for the client, the closing of the sale, the payment of the payroll, of the debts, and they are always looking for how to be the best in the world. market.
The perfect victims of stress
In their businesses they have deposited their life purposes, what from their point of view will make them transcend; all that in which they have bet their skills and dreams. It can be about solving a problem in your community, in a sector or alleviating the needs of a type of consumer, but also solving some of the greatest challenges facing humanity.
They can offer a transportation solution in the neighborhood, say a motorbike taxi, even taking a man to the moon on vacation; from selling books in a small stall, to distributing them from a web page, massively and robotically, to any part of the world.
When they fail, the entrepreneur often loses a lot of money, along with their dreams. They put into their companies everything that makes their lives worthwhile.
But her concern is carried in silence, with absolute discretion, since her success depends on her image.
There is no business woman or man if they are not a living reflection of success. So if things go wrong, they keep it in their hearts.
They live with that taboo. They cannot tell anyone about their real financial problems or a simple claim from a client, as their reputation can go down the drain.
What can we say about the family? There is no need to worry her, no need to tell her that the entire estate is at stake in the project.
Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, do not have simple mechanisms to vent, to seek help. They are at high risk of being left alone and helpless in the face of stress. They are the perfect victims of this emotional stress.
stay positive
Positive psychology can be a great tool for these heroes and heroines.
One of the most representative pioneers of this new discipline, Martin Seligman, began to study the reverse side of mental disorders.
He is a renowned researcher who described illnesses related to depression, but one day he realized that one could also ask what conditions cause happiness, what makes a person more satisfied with his life or what makes his day more enjoyable. a pleasant experience.
In his research, along with many other colleagues, he found empirically measurable and verifiable answers, and the results of applying this knowledge in a practical way in daily life have been surprising, both personally and for organizations.
If we replicate those conditions or experiences that make people happy anywhere in the world, we can achieve happiness.
PERMA model
With that idea he created his PERMA model (English acronym) that can be used by anyone, but we will focus on explaining it from the perspective of those who run or have a company.
According to Seligman, for a life to be pleasant it must have five ingredients or conditions.
- Ppositivity, experiencing positive emotions and joy for life.
- ANDengagement or commitment, to be committed to what we do.
- R.positive relationships, relate to those who encourage and support us.
- meaningembrace a purpose or what gives meaning to our life.
- Acompliance or sense of achievement, knowing that we are capable of achieving what we set out to do.
If we look at them carefully, each element has a value on its own and different from the other four. Cultivating each of them will lead us to greater well-being. However, for businessmen, some carry more weight than others.
For example, and as we already mentioned in some way, the sense of achievement is very important for businessmen and women. However, they must not stop cultivating the other four elements.
How can we cultivate them? Let’s look at each of them.
positivity
Experiencing positive emotions and thoughts is something that we should never stop overlooking. As bad as the results are in the organization, we must consider all the good things that we do have.
How can we achieve it? Doing things that amuse us, that generate optimism, hope; those that make us feel generous or make us proud. How about practicing your favorite hobby, going to help someone, meditating or praying, if you profess any creed or religion. Include some of this in your routine and you will notice a change in your mood. Listing all the good things that happened to you at the end of the day is a great habit.
Commitment
This is one of the elements in which I have little to say to entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs. They are among the most committed to what they do, to the point that they can sacrifice other positive habits. When we are committed to what we do, we don’t go to our workplace reluctantly, we don’t even feel like we’re working, that’s how employers live and if not, it’s time to reflect on what we’re doing.
I must also remind you that no matter how committed you are, you must not neglect the other five elements of Seligman’s PERMA model.
positive relationships
These are essential for any entrepreneur, entrepreneur. Many times they are related to potential clients, with entrepreneurs from whom they can learn or with whom they can do better business, but they do not always make us feel better. We must have well identified that network of friends who know how to rejoice with our achievements, who are not going to judge us for what we tell them and who are going to give us good advice if we ask for it. You have to know how to differentiate the networks from the network of friends, and take advantage of them.
Purpose
Perhaps this is the most important of all the elements Seligman chose (or is the one I am most passionate about). When the person gives meaning to his life, when he knows where he is headed, the vicissitudes are easier to overcome. We can gladly do things that we don’t like because we know that with it we will achieve our purpose. The entrepreneur almost always has his life purpose linked to his business project. That is why we say that the happiness of the entrepreneur is highly committed to the results. However, the purpose will give us better satisfaction the greater the good that it seeks. It is not bad to think about getting rich, but if we get rich by multiplying good for others, it produces greater happiness.
sense of achievement
It is knowing that we are capable of achieving what we set out to do. Here too, as we said, the businessman tends to risk more well-being in relation to other people, since his life project is more related to his business project. So in times of crisis, his personal happiness can be affected. He has done everything the book dictates, but the reality is cruel: a virus, an international, sectoral crisis; a bad government, the error of a collaborator. Many times the causes are external, but they suffer as if they were themselves. However, here the recommendation is to look at the small achievements, those small steps that make us move towards the big goals, and always ensure that these are, although ambitious, also realistic and achievable.
The mind of an entrepreneur is powerful, it is trained to face difficulties, but in an oversight it can be involved in a health crisis due to stress. A look at positive psychology can be very useful for business and health to continue to prosper.