The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

August 17Extreme Self-Care

In America, we hurry—which is well; but when the day's work is done, we go on thinking of losses and gains, we plan for the morrow, we even carry our business cares to bed with us, and toss and worry over them when we ought to be restoring our racked bodies and brains with sleep. We burn up our energies with these excitements, and either die early or drop into a lean and mean old age at a time of life which they call a person's prime in Europe. We bestow thoughtful care upon inanimate objects, but none upon ourselves. What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally and renew our edges!

Mark Twain—The Innocents Abroad (1869)

Entrepreneurs beat themselves up pretty routinely. Sure, being an entrepreneur takes a mental toll, but it's physically and spiritually draining as well. That's the part few acknowledge.

Running a business is an extreme sport. If you're going to make it, you have to adopt a mindset of extreme self-care.

For some, self-care feels selfish. But let's face it: if the car breaks down, you're not getting to where you're going. So think of it as preventive maintenance if you must. If you're out to save the world, self-care is the most selfless option.

Self-care requires forming new habits. It requires intention.

Mind—defriend the negative (whatever that looks like), read for inspiration each day, ask someone how their day is going and listen, meditate (duh), fix ...