Ask Carrie: How To Stay Motivated In Challenging Times

In this episode, I’m going to share with you something that’s really important: how to actually get through phases where you feel like you are experiencing big challenges, a lot of pushback, or when your business just isn’t going the way you want it to go.

It can be so deflating when you go through these periods and you might feel like you’ve lost all motivation. So I want to share five tips with you, to really help you stay motivated and to get through these challenging times.

When I started my business, I had this quote on my wall that said, 

“Successful people hang on when everyone else has let go.” 

I would look at that quote and tell myself, “Carrie, you can hang on!” Even when I was in moments of despair, wondering how I was ever going to figure things out. I would just look at that quote and think, “I can hang on because this is about my life and my dreams. My success is on the line, and I am willing to hang on for this.”

Tip 1: Create Awareness

When you’re experiencing a particularly challenging time in business, the first thing you need to do is to create awareness around what’s going on.

I find that sometimes, if there’s something challenging happening but I’ve got my head buried in the sand, it all builds up and slowly starts to make me feel worse.

But when I stop to create awareness around what is actually happening, it really helps me to gain more perspective on the situation. When you’re stuck down a rabbit hole of feeling really terrible about something, it’s easy to blow it out of proportion. 

That’s when you need to take a step back and give yourself space to realise that it’s not as bad as you initially thought. Once that mindset shift happens and you understand why it’s happening, you can also start to figure out what the solution is and how you’re going to get past this. 

Take some time to do some journaling t and write it all out, it will be a really powerful place to start.

Tip 2: Get Used To The Ups And Downs

In my opinion, being an entrepreneur is like being on a roller coaster ride. There are so many ups and downs, so many times when I feel like my head is spinning and like I don’t even know what’s going on!

I’ve experienced huge setbacks and so many moments of utter frustration, where everything felt really heavy and impossible. But the thing is that we all experience this. 

If it was easy, everyone would be building successful businesses! But it isn’t always easy. It requires us to push through so many barriers and get far outside of our comfort zone. 

You’re not alone in feeling like this and just because you’re experiencing something really challenging, or you’ve had a setback, doesn’t mean you can’t make this work. It doesn’t mean you’re going to fail.

Every time I’ve had a challenge or a setback I try to think of what I can do to change things around and what I need to do differently. I ask myself if there is a knowledge gap, something I need to understand better or an area where I need to uplevel my skill set.

When things don’t work out it’s just a case of improving your skill set so that you can find a way out of that challenging situation and turn it around. When you work on expanding your knowledge, you’re taking back your power and taking action to figure out how you can move past this. Sometimes it’s just a case of thinking outside the box a little bit for a creative solution to the problem that you are experiencing.

Tip 3: Find People Who Can Help You 

There is always somebody out there who can help you. You don’t have to struggle in silence or feel isolated. Go out there and see who can help you if you’re struggling with a big business challenge or a setback, find others who you can turn to for support.

There are so  many groups and mentors who are ready and willing to help you. One of those groups is the Female Entrepreneur Association! If you need us, just reach out. We’re more than happy to help you! 

Feel confident in yourself to reach out to people, because people do want to help you and it’s so important to remember that.

Looking back, I wouldn’t have got to where I am right now if it wasn’t for the help I’ve received from people along the way and the support that they gave me through some of my most challenging times.

Tip 4: Have A Chat With Somebody Who Gets It

Have a chat with a friend, a family member or somebody who will understand what you are going through.

If you’re part of a group, like FEA for example, reach out to somebody in that group who is going to understand what you’re struggling with because sometimes all we need is a little heart to heart. It’s important to get everything out in the open, off our chest. It gives perspective and makes us realise that it’s not actually as bad as we thought. 

Leave a comment below if you’re struggling right now and you want someone to chat with, because maybe, just maybe, there is someone here right now who will happily have a chat with you and it can make all the difference!

Tip 5: Take Steps Every Day To Make Yourself Feel Better

What could you do every day to help yourself feel even just a little bit better? 

Personally, I love to work on my mindset so I look at things that I can do everyday that are going to make me feel good. Whether that’s watching an inspirational video or reading an inspirational book.

So what lights you up? What excites you? What do you love to do that brings joy to your life? Do something like that every day!

If you can get yourself in an energy of feeling good, or feeling a little bit better, it’s going to make such a big difference. Whether it’s playing with your kids, going out for a walk in nature, watching a movie or just taking a break from it all – give yourself permission to do it. 

Find things you could do every single day that would bring you joy because from that place, you’ll make better decisions. 

You’ll feel lighter and you’ll be able to work your way out of a challenging situation with much more motivation and much more ease.

If you’d like more help building a wildly successful business, make sure you become an FEA Insider so that you’ll get notified whenever we have new content, freebies and bonuses!

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