When Business Enthusiasm Turns into Business Monotony

• The excitement and feeling you had when you first started your business has diminished into a ho-hum feeling.
• Being a business owner just isn’t what you thought it would be.
• You feel let down because you didn’t close the deal you worked so hard on.
• It feels like business is in a slump – you’ve told clients you’re sick when you really weren’t just so you wouldn’t have to deal with another day of mundane details.

Sound familiar?

Then you KNOW the honeymoon is over.

Or is it? Don’t lose hope…you can bring back the zest and enthusiasm, excitement and adventure in your business.

You might think I’m joking… but I’m not. You think once the excitement is gone, it’s forever. Not so fast!

It’s not just an economic downturn that can drag down your business.

Business articles oftentimes deal with the ups and downs of the stock market, business trends and economic forecasts…all important issues. But how you feel about yourself and about your business can affect your bottom line.

In a recent survey, Gallup discovered only 13% of workers feel engaged by their jobs. That in itself is a depressing statistic! But it isn’t just everyday workers who aren’t feeling engaged.

Do you remember when you first started your business? You were excited and eager to prove you could make a difference. You envisioned freedom, new possibilities, a higher salary…your dreams were practically limitless!

Boredom…an occupational hazard for entrepreneurs

But then something happened. You may not even remember what exactly factors contributed to the decline in the excitement you once felt.

Inc.com senior contributing editor and veteran entrepreneur Norm Brodsky calls boredom an “occupational hazard for entrepreneurs”. So, how does this happen?

Maybe you jumped into a new venture without much planning only to end up feeling lost and discouraged. Or, you might have learned the ropes of your business – and now you’re craving a new challenge to keep you on your toes.

Whatever has caused the zest to fizzle out for you, there’s at least one big risk – boredom can lead to bad business decisions. Before you throw in the towel for good, a little self-exploration is in order.

Positive = Productive

In their book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, authors Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer tracked seven companies and found that top companies provide an atmosphere that encourages motivation in their employees. The employees are proud of their work and enthusiastic – setting the stage for a successful business.

Whether you’re a solopreneur or a seasoned business professional, you too can refresh your sense of motivation by developing a new enthusiasm for your work. Remember that first rush when you started your business? You created it… your perceptions created that feeling.

And remember when that feeling went away? You created that, too. Instead of perceiving possibility, you started focusing on limitations and disappointments, which gradually led to the decline in enthusiasm you previously enjoyed.

Well, take a breath, forgive yourself for creating this situation…and get ready to make a change for the better!

Challenge Yourself…for the Sake of Your Happiness

Coming up next, I’ll share tips that will help you challenge the decisions you’ve made that may not have been as accurate as you once thought.

But first, here’s a sneak peek at five helpful tips to recognize potentialities and revitalize the excitement and energy in your business:

1. Feeling envious over someone you think is doing “better” than you are? Drop it, now! Jealousy is not positive or enlightening, and it can be downright draining.
2. Be open to new possibilities. Don’t keep using the phrase, “Well, it’s always been done this way…”
3. Review your goals…Are they really you…or have they become stale and no longer aligned with who you are?
4. Make a difference for others…it can make a difference for you, too!
5. Practice gratitude by acknowledging and appreciating your value…after all, happiness does begin with you!

I’ll leave you with this final thought,

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. ~ Marcus Aurelius

Resources

Leadership Operating System Quiz: Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST quiz and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing: A simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen.

Subscribe to the Women Taking the Lead Podcast

If you enjoyed this episode subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio, Amazon Music or Pandora and never miss out!