Why is mental health a key to your success as an entrepreneur

Being a successful entrepreneur comes with great responsibility and hard work. While some say that the recipe to success is to “work like crazy”, that is more a recipe for a mental health meltdown at some point in your career.

 You would think that working until late hours, having a multitude of business meetings all around the world, and skipping all your vacations are the key to your success in the business landscape. In fact, that is exactly how you make yourself head towards a burnout that will affect your capabilities and entrepreneurial skills. Daily stress to keep your business running and successful can have a major impact on your mental wellbeing. And, ultimately, this will affect your company too. 

Here’s why your mental health is essential for success as an entrepreneur and how you can keep it at bay: 

Poor mental health affects your decision-making skills 

Good and well-informed decisions are essential for your business success. You need to make important financial decisions that can either take your business to the top or make it go bankrupt. So, that comes with great responsibility. However, poor mental health can alter your decision-making skills more than you would ever imagine. 

You have certainly heard about the fact that it is not recommended to make important decisions when you are feeling sad. And that should apply in your personal life too. However, when you are making a decision for your business, there is a lot more that you will be responsible for including your employees, your customers, and your career as an entrepreneur. So, you can’t really afford to make a bad choice only because your mind was clouded by dark or negative thoughts. 

Good decision making can only happen when you are thinking rationally and you are able to analyze all the consequences or the utility of your decision. Also, when you are thinking rationally, you are able to find and evaluate alternatives in order to choose the one that will lead to the best possible outcomes.  

Poor mental health leads to depression and anxiety 

At first, poor mental health can be triggered by a multitude of factors. Whether you are facing a challenge with your business, you work too much and deal with immense stress, or have a negative experience in your personal life, your mental wellbeing will be impacted by the negative emotions you are feeling. 

According to the World Health Organization, data from 2019 show that around 264 million people worldwide suffer from depression. Moreover, a large percentage of those are also experiencing symptoms of anxiety. One of the main factors that lead to poor mental wellbeing is a negative working environment which promotes inadequate health and safety policies, high levels of stress, and long working hours. 

As an entrepreneur, you may be experiencing all these factors that can affect your mental wellbeing. In time, dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety will make your symptoms worse and your risk of developing a mental health condition such as depression will increase considerably. 

So, even if you think that you can manage stress and anxiety and continue to take poor care of your mental wellbeing, it will ultimately make your condition worse. 

Success and poor mental health 

Success in the business landscape doesn’t come overnight and it rarely comes easy. It takes a lot of hard work to achieve it. However, even when you achieve it, you need to continue to work hard to maintain it. 

Success and poor mental health have been linked by many specialists in two different scenarios. While poor mental health can stop you from achieving success, when you achieve it, your mental health may be suffering due to all the new changes you experience in your life. 

Behind happy-looking faces and successful lives, in the business landscape, there can be a mental health struggle. From the famous Reddit Co-founder Aaron Swartz to the famous Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, there are a number of reputable entrepreneurs who have admitted to have struggled with depression for years. 

So, you could say that sometimes, success comes with a price. And, sometimes that price can involve drug addiction and a real struggle. According to a neuroscience professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, David J. Linden, the traits that make an entrepreneur successful are also the ones that can make them susceptible to addiction. 

The experts from Heroin Advisor explain that “The way to success can be a lonely road that entrepreneurs walk on. And, it can constantly be coupled with a fear of failure hanging over their heads which may make them susceptible to start using drugs or alcohol to cope with the stress and responsibility.” 

 How to manage your mental health? 

As you can see, your mental health can play a major role in your capabilities of managing your business properly. But how do you actually manage your mental health properly? Here are a few mental health tips that can help you avoid the risks you are facing: 

Prioritize your health over business

We get it, no business becomes successful when it is run by an entrepreneur who only stays on vacation. It takes hard work to make your company reach the top of the market. However, there is a huge difference between working hard and working like crazy. 

So, you should never forget about the work-life balance. If you feel like your work is already affecting your health, maybe it is time you take a few-days break to recover and regain your strengths. 

Practice mindfulness 

Practicing mindfulness is a great way to take care of your mental wellbeing while you also improve your decision-making skills for your business. Practicing mindfulness by meditating, being grateful, and practicing yoga will help you get a better understanding of your own thoughts and emotions. A clearer mind leads to a better decision-making process. 

Have a support system

Success in entrepreneurialism may come with the price of being lonely. You work until late hours and rarely have time to meet with your friends or family. This can make you feel lonely when facing all the challenges of your career. Thus, it is highly important to find a good work-life balance and to keep your loved ones close to you. 

Being an elite entrepreneur in the business landscape isn’t easy. You face stress, challenges, responsibility, and hard work. So, it is paramount to take adequate care of your mental health by prioritizing it over anything else in your life.