The other day I wrote a short blog about being mindful. While being mindful applies to all of us, I think it particularly applies to the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs must embrace mindfulness to be successful. Mindfulness is a focus on the present. This means that past thoughts and actions are done and over; only now matters. The future will be or will not be. The key is to be present.
Mindful entrepreneurs welcome changes to their business concepts. At a startup, change happens and may have little or no connection to the past business idea. You may feel the urge to resist change. Resisting change is futile since change is a natural startup process. Personal growth and success at a startup are always based on accepting change. This change is called the “Pivot.”
Your startup may pivot many times before your business concept truly works. Pivoting may be very stressful, but know that pivots and mindfulness make great partners. Pivots are almost always accompanied with a sigh of relief or an exhale once the change is made. You may have been anxious or stressed about the change, but once you pivot you realize there was no reason to be anxious or stressed.
Being mindful requires us to stop, breathe, observe, and connect with our thoughts and actions. Making a pivot, although stressful, can be both exhilarating and calming. Research indicates that being mindful may lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, reduce anxiety, and make you feel better. Why not choose to be healthier and happier?
You can introduce mindfulness into your life and your startup by enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning, practicing yoga, taking short breaks from work, or taking your dog for a walk. You can start by saying to yourself, “I am mindful.” If you repeat this simple phrase a few times every day, you are on the path to mindfulness. If you are on the path to mindfulness, you are mindful. When you are mindful your startup has a quicker journey to success.
Be mindful.
John Bradley Jackson
Author, Entrepreneur, Professor
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