Working for yourself can inspire a litany of endless criticism in addition to nearly soul-crushing skepticism. At times, it can be lonely, debilitating, and downright depressing. However, in the mission to attain true fiscal freedom, there are a few ideas that can alleviate stress, making the journey that much easier. The next time things seem to spiral out of control, the next time anxiety rears its ugly head, the next time quitting seems like a viable alternative, remember these few tips:
Value Every. Single. Idea.
In the beginning especially, it can be difficult to take on an endeavor without becoming subject to paralysis by analysis. It may seem like your idea has already been done before, that it doesn’t wholly represent you as a person, or that you may be throwing your life away for nothing. Yet, start anyway. Pull the trigger without hesitation. There are always a million reasons to not do something. No time is the “right” time to start working for yourself. There is just the time that finally you stop fantasizing, and finally start doing. To let yourself become a victim of every possible negative hypothetical is to never accomplish anything at all.
Be your own cheerleader.
Understand your own accomplishments and acknowledge them for what they are. With no one to take pride in your achievements, it can be easy to lose sight of progress and development. Set your own benchmarks and get excited when you exceed expectations. By understanding your own success to a greater degree, you will take more pride in your work as a whole.
Keep a record of everything.
Keeping in line with cheering yourself on, you should keep track of all your previous work to understand how far you have come. With no record to refer to, it can be easy to plummet down a river of anxiety and hesitation. So long as you continue pursuing your passion, you will develop more and more of an affinity for that passion. Put simply, you will get better at doing whatever it is you do so long as you keep doing it. Thus, when you (as you inevitably will) begin questioning yourself and your work, you will be able to refer to this time last year and see evidenced, tangible, measurable improvement.
It can be daunting to work for yourself. It can be intimidating to leave security and stability. It can be terrifying to wade into the unknown. Yet, and you know this as well as I do, the fear is worth it. The early years of volatility and vulnerability pale in comparison to the rewards of entrepreneurship’s later years. All I can say is: take the plunge.