3 Things You Can Do to Cope With the Loneliness of Entrepreneurship

It’s lonelier than any entrepreneur would like to admit. Why would you? Everyone knows you’re living what most people could only dream of at the top. Nobody has to know that you’re struggling. Or do they?

Your social media profiles show the fruits of your hard work and hustle, and almost all your friends and family envy your lifestyle. But behind all that glitz and glamor is a person who works almost infinite sleepless nights, turns down social events to work, and has minimal time spent with friends and family.

The truth is, entrepreneurship can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

As a budding entrepreneur, here are ways on how I coped with my loneliness:

1. Take breaks, go out and meet new like-minded people

The best part of being your own boss is the freedom of how you want to spend your time. I used to work every day except Sunday and rejected invitations to events hosted by friends and family. It was the first time I experienced burnout, and trust me it’s a horrible thing.

No matter how much you love doing something, the reality is, if you do too much you will end up hating it in some way. Give yourself a break and stop thinking that working too hard will bring you closer to your goals.

Remember the cliché saying, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” Part of your journey should be taking weekends off and doing what you love so that you have time to step back, reflect on life and an opportunity to miss your business.

As an extrovert, I know staying indoors working on the weekends would be detrimental to my happiness so I required myself to go to social events. These events could be something as small as having lunch or dinner with a friend. Believe me, it did a lot of good for myself and it put me in a better position as a leader in my organization.

My favorite part would be expanding my network to meet like-minded people such as attending Rotary events (I’m a member), personal development seminars, book clubs, and many more. You have more chances of finding like-minded people in those gatherings because it’s easier to know which ones have similar interests as you.

In your business, growth is a must so you keep planning for both the short-term and the long-term.

In your life, moving forward is a must. Go out there, meet new people, do new things and live life the way it’s meant to be lived.

“I love meeting new people; I think everyone has a story to tell. We should all listen sometimes.” – Kim Smith

2. Take classes or learn a new hobby

When you know you’re going to events with like-minded people, you essentially know what to expect. It’s different when you’re taking classes to acquire skills for a new hobby since you have no idea if you’re going to like it or not. However, stay open minded because you may gain  insights into new things you did not expect.

To this day, I continuously seek out new activities I could participate in such as hiking to new destinations, taking internet marketing classes, learning how to wakeboard, and attending Zumba classes. The knowledge acquired from hobbies could be valuable if you applied it in the right areas! Plus, it gives you more topics to talk about when you follow step one and meet new people.

Don’t be afraid to be adventurous with this one! You can go learn an instrument you never thought you’d play, or participate in competitive dog grooming. Bizarre ideas could even help with applying creativity in your business! If not, at least it gives you something interesting to talk about and new memories.

3. Talk to a trusted friend/family about it

Meeting new people and learning about the world and its wonders are great ways to combat loneliness. Nonetheless, it’s still different from having someone you trust and communicate with. Make sure this is someone who you’re 100% comfortable with and you know won’t judge you.

Although it can feel lonely at times, being an entrepreneur is wonderful. Know that you’re never going through this alone as there are others just like you struggling to make their dreams come true. No one could ever change the world like you can, so don’t give up and keep fighting.

“We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk.” – Thomas Moore

How do you overcome loneliness struggles? Let us know by commenting below!

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