How is optimism and serenity possible, how can entrepreneurs think positively in the midst of a global crisis?
There is no point in beating about the bush:
The global events of the last two years in connection with the Covid 19 pandemic and the current tense situation in light of developments in the Ukraine and Middle East conflict have left no one indifferent.
Many entrepreneurs are increasingly asking themselves the question:
How can I stay calm and think about work in the face of what is happening around me?
10 tips on how to think positively
In this article, I share my 10 tips on how you as an entrepreneur can develop more optimism and resilience so that you don't lose heart even in a global crisis and don't let bad news throw you off balance too much.
Tip #1: Don't take bad news personally
Of course, we humans are social beings, and negative news that reaches you via the public media, for example, often automatically triggers sympathy and compassion. Nevertheless, ask yourself consciously with every piece of „bad news“:
How does this affect me personally?
Not taking bad news personally has nothing to do with insensitivity or ignorance, but simply with a healthy distance.
The famous cool head usually helps better than a rollercoaster of emotions. Especially if you want to actively help those affected.
As commendable as your empathy is, it often does not automatically change the unpleasant or difficult situation for you, insofar as it mainly affects other people.
Tip #2: Think about realistic options for action
Resilience basically means your ability to remain capable of acting in any situation instead of being paralyzed by it. If the negative experience affects you personally, you can ask yourself the question:
What concrete steps can I take here and now to change the current situation?
Write it down, make a checklist that you can discuss later with friends, colleagues or family members.
Don't be discouraged if you can't think of something useful straight away.
Simply focusing on solutions rather than problems and a willingness to think positively usually brings about a direct improvement in the emotional state.
It has also been scientifically proven that stress, e.g. in the form of negative thoughts, fears, worries, etc., impairs the ability to think logically.
Tip #3: „Sleep on it“ for one night“
Conversely, every positive emotion that counteracts stress stimulates the natural function of your brain to find answers to the questions it is asked. This often happens without you even having to do anything, „in your sleep“ so to speak.
It is therefore very possible that you will suddenly recognize the perfect solution strategy tomorrow for a situation that seems hopeless to you today. Or perhaps only in a few days' time...
Incidentally, this applies not only to events in the world, but also, for example, to very specific problems and difficulties at work in your company.
Rest assured that there are always more possibilities for improving your (emotional) situation than you may realize right now.
Tip #4: See the good
Admittedly, in the face of a global pandemic, a climate crisis or even a war, this tip can be quite difficult and sometimes even seem like a mockery.
Nevertheless, in many situations it can help to understand that there are always two sides to a coin and that every bad situation ultimately also has its good side. This can help you not to let your own fear and worry get the better of you.
Why not take half an hour over a cup of tea and think about what good aspects there are to discover. For example, the EU community coming closer together in the face of the situation in Ukraine or the positive energy of children and young people in the Fridays For Future movement.
Here too: Be patient with yourself, even if you can't think of any positive aspects at first. Due to the selective perception of the human brain, you will recognize more and more of the things that occupy your thoughts the most; this applies to both positive and negative experiences.
Positive (re)thinking is therefore not just an empty phrase or a conscious suppression mechanism, but has a decisive influence on your perception and your resilience, and therefore also on your emotional world and ability to act.
Tip #5: Recognize the positive in your own life
If you find it difficult to discover positive aspects of a situation that is unpleasant or difficult for you, you could instead try to focus on what you personally do well. For example, your individual strengths or professional skills. And also look at the people and things that give your life stability and reliability. At work, in the family, with friends, in your hobby.
And then try to think about what value these things or people have for you and your life. In this way, we can realize how lucky we are to be safe and healthy right now.
In the face of the hardship of others, you may recognize the true value of your own prosperity, your own health and the integrity of your own home.
Things that we sometimes seem to take for granted will make you aware of them again and perhaps even grateful.
And perhaps this will even help you think about how you can use these aspects to help others.
Crisis is a productive state. You just have to take away the taste of catastrophe.
Tip #6: How would I feel if this event was over?
At first, this technique can seem like rose-colored glasses. Every situation that stresses you is of course very real in the acute moment and should not simply be „dismissed“. However, it can be very helpful to consciously leave the emotional state that it triggers for a few moments and thus give the brain the opportunity to evoke new options for action and emotional states.
So imagine what you would do, maybe even WILL DO, when the event is over. For example, having a party with friends or going to a certain place.
The techniques of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) in particular have been used for many years to consciously change cognitive states of the brain and thus significantly increase one's own resilience.
Tip #7: Is this getting me anywhere right now?
This is another question that you can ask yourself in any difficult situation, whether it concerns the world, your company or you personally. After all, you know best that your fear and sadness are generally of little benefit to you or others.
Quite the opposite: negative emotions block logical thinking and people's inherent ability to act.
This has purely biological reasons and is therefore not easy to control with the conscious mind. So keep reminding yourself that positive thinking always makes you feel better and also helps you to find specific solutions more than if you give in to your fear completely.
Simply reflect on what bad news triggers you. And then ask yourself the self-critical question: if I think about it for a while now, will it help me in any way? Can I influence it?
Tip #8: Distract your mind - without a guilty conscience
Once you have realized that a solution can be found as soon as you feel better, you can consciously and without a guilty conscience consider how you could change your current emotional state to a positive one.
Depending on where you are and what you are doing, these possibilities can look very different for you: A coffee break or a conversation with a loved one can contribute just as much as a walk or concentrating on a task that needs your full attention and can distract you from your problems, at least in the short term.
Physical and mental relaxation methods such as sport, yoga or meditation also help many people to „clear their heads“ and find their way back to a state of mental balance.
Tip #9: Who or what can support me right now?
Many people often find it difficult to ask for help, especially in difficult moments and particularly in a professional environment. After all, we are all used to wanting to master our problems ourselves as perfectly and efficiently as possible and are afraid of losing face in front of others if we fail.
On the other hand, you yourself are probably happy to have the opportunity to help another person, not least because of your empathy. Conversely, you can also trust that other people, especially those close to you, will not see it as a failure on your part or a burden if you ask them for help or support, but may even be happy to do so.
After all, once you have regained your inner peace and serenity, you will be able to be fully there for others again.
Tip #10: Allow feelings
If none of the methods mentioned above bring you any relief, and positive thinking does not work despite your best efforts because the fear or worry is in the foreground, it can be helpful to simply act out the negative feelings, as far as this option is available to you in the current context.
Screaming, crying and raging are now an integral part of many forms of therapy, as the pent-up feelings are often repressed if they do not find an appropriate outlet. However, this means that they cannot be fully processed and often come out all the more intensely at the next opportunity.
So give your feelings space to be seen and lived.
Realize that there is nothing wrong with you or with the negative feelings, because it is the normal reaction of every person to crises or bad experiences in their own life. Once the feelings of fear, worry and powerlessness have been allowed to be acted out, they often disappear of their own accord.
This will make it easier for you to think positively again, strengthen your resilience and become capable of acting, even if the crisis persists.
Thanks to Ahmed Zayan for the photo on Unsplash
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