As entrepreneurs, we start our journeys with great intentions and aspirations. But as we realize how much goes into building a sustainable business, sometimes our inner dialog gets in the way and begins to sabotage our dreams. This week, we’re looking at the some of the ways that business owners frequently sabotage their own success.
Constantly Blaming Others
It can be tempting to blame others when things aren’t going the way you envisioned. That’s not to say there aren’t people in your life who played a significant role in your circumstances, or that there isn’t systemic institutional oppression that makes it challenging to get the resources and support you need to build your business. But, constantly placing the blame on these things puts the focus on them and gives them your power.
Procrastinating Too Much
Almost every entrepreneur at some point uses procrastination as a tool to manage their fear of making a difficult decision or doing a challenging task in their business. Instead of working on the task, you might spend time surfing the internet, checking social media, cleaning the house, or finding another less urgent task to do. But, when you spend too much time procrastinating, you might start to feel ashamed of not getting done the basic things in your business.
Letting Perfectionism Take Over
Perfectionism might seem like a good trait, but it can be detrimental to your business development. At the earliest stages, the tendency to spend too much time making the perfect product or service, business plan, brand, website and such can prevent you from getting the business off the ground. And as you grow your business, your desire for perfection places unrealistic expectations on yourself and those who are working with you.
Comparing Yourself to Others
It’s important to know what other businesses in your industry are doing and how your business is unique. However, spending too much time comparing your business to other players can undermine your confidence in your own business and leave you feeling like you’re not measuring up to rest of the market.
Having a Scarcity Mindset
Having a scarcity mindset leads you to believe that there are not enough opportunities and resources for your business. With a scarcity mindset, you may have the tendency to chase every opportunity that comes your way and not look strategically at whether it’s the appropriate opportunity for your business at that time. Or, you might have a tendency to underinvest in important areas of your business for fear that you might run out of money.
Feeling Imposter Syndrome
With imposter syndrome, you may feel like a fraud despite all your hard work and accomplishments in your business. You worry that success won’t last or isn’t deserved or someone is going to discover that you’re a fake. When imposter syndrome creeps in, you’re so wrapped up in your own insecurities that you can lose motivation and become distracted from the day to day tasks of running your business. If not kept in check, it can create a downward spiral where you are accomplishing less and feeling even more like a fraud.
Over the next six months, we’ll aim to tackle each of these self-sabotaging influences one by one and provide tips on how to navigate through them in your daily business. In the meantime, recognizing when these patterns creep into your life will give them less hold on you so you can focus more on what matters.