Thoughts on Mental Health for Startups and their founders
Why Mental Health is important and not only for Startupfounders.
Let s step back and look at the bigger picture for a moment. It is not only about Mental Health it is about Health in General. Healthy habits rocks ! How healthy is your lifestyle ? Do you close regularly “your rings”, how many steps you go ? How much time you spent with physical activity in a day? How many hours did you sleep last night? Do you regularly socialize and don’t speak about your business !
The pandemic has shown us all that to keep up with Health is very important.
Mental Health Awareness for Startup teams and their Founders is extremely important as no one needs to have a burn out that results from an unhealthy work-live balance.
The German medical Doctor Joachim Bauer wrote a book called “Work” it can be summarised in one sentence:
“The enigmatic double face of work: from it we draw satisfaction, creativity and a life of prosperity. But it can also make us ill”
Bringing this to the Startupworld is like work on “sterioids” — for everyone.
Neuroscience explains here what happens to your brain: you get excited. The rush of work is sometimes like a runners high but it takes longer.
This has it advantages but also it s disadvantages. Not everyone along the journey will face Mental Health as an issue. As many people define their self over work. New findings from the neurosciences show: Humans are born without a self. But how does our self come into being, which can later distinguish itself from other people? Mostly it is work ! Especially for Founders.
Here are a few tips to stay ahead of Mental Health.
- Building Resilience is Key
All successful Entrepreneurs are resilient. Why ? They learned it. You are not born with a resilient mind. How to built Resilience might depend but you’ ll find your way.
2. The Magic of Rituals
Habits and Rituals are very powerful. So whats is your ritual?
Rituals like “Miracle Mornings for Entrepreneurs” and going to the gym or for Nature Walks (Nature bathing is a big thing now!). The Millennial Way of handling this is mostly known as Me-Time.
3. Energy
Get Energy. What are your sources of power ? Do you have a hobby? Do you meditate? There is so much in terms of sources of Power. Discover yours.
I once went to a cookery school the theme was energy food. As an entrepreneur and team member of a startup you are a lifelong learner on a different speed.
As a startup moves at a different speed so does your time for reflection and Feedback.
Some people read, others spent time with family & friends others paint. Explore your sources of power.
4. Learn to rest and to say No to things
In an interview Pierre Berge the business mind and driving force behind the fashion brand and business empire of Yves Saint Laurent describes his biggest business lesson in saying No to things. In a Startup there is always something to do for everyone. The good thing this is well known so it is important to rest and also learn to say “no” to things. Doers are productive not unproductive. Use the Power of No to stay productive and not as an excuse to get unproductive.
5. Speak about it and listen to others: It is a topic for everyone
It doesn’t have to be a Peloton or a fancy Apple watch to stay healthy. Sometimes little things help you most to built awareness and resilience.
Listen and read about others who have been exploring how to stay ahead of Mental Health and to get Mental Wellness.
I highly recommend if you want to learn between the interlink of Startup Success and Mental Health this Podcast: http://apple.co/2N339BW !
Mental Health in Startups is not a Founder only issue. This is mostly overlooked. Startups success depends on the team behind. So for Founders care about your people. This is a vice versa rule and also a call for teams to care about their founders.
I hope this inspires you to bring your own thoughts about Mental Health Awareness to your company. It will pay off !