I have been training for my first marathon, which will be held February 3rd, and in the process am reading Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner by Dean Karnazes. The book has been very inspirational during this training time. Though I’m only up to six miles on my long runs since the birth of my second daughter eight months ago, picking up the mileage every few weeks can sometimes prove challenging. Even more so than that, pushing the two kids in a double stroller three days a week is grueling. I would imagine I’m pushing an extra fifty pounds or so, and going into the wind for several blocks while pushing fifty pounds can be exhausting.
I took a long run this morning without the girls, which I do when I wake before six and stumble from bed, and during the process began thinking about how running is much like running a business or working in a job. First of all, if you are a runner you already know that running is almost entirely mental. Sure you have to prepare your body for the beating it may take and for the longer distances, but our bodies are quite resilient and can basically do what it is that we train them to do. How else could people twist their trunks into odd shapes, or run one hundred miles, or compete in other extreme sports? They train.
The problem, of course, is when our minds are not with us. If you go out for a long run and you are thinking you can’t do it, you won’t be able to. You’ll have difficulty breathing correctly, you’ll notice every ache in your feet and you’ll be ready to give up right after you begin.
Working and running a business is much the same. If you want to succeed in your career, you have to go into it with an open mind, and you have to have your mental game on. If you want new clients, you have to think, I am going out today to find clients, and the clients will, generally, come. If you walk into work one morning thinking how much you hate the job, the people and the environment, chances are your day is going to be horrible. If you walk into that same office, though you do not like what you do, thinking that the day will be good, most likely it will be good.
If you are stuck in a career rut, whether you are not moving forward in your own business or you are unhappy with the job that you are doing right now, think about how you think about the job. When you wake up in the morning, how do you prepare your mind to go to work? Do you dread it? Or do you say that the day will be a good one regardless?
Succeeding in business is almost all mental. You have to know that what you are doing is great, that the product or service you are selling is beneficial and that people want to work with you because you are phenomenal. Seriously, it’s not an ego trip, it’s a state of mind.
Running a successful business or being successful in your career requires a large amount of mental stamina. If you feel that you are having a difficult time in your job right now, consider your mental state. In the next few days I’ll be posting some things that you can do to strengthen your mental resolve if you find yourself in a slump, and if you have some tips for our readers in doing this, please share!