5 Personal Habits That Will Hurt Your Business Change your habits, change your business and change your life.
By Zech Newman Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
It's easy to focus on the business itself when you're considering growth strategies. Our personal lives are connected to our business more then we give it credit. It is easy to act as if everything is separate, but the truth is that each aspect of our lives bleeds into each other. Your business affects you personally, and your personal life affects your business.
Related: 10 Bad Work Habits to Eliminate Before Becoming an Entrepreneur
If your business is struggling, it may be time to check out your personal life and its effect on your business. The following five personal habits will hurt your business:
1. Lack of rest
Without proper rest, you will take twice as long to do the same projects within your business running on a good night's sleep. A tired mind is a slow mind, yet at times we entrepreneurs burn the candle at both ends leaving no room for rest and recuperation.
Stop wearing the badge of busyness. Rest to be more productive, creative and efficient. Take your business to the next level by getting the rest that your body and mind need.
2. Poor personal finances
A lack of control over personal finances will rob your mind and your business. When your mind is worried about money, it is not free to be the creative entrepreneur you could be. Expanding personal expenses makes more of an impact on your company then just mental. It can become tempting to raise your salary, taking money that could be used for expansion.
Regain control over your personal finances, and your business will grow and prosper.
3. Relational problems
Problems with relationships -- especially serious problems -- could close the doors on your company. Taking energy from working on your business, relational problems will suck the life right out of you. The more intimate the relationship the more problems will affect you emotionally, mentally and physically.
Take time to repair relationships that need to be repaired, and remove toxic relationships. Fix your business by fixing your personal relationships.
Related: Ditch These 4 Behaviors as Soon as Possible
4. Lack of exercise
Many entrepreneurs are notorious for ignoring their bodies. Lack of exercise will reduce your physical and mental stamina. Confidence takes a hit when you aren't staying physically active as well. With all the physical and mental health benefits of exercise, it is crucial that you do it. Exercise can be intimidating if you haven't been physically active, so start slow -- but stay consistent.
Make time to exercise to help your business break through barriers and maintain growth over time.
5. Struggling with boundaries
Lack of recognition the between a concern and a responsibility will cause many entrepreneurs to become burnt out and frustrated. When boundaries are not in place, the world sits on your shoulders causing overwhelming pressure.
Remove the mental roadblocks by focusing on and fixing what is your responsibility and leaving concerns to the people that are responsible for them. Free your mind and your business by having firm boundaries in place.
Working on these five habits will help to transform your company and take it to the next level. Though mastery will not happen overnight you can make massive improvements by a little bit of focus. If you recognize a specific habit to being the biggest culpri,t use a bulk of your energy in fixing that specific habit.
Remember: Change your habits, change your business and change your life.
