👋 Hi Makers! How do you keep up with the emotional madness of the startup journey? 😤

Tasos Valtinos
20 replies
Hi All! The startup journey is super tough, at least for me. How do you deal with all the crazy feelings that overwhelm you on a daily basis? Do you chat with other founders who go through similar stuff? Or is there another technique that you use in order to remain calm, happy, and at the end of the day, SANE? :p

Replies

Jack Davis
I would recommend looking into transcendental meditation as it can really help with keeping your emotions in line and give you peace of mind!
Gina
Tea, water, and unlimited breaks 👌🏽 . Hope you find a technique that works for you and good luck on your journey!
Tasos Valtinos
@ginaoftherose nice! Unlimited breaks sounds like there is a technique behind that. Would love to know. For me I just try to get my mind off things from time to time because I have identified that's the only way to come up with innovative ideas around your product and how you bring more users in.
Edward Park
I simply go to bed taking a nap in the middle of the day, wake up with refreshed mind and focus on my work again is the best thing and been working for me.
Tasos Valtinos
@edward_park_ thanks for the reply. Yeah a good nap and clearing your head is the best way to go I think as well.
Jason King
I am with you on this one! it is tough getting your business off the ground once you launch! for me I'd say embrace it! its all part of the journey
George Boutsalis
There are a few things that I practice to ensure I'm calm and clear on a day-to-day basis. First, and most important, is getting good sleep. Ice Bath's once or twice a week to shock the system (also really wakes you up). Besides that I communicate regularly with my co-founders, family, and close friends on things that are weighing me down. Lastly, reading or going for a run or walk. That all being said, it's impossible not to feel overwhelmed at one point or another. Startups are unpredictable. Mike Tyson put it best; everyones got a plan until they get punched in the mouth! You just gotta roll with the punches and not take life, and yourself, too seriously!
Team Tomato
I found that being more aware of my personal limits and having a self-care plan has helped keep me sane. When I'm starting to feel stressed or tired, I take a break and turn to the self-care plan: "Enough creating user personas for now. Time to play some rocket car soccer"
Slava Bobrov
The best players on the field are those who make decisions automatically without thinking too much about their next move. They do it by mastering certain movements, or in another words habits. Habits allow you to execute whether you feel like it or not. Also test your habits and put yourself in emotional situations even when everything goes smooth and according to the plan. This way habits become even stronger
Tasos Valtinos
@slava_bobrov Interestting. Sounds super tough though but I like it. You mean to put your self into out of the comfort zone situations right?
Slava Bobrov
@tasos_valtinos Exactly, the way to get used to uncomfortable situations is to put yourself in them on purpose. This way it helps to get used to it and to be in control because you are the one who is initiating the process.
Sarah Jordi
Ok I understand this is usually not the place to advertise, but this emotional madness is why our team at Angle Audio hosts several weekly conversations for founders and startup people on our audio platform (it's free and globally available). One of them is actually called "Founders Therapy" and you can just connect in a conversation (audio only) with other founders, who understand the things startup people struggle with. Just feeling understood, sometimes helps so much. And personally, I try to dedicate time to hobbies such as skiing and surfing in my case. The change of scenery and focus on something I have to do with my whole body really helps me to A) relax and B) clear my mind and maybe shift the perspective a bit. After a good session, everything that's hard at work, is a bit less hard. :)
Tasos Valtinos
@sarahxjo That sounds awesome! We built a great tool for founders as well, we should start a group on ClubHouse. Call it Weekly Confessions or something :P Yeah, I find physical exercise the only way to get rid of all this stress. Totally agree!
Sarah Jordi
@tasos_valtinos I just checked out Mapped, that looks pretty cool. (I get an error 500 though when trying to save my profile information though?). "Weekly Confessions", love the idea! I do use Clubhouse, but of course here I would love to push a bit to do this on Angle instead of Clubhouse. ;) But for real, If you're interested in hosting such a session weekly or bi-weekly – we would love to set that up with you.
Tasos Valtinos
@sarahxjo 500 ERROR where exactly? Make sure you add all the info, or maybe you can show me in a screenshot where you got the error. Yeah absolutely, ClubHouse or Angle, I do not mind. Is just that ClubHouse, has 10M people in, makes it easier :P
We are accepting the madness as unavoidable. That's how it is, we let it sink in and pray thankfulness that we are allowed to be close to the true dynamics of existance.