Don't Quit! The reality is your actions can change your?beliefs!

Last month my friend Ranjith Menon shared a thought provoking post on LinkedIn about how startups in the current climate is alienating. Read his post here <https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/start-ups-can-alienating-ranjith-menon/>. He wrote "In fact, I am of the opinion that mental health issues are highest in the startup ecosystem given the perfect stories of success that are constantly highlighted in the media." He says in his article, "startups often causes founders to spend less time with family. As stress at a company builds, the founders are more inclined to double down at work (a natural response to an emergency)."

His post got me to look back and reflect upon the mental health issues that Ranjith was referring to. Have been through this journey of being a founder for 11 years now. Founding Mystifly was born out of a passion to solve an industry problem and it has always remained that way. Giving up a well paying job, and then going through the grind and uncertainty of running a company and alienating your self from the family, with no salary for about 3 years and continuing to be motivated & passionate only highlighted my own irrational optimism. The biggest positives about this last 11 years journey has only been the opportunity to work with some great people within Mystifly and in the ecosystem and tons of FAILURES.

The biggest highlight of this journey of 11 years has also been the rejections, failures, letdowns, near misses, unmet expectations and promises. Close to 50+ of investors to whom i have pitched have rejected our business. Lack of funding, not able to hire on time, dealing with wrong people hiring, delayed partings and many other decisions that have gone wrong at times deal a massive blow to the structure, culture and fabric of the organization.

In the startup ecosystem, there is an expectation is that the average founder should be the Usain Bolt, ever agile and ready to sprint. Reality is that running a startup is hard. Sometimes external factors like the current crisis makes the process even worse. Mental health of a founder takes a beating amidst all these rejections, failures and expectations mismatch's. As a founder, my objective to startup wasn't about wealth creation but solving that industry pain point. It's never been about the result & wealth but about building the identity for the business and to eventually enjoy the results. The reality is that no great company was built in a short time. Yes, agree there are exceptions. But for the rest who often see only rejections in their pursuit to build one, let me remind you that,what you carry is your own determination, that gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you. Its always only about your belief in your own journey, however painful it could be. It's only your beliefs that can hurt you or help you.

These are really tough times for most businesses and as a founder, you aren't alone. You need to see failures and setbacks as an indication that you should continue to developing your skills rather than taking that as a signal that indicates, “startup is something that you are not good at". Yes, you have to learn from the criticism you receive, you have to overcome challenges rather than avoiding them, and you need to find inspiration from what worked for others rather than feeling threatened. And, the reality is that your actions can change your beliefs.

So Don’t Quit! The reality is your actions can change your beliefs!

Than being stressed out and feeling lonely in this crisis battle, you can make a big difference to yourself by focusing on staying positive and healthy. As an entrepreneur, be honest with your investors & keep them in the loop every time, and always consider them as your true partners. Ranjith in his post writes about seeking help or joining founder forums so you can find other minds tacking similar issues. In tough times like this, an alternative suggestion is for you to find a way to inspire your self with your actions. This may mean that you need to overhaul yourself from the type of person you are.

To be mentally healthy, its important that your daily actions need to change from what you believe about yourself to the person you want to be. You need to focus on building the right identity rather than worrying about short term results. We all know that the best musicians in this world practice every day and even the best athletes practice everyday. Its their passion, discipline, strong will & determination that always sets them apart. Hence, all you need to do is to start with small, repeated set of actions everyday that will take you to bbuild the startup what you want it to be.

Also remember, while Usain Bolt's are celebrated, even Haile Gebrselassie and Abebe Bikila's did find their place in this world and did make a difference.