How optimistic do you feel about your business in 2013?
Interestingly, some people will feel confident, despite the economy. Others in the same industry will feel concerned, when faced with the same economic outlook.
In each case, their answer will be determined by 2 things:
- The reality of their situation.
- The stories they have told themselves about 2013.
The stories we tell ourselves
I wrote an article recently for my Creative Thinking site, which explains how the words we use change the way we feel. Equally, we can change the way we feel by changing the stories we tell ourselves.
As a small business owner, you need to be selective regarding the stories you tell yourself. Why? Because if a business owner has told themselves that business will just get better’in 2013, they will start to believe it. They will feel optimistic about their outlook for 2013, even though they have done nothing to actually make things improve. Because they do nothing new to improve things, they waste another year, working the same long hours and making little meaningful progress.
That’s the cycle many small business owners stay in until they go broke or decide to get a job.
Thankfully, there’s an alternative!
Realistic optimism
Other small business owners will look at their 2012 results, see the economic outlook for 2013 and tell themselves a realistic story: ‘If I don’t improve my strategies and tactics, my situation is not going to improve and I will waste another year’. These are what I call realistic optimists. They allow the reality of the situation to motivate them to take intelligent action.
Realistic optimists look at things as they are today, then they look at things as they want them to be. Next, they learn how to get from point A to point B.
Of course, if you are a realistic optimist and want to get from where you are now, to where you really want to be, I can help you make it happen.