Losing a business can be more difficult than anyone might have ever suspected and it could be a perfect single storm that could thrust a person into a well established rut in a short period of time if they allow it.
First consider the fact that only about 16% of the population are entrepreneurs and therefore understand what goes into starting a business.
The remaining and whopping 84% of the population do not understand with first hand experience what those 16% put in to start, build and perfect their businesses. They don’t understand what it’s like to work 18 hours a day, seven days a week for nine months straight to put together, hold together and nurture their ‘baby’.
Yes, many non-entrepreneurs have worked ridiculous hours as well, but on someone else’s ‘baby’, not on their own ‘baby’. While we’d all love to be that person that feel’s just a strong about someone else’s dream as our own, that is typically not the case.
Some might not even believe you when you talk about the fact that you worked so much to get things up and running. They may think you are over exaggerating.
It can’t be expected that they will understand what it feels like when someone is faced with the inevitable decision to have to cease doing business and close the doors or when all of it comes crashing down abruptly.
Studies have shown that for most, it is more difficult on a person emotionally to lose a business than it is to lose a close friend. Many might find that to be an insensitive thing to say, but when you think about it, what does a business truly mean to a person compared to a friend within the context of the big picture of your life?
Now I’m not putting the business in front of a person in terms of importance by no means but a person’s own business presents itself in every single area of that person’s life.
A business is relative to their identity. It is part of their sense of achievement. It can play a huge role concerning their social and of course financial status. It is a gage of their success, their family’s security and so on.
It is so much more integrated to all aspects of life, a friend usually has a more limited rooting system in someone’s life overall.
Something important that is lost when someone chooses or is forced to shut their business down is the momentum that brings life to every day. One of the highly motivational factors that has gotten that person out of bed every morning for a period of time is no longer there.
This person’s wheels can come to a screeching halt or at least they may no longer see a destination that they’re heading for and they might mentally put on those brakes and lose momentum. This is a big piece of being in a rut.
Additionally, the fear of ‘what’s next’ can be added to the pile along with the sense of more weight of responsibilities for those needs that were once filled by the income from the business, and it could be a perfect storm for a serious rut.
In fact, I can think of nothing more that would get a deep, rooted, rut started, than losing a business. A profitable business is like a perfect partner. One who gives much toward what one desires, is always faithful, always transparent, true. All one has to do is treat it with respect and give their sufficient attention (the business will show you what works and what doesn’t without any words, no difficult human nuances to interpret) and get desired responses.
Being in a rut is largely defined by a loss of momentum. That’s what stuck really is. If someone takes the activity that they spend most of their daily energy doing and slam on the brakes with it, this can cause an immediate and abrupt end to momentum, and with that, all of the habits, thoughts, feelings, and motivation that come with it.
If someone is faced with closing their business, and it was not just a business decision they have willingly made, rather circumstances that forced it, there should not be a long break before moving on to something else, a new idea, a new dream because taking a long break can absolutely kill the vital momentum needed to get over the next mountain they face.
Taking a break is what vacations are for and they’re only a couple of weeks long. When someone is on vacation, they have the mindset that they will be going back to work soon so I would make sure that whatever time is taken, it feels like a temporary vacation.
There should be plans for returning and immediately getting the ball rolling to build up any lost momentum thus far. Keep your thought to future actions so that you don’t have time to sulk in the loss (there will be time for that during your next success).
Contemplating taking a break for some indefinite amount of time could be disastrous and a perfect setting for a possible future rut that could be a major struggle to get back out of.
This is good reason why continually having ideas and future oriented thoughts is great for keeping you out of a rut. If someone is always looking for new ideas and goals, continually molding their future in their mind, when a big change happens in their current situation, they can perhaps feel excited about the future opportunities they now have rather than blindsided.