You may be successful in what you’re doing and going steady with your business. However, many entrepreneurs sometimes doubt whether they took the right path. Every business can have hard times and it’s then that these questions usually appear. This can be a desperate emotional thought in a difficult moment for your business that will pass as soon as things get better. Or, it may be a thought that keeps coming back to you.
There’s hardly an entrepreneur who never experienced such doubtful thoughts at least once in their lifetime. However, without persistence, commitment and overcoming negative thoughts, many brands wouldn’t survive in the cruel world of business. Can you imagine what could have happened if Steve Jobs gave up? But sometimes, these thoughts may be justified.
Doubt or Intuition?
How do you determine your real intention? It may not be as easy as we think. As you learn and become more experienced, it’s normal for your goals and ambitions to change over time. It is quite possible that what you’ve considered the business of your life, turned out to be slightly or significantly other than what you expected it to become in the future. Or, you just lost your interest and motivation at a certain point of your business’s development.
Thoughts about being in the wrong business are more likely to be true if they occur not only when your business goes through tough times, but also when everything seems to be good. Everybody can feel demotivated at times, but to see if this is just a temporary feeling or a complete loss of interest, ask yourself the questions below. No one knows the answers better than you.
1. Your Brain Counts Money but Your Heart is Silent
No one starts a business without expecting to make money from it. Even if it’s a hobby that you decided to monetize. If successes you achieve turn on a calculator in your head but keep your heart numb, you may be in the wrong business. When you are in love with your business, every little victory brings you joy and positive emotions. You are proud of it as a loving mother is proud of her child’s new achievements. If you don’t feel this, maybe this just isn’t your thing.
2. You Procrastinate Problem-Solving
Every entrepreneur eventually makes mistakes. Those who live and breathe for their business, learn from these mistakes and are eager to fix everything as soon as possible. Even a little chance to fix things is good news to them, no matter how hard it might be to accomplish.
If you understand everything, but delay problem-solving and seek every opportunity not to think about it, you are not really interested in your business.
3. You Feel Frustrated and Tired
It’s normal to feel tired. Entrepreneurs work harder than their employees to keeps things going. But this tiredness isn’t an excuse not to do the same tomorrow, in a week, in a month, and so on. If it does, this may happen because you lack a delegation of responsibility and need a good manager. Emotional burnout is no joke. But if you keep feeling like this even after proper rest and don’t feel like you want to come back to your tasks, this may be a sign of deep demotivation.
4. You don’t want to talk about Your Business to Other People
Business is impossible to grow without being involved and devoted. You spend most of your time on it. A wish to tell other people about your business is natural because it’s something that takes up a big portion of your life. It’s also a good opportunity to make connections and acquaintances that may help you in growing your business. If you try to speak to people about anything except your business, this is a disturbing sign.
5. Even Simple Routine Tasks are Causing Negative Emotions
Every business has a routine that needs to be controlled and done regularly, like tax planning. There are entrepreneurs who don’t like routine and are more into strategy-making or negotiating. If that’s you, then hire someone who can do the routine tasks for you. But, if your attitude to your business routine has suddenly changed into a negative one, this may signify disappointment.
6. Your Physical Health Conditions Suddenly Became Worse
Stress is a trigger for various diseases. Whether you believe it or not, you can become ill if you are constantly exposed to stress, emotional pressure, and negative emotions. Being deeply involved in doing a job that doesn’t satisfy you is totally stressful because you give your time and resources to something you don’t enjoy. If you give away your resources, you should receive happiness as payback. It’s not all about money. If you don’t receive an emotional payback from what you’re doing, your body may force you to stop and reevaluate your life.
What to Do If You Realize that You’re in the Wrong Business?
First, don’t blame yourself. Life is an adventure and you never know what challenges lie ahead. What you certainly shouldn’t do is continue doing something that doesn’t make you happy and causes only irritation and stress. You have the right to try something else because you only live once and shouldn’t spend such a priceless gift as life on being unhappy.
Maybe if you take a break and try something else, some new ideas will come to mind. Maybe you will find a business you will fall in love with. Or, you may understand that you should come back to what you did before. There are also other possible scenarios. It’s for you to decide what will make you happy. And, you will never know what it is without trying different options.
If you can’t decide what will be better, analyze it. Make two columns and note down the reasons to continue your business and the reasons to quit. You may understand more when you write them down. Just be honest with yourself and write the exact words that come to your mind. Then count those that contain statements containing “I have to” and those that connected to ‘I want’. This will help you discover more about your true intentions and ambitions and assist you in making the best decision.
