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How Can You Turn Bad Work Days Into Brilliant Ones Here's how you can face your problems and feel confident about your work

By Sanchita Dash

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The journey of entrepreneurship is not one devoid of struggle. Every day, there is a new challenge that the entrepreneur has to face. Walking through the highs and lows of the start-up journey, an entrepreneur has to not just deal with the good days and the bad days but also ensure that there is no spillover effect on his/her employees.

One of the most important qualities of being an entrepreneur is to be able to turn the tide in his/ her favour, while making sure that he/ she doesn't fall but rides the wave with pride.

Entrepreneur India spoke to start-up founders as they shared tips on how to handle bad days.

Relive Your Journey to See How Far You Have Come

The early days of entrepreneurship are especially difficult. You are constantly facing a problem without having prior knowledge about how to solve it. You find your way around it and slowly put the pieces together to build your company. Akshay Chaturvedi, co-founder and CEO of Leverage, who believes that tough days are part and parcel of start-up life, added that the early slog turns you into absolute steel to handle the problems that follow later.

"Two simple reasons: (a) you love what you do, madly, and (b) an insane level of positive energy, euphoria, enthusiasm, on an every-minute basis - these two, together, almost always see you through," he said.

However, as the company grows, there are tougher days too. The problems are bigger and affect a larger number of people. On those days, for Chaturvedi what works is pure mindfulness. "I take a moment to realise where we've come from point zero and what was just an idea in my head not long back. The lifetime opportunity to impact millions of people with what we are doing, and to work alongside the star-studded cast who I call team, is a very special feeling," he said.

Turn To Your Confidante

Agreeing with Chaturvedi, Naren Krishna Madhurakavi, Co-Founder of Stockroom.io, too believes that "Good things take time to happen." Instead of sulking about a problem that exists today, the entrepreneur should turn to their own journey for inspiration. "Generally people feel demotivated because they feel the problem cannot be solved but for me I just look back and see how we have solved some of the impossible problems. That itself gives a huge confidence," he said.

Madhurakavi also believes that problems get solved much more fast if you discuss them with someone. "It can be your co-founders, team members or mentors. You never know who will have a solution," he said.

Adding on a personal note, Madhurakavi said that music helps in a big way when he has to zone out and think.

Change Your Perspective

Most problems are all about the way you see it. Shivam Ahuja, founder of Delhi Angels quotes Harvey Mackay, businessman and author, "When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It's all a matter of perspective."

Ahuja believes that as an entrepreneur every day is full of possibilities and learning and if it is a bad day, it's not bad actually but an opportunity to learn from the situations. "If things are not going wrong that means you are not learning," he said.

And that is why you need to look at your problems on a bad day only as learning steps that will lead you to something better. Perspective matters a lot and for developing that kind of perspective, one needs to work on their mindset which comes from sitting with people who are winners, visionaries and are successful in their lives, believes Ahuja. "Read more books of successful people, or turn on your favourite podcasts of successful entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuk and you will definitely be inspired," he said.

Sanchita Dash

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Senior Correspondent, Entrepreneur India

In the business of news for 5 years now. Making my way across India thanks to my career. A media graduate from Symbiosis, Pune, I have earlier worked with Deccan Chronicle (South India's leading English daily), T-Hub (India's largest incubator) and Anthill Ventures (a speed-scaling platform). 

Stories, movies and PJs are my thing. 

If you hear 'The Office' opening score randomly, don't worry it's just my phone ringing. 

 

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