It’s tough to talk about anxiety with entrepreneurs because it’s almost a way of life we tend to call it by other names; payroll, overdraft fees, mortgage payment, low inventory, outstanding invoices, no sales, low sales, and this doesn’t even start to get into the family side of anxiety. There isn’t a way to launch a business without experiencing some form of anxiety. It’s less a question of are we anxious, and more of how to handle all our anxiety?

I found an old letter a few years ago, written sometime around 70 A.D. which is just titled Matthew. As I was reading this letter, these words grabbed my attention “Don’t worry about (be anxious) about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” In reading those words, I realized I wasn’t alone, entrepreneurs since the dawn of time have experience anxiety.

Anxiety is a touchy subject these days with wars, pandemics, and supply chain challenges. But there is a solution right in front of our face – We Must Ask For Help! Regrettably most of us don’t ask for help. We have been taught not to show weakness’ and, in many cases, we have been rejected in the past and are afraid if we fail, we will be rejected again. The shame that comes from this type of thinking only makes our anxiety that much worse.

It takes some guts, and humility to ask for help. It takes an understanding that we can’t do it on our own. But if you truly want peace from your anxiety, from your isolation, the depression you feel when you wake up each day, then you MUST be willing to ask for help. We must start right now and be willing to put our entrepreneurial ego aside, what I call the POSER Face, and we must let others love on us. If you are a person of faith, then seek Jesus’ love and ask him for help.

Please read these next words carefully. It starts by Acknowledging We All Face It! Matthew didn’t wonder if anxiety existed. He wrote about it, meaning he experienced it and he knew others who read his letter would as well.

My personal truth is this: Jesus is bigger, than any challenge I am going to face. I pray and seek the counsel of others. I make it clear; I am hurting emotionally and it’s causing me, my team, and my family issues. I make it abundantly clear – I Need Help!

Reflect:

• When was the last time you felt anxious or worried? What are you doing to understand and overcome these feelings?

• Who can ask for help when you feel yourself facing anxious?

• Write down an encouraging verse or phrase that gives you peace and courage, then put it somewhere you can see it. I carry a little leather-bound notebook everywhere I go.

• Reach out to me personally, and we can see if I can help guide you through some of these anxieties.