When Life happens to you...

When you dive into the unknown with nothing more but a hope for the better, you are on for a roll of a long series of adventures, one more challenging than the other. Most of the times, at the beginning of this journey, you tell yourself that you have nothing to loose.

Later on, when faced with unexpected problems that seem to sneak up on you from all sides making you feel there is no way out, a thought crosses your mind: maybe you were better before the dive. Your brain starts telling you that taking that plunge didn't bring the positive vive or the outcome you were hoping for.

That's precisely the moment when the doubt creeps in. Yes, you start doubting yourself. You doubt your judgement and start distancing yourself from your goals. The end result seems to be way further than before and it feels that there is no reason to keep pulling towards it, as there is no incentive.

In order to avoid getting discouraged, you need to set both short and long term goals. Achieving the short term ones requires celebration. Rewarding yourself for reaching that milestone makes you feel better regarding your long term goals. Celebrating small victories make the challenges more appealing and tend to reduce the stress accumulated while learning on the job.

No one said it would be easy becoming an entrepreneur. On the contrary, everyone tried to convince you not to follow your dreams, as they all feared uncertainty. At one point, they almost got you convinced it was not worth trying to change things, that you should stay on your own lane without venturing into uncharted territories.

Six month down the road you are still far from your long term goal, but the multitude of things you have learned so far is amazing. Who would have ever believed that you'd be capable of doing all this on your own? Who would have ever dreamed that you'd be learning such skills and gain so much knowledge in such a short time?

Isn't it ironic that more you learn, less knowledgeable you feel and you want to go more into details, know every single damn thing, from A to Z of each step involved in the process. You wish there were more hours within a day to dedicate to this learning process that motivates you much more than any other incentive.

When that happens you realize that you have put an enormous amount of hours into your project and you have neglected some of the things you used to care for. This sudden wake-up call awakens a feeling of guilt. Guilt towards those who have tolerated your presence/absence status and towards yourself, as you understand that your project took over you and turned into a time sucking vortex.

You make a mental note: "Improve your time management skills!" and go on with your day. You take your kid to the park and enjoy the first summer days outdoors. You watch him pedalling on his new bike (without the training wheels) and ask yourself when have you removed them.

For a second or two, your mind goes blank. You can't remember when that happened. Was it a month ago? Last week? Maybe two days ago? All you can remember are your tables and research. You scratch your head and make another mental note: "Take breaks more often!"

As you are seated on the bench and watch the children play, you get inspired and feel the need to jot down some of those cool ideas before you forget them. You reach for your pocket, hoping your phone has enough battery left for you to save those ideas.

When you have a look at it, you sight with relief as it is almost 80% charged. What a blessing! The very next second an odd thought crosses through your mind. How can you call that a blessing?! You used to say kids were a blessing! Oh-oh! Have you turned into someone else? What happened to you? ... TBC