Introduction

Establishing and running a small business is a challenging task requiring the business owner to wear many hats. As well as all the normal activities of doing what you do, you also need to be a visionary, a strategist, a marketer, a salesman, a financier and a leader. Stressful, isn’t it?

However, one skill that is often overlooked and undervalued in the world of business is emotional self-awareness. Emotional self-awareness, or the ability to recognise and understand your emotions, is a powerful tool to help you create and build a successful, stress-free business.

In this blog post, I will explore the link between emotional self-awareness and business success and provide tips on improving your emotional self-awareness.

The Importance of Emotional Self Awareness

Emotional self-awareness is a crucial skill for entrepreneurs, but let’s unpack it momentarily. In my book “Intentional Mastery”, I say, “When it comes to ourselves, unless we are self-observant and self-aware and able to both spot and use our emotions in the service of our strategies, then they will always have an opportunity to trip us up.”

When you know your emotional state, you can better manage those emotions and make rational decisions (or recognise you need to defer decision-making). Then the decisions are likely to be in the best interest of your business. Emotional self-awareness also helps you to understand the emotions of others, which is essential when dealing with staff, customers, and suppliers, particularly when negotiating.

Building a ‘Stress-Free’ Business

Stress is present daily for many small business owners and typical for the rest. Despite the heading, I’m not convinced that being ‘stress-free’ is a good aim, but it is essential to have stress below the threshold it debilitates. For me, recognising stress often indicates that it is time to pay more attention, focus, and think more carefully. When you are self-aware, you can recognise when you are feeling stressed and take steps to acknowledge it, identify its causes and then take steps to manage it effectively. Too much stress might act as a trigger suggesting that its time to take a break, practice relaxation techniques, or seek support from others.

Improving Your Emotional Self Awareness

Improving your emotional self-awareness is a process that requires time and effort. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is a technique that helps you to stay present and focused in the moment. This can help you to recognise your emotions as they arise and manage them effectively. I take 5 to 10 minutes each morning to practice meditation. It is powerful.
• Reflect on your emotions: Reflect on how emotions impact your business decisions. This can help you to identify patterns and make changes where necessary. Recording your emotional state in a journal can help you see its patterns.
• Seek feedback: Ask for feedback from others on how your emotions impact them. This can help you better understand how you come across to others and identify areas for improvement.

Conclusion

Emotional self-awareness is a powerful tool that can help you to create and build a successful, stress-free business. By improving your emotional self-awareness, you can make better decisions, manage stress effectively, and build stronger relationships with staff, customers, and suppliers.

If you know you need to take more control of your emotional awareness but don’t know where to start, let’s have a conversation. Book here…