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Grieving your mindset during entrepreneurial mindset change?

Written by: Samantha Cook

Article Overview: Does your mind need to grieve your previous mindset before being able to be successful in your business?

Grieving your mindset during entrepreneurial mindset change?

I was thinking; letting my mind wonder in the pasture of ideas when something hit me! I had to grieve for my old life / thinking / mindset before I have been able to move into becoming an entrepreneur.

Just a short while ago I was part of the school of thought that if you have a good career, work hard and pay your dues you will be able to have financial freedom. I truly believed that by paying those dues to the corporate world and giving the monster a majority of my life at some point I would get to live "the good life". This was no small thought since I was in Human Resources, I didn't just drink the Corporate Kool-Aid; I MADE the Kool-aid...Whoa - mind blowing!

When I left my HR director position; I was a mess. I was exhausted, sick and just not who I used to be; a happy bubbly personality that loves to see people happy. I realized that I was in shock, the realization that having the "perfect career" was not going to give me the life that I wanted and subconsciously I knew that I deserved more and not having it had made me a person that I knew not. Shock being the first stage of grief, it was just the beginning.

The next step was the pain and guilt, as you can imagine after you make the Kool-aid the loyalty that I felt to the corporate made me feel like I had horribly disappointed my "parents". I went through a time that if I tried to work on my business, I felt that I was "cheating" on my previous employer. Crazy? Yes!

Third was the anger and bargaining. The anger and bargaining were directed internally, I felt that I had just threw away my career! Bargaining with myself that if I just do this for a little while, until I get back on my feet, then I will go back to HR. Talk about self-sabotage and fear of success in my business. At least by this point, I was not talking myself into going back into the same corporation that I had just left.

Depending on who you talk to some people believe that there are 5 stages of grief, I have also heard of up to 7 stages of grief. The other two steps being adjusting to life and reconstruction of life, these two steps were a part of my process to become an entrepreneur. This is where I took my training to the next level, my commitment to that next stage. This is where I started feeling the "how could I ever go back to a boss? How could I go back to someone telling me what to do, where to be and when? This is a common stage with those who have moved from an employee state of mind to a small business / entrepreneurial thought process. Some people call it the unemployable mentality.

The final stage is acceptance, you can also think of this as your beginning stage for your new mindset.. Your mind, body and spirit have accepted that you are an entrepreneur and are ready to move forward.

Best of Success to you!

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  Changing to an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Article Tags: anger, becoming an entrepreneur, bubbly personality, career work, director position, fear of success, financial freedom, first stage of grief, guilt, hr director, kool aid, loyalty, mind blowing, mindset, pasture, realization, school of thought, self sabotage, shock, stage of grief
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com



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Nice List - Nice list, and I agree with everything you all have added! Planning is the biggest one of all! Look at everything from every aspect possible, and then ask others to look at it as well. It's extremely important that you consider everything before jumping into things, and it goes so much smoother! Also, some young entrepreneurs tend to have an unrealistic mindset (I can sell 4000 of this product in my first week!). Make sure you know what you're getting into, and don't expect something that won't ever happen. ~Marie
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