3 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Can Do Hard Things and Stay Sane

Since late July, I've been building a structure from a kit I purchased to rent it out as an airbnb. I've had a ton of setbacks. My body has been sore, several of the kit parts were missing, and no matter what the instructions say, the task takes three times(!) longer!

I have wanted to give up almost every day. Nothing about this project has been easy. And, that's not an exaggeration.

So, what keeps me going? Why do I keep doing this hard thing?

Women entrepreneurs often face challenges in order to get their businesses off the ground. If we're not careful, we struggle to stay sane during that process. Here are 3 ways women entrepreneurs can do hard things and stay sane, that I developed from the last month of constructing my airbnb dome:

1. I'm learning something new, and building new skills each day. I've learned about the incredible engineering of this structure (it's a dome) and how the layered panels prevent moisture from entering. I've learned that I'm stronger physically than I think. I've learned how to problem-solve aspects of the flooring system. I've learned the dynamics of the self-tapping screws on the door frame. I've learned how to persevere when the drill bit breaks. I've learned how to put something hard under the extended door frame to hammer the pieces together. The list goes on and on. No matter the obstacle, I am learning how to overcome it and keep going. This is building my confidence.

2. I've strengthened my faith in a Power greater than myself to help guide me, with each phase of the project. Some days with each turn of a nut on a screw, I am praying "Please let it work, God." and then when the nut is flush and properly tightened I say "Thank you, God!" over and over again. Truly completing as much of this structure as I have has been more God's success than mine. When I don't know what to do next, I pause, connect to Spirit, and ask for the next right thing to do. I am always guided to the next right thing. This part of my learning has helped me to get out of myself. It's not me that's putting up this dome, it's God. I'm just the hands He is using to craft it. It helps me to keep my mental and emotional energy high, and to focus on the wins. I can only do something this labor intensive with the help of an energy force outside of myself. When I remove my own will power from the equation, I get less frustrated, I stay the course, I take breaks when I need to, and I get the problem-solving guidance I need. My faith in God has strengthened immensely from working on this project. It's a relief to know I am not alone...

3. I've learned to know when to quit, and get some rest or take a break. This might be seen as a sense of failure, yet it isn't. It is knowing when I can't go any further, and stopping before I hurt myself or get so exhausted that my frustration brings me down. Just last night, I got to a point with the door system that I knew was a losing battle. The sun had set and the light was fading fast, and I was messing up a bunch. Even though I wasn't even close to being finished with the door system. I stopped, put my tools away, and waited for a friend to come today to help. While I waited, I began prepping for other things by doing what I could on my own. It took us about 4 hours just on that door frame! Yet, by quitting last night, I had a nice supper, and get to bed on time. I was totally refreshed and read to tackle the hassle that was the door frame. Quitting when I am tired helps prevent injury, and also allows me to refresh appropriately before the next day. This aspect of my learning is greatly increasing my self-love. Loving myself through the process of the construction helps make my mistakes become learning opportunities where I forgive myself and congratulate myself on learning more.

When we do something hard, especially when it comes to creating or crafting something hard, the increased confidence we receive is priceless. With every obstacle I've overcome, and every problem I've solved within this project, I feel like "There's nothing I can't do!"

This is the same kind of mentality that will make us successful in our businesses. Yet, if we don't know when to put something down, and leave it for the next day, we'll burn out before we can allow this confident mentality to serve us in our businesses.

When you are faced with hard tasks for your business, remember to tap into these 3 ways to preserve your sanity: be sure you are learning something new, applying a sense of faith, and quitting when you are tired. In this way, you can take incremental steps towards completing the hard thing, yet refresh your energy daily thereby seeing the hard thing through to completion. Only when we stay sane can we accomplish our goals.

If you'd like to explore more how I can help you do hard things, please reach out to me for a consultation.

If you'd like to watch videos of the build, find me on both TikTok and YouTube here: @BlissOasisDomes . Thanks for watching and following!

Happy Doing!

Marissa