How Do You Handle the Worst BOSS of All?
I just named my very own phenomenon, complete with catchy acronym! Allow me to introduce Business Owner's Stress Syndrome into the lexicon -- yup, BOSSTM (and as far as I can tell, it's ©2010 me, so don't even try to use it without the express written permission of management).
If you own a business, you are probably tormented by your BOSS 24/7/365. Every entrepreneur I know has some form of the Syndrome. (For simplicity, I'm going to make this BOSS male.) Maybe your BOSS goes everywhere with you, very conspicuously joined at the hip. Or maybe you keep your BOSS locked away so he's not so obvious, even though you always feel his presence.
If none of this registers with you, you're my hero and I'd love to know your secret; please use the suggestion box below.
I try hard not to let anyone at the office see my BOSS, and I think I do a pretty good job of it. At home, well, I don't do quite as well. He is always, always with me. If I walk in the door glad to see my wife, kids and dog, my BOSS will quickly remind me of a few things about which I'm supposed to be worrying. If I try to relax and take comfort in knowing that I have great people who do great work, he'll poke me in both eyes (Three Stooges-style) and remind me about payroll. Or inventory. Or manufacturing problems.
My BOSS makes me sick. He gives me stomach aches, headaches, insomnia, mood swings, anxiety and general malaise. In fact, five minutes ago he woke me up during a very rare and precious bit of sleep on an overseas flight to remind me to finish this post. Friggin' jerk.
I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I chose my path. Stress comes with the territory -- it's pretty tough to start and run a business without it -- and I'm cool with that. I am obsessive, a perfectionist (admittedly often needlessly or past the point of efficiency), competitive and hard-working. I come from a very tightly-wound spiral of DNA, and a pretty good ration of stress comes with that baggage alone, no matter what you do for a living. Much of it can serve an entrepreneur well. And I can handle my fair share, but I'm neither martyr nor masochist, and I hate my BOSS.
So how do I get rid of my BOSS but keep my job? I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm trying. There are indeed things that bring me great pleasure and some peace. Aside from my family, I am passionate about sailboat racing and skiing (not at the same time), and when I am doing those things my BOSS is nowhere to be seen. He can't get a lift ticket, and isn't allowed on the boat. Bliss. But that only lasts as long as the activity itself; there's minimal residual effect, so I can only get away from the guy for a few hours at a time. He comes back quickly -- in fact, he carries my skis back to the car.
In recent years, I have made a bit more long-term progress, thanks to yoga. It's the last thing in the world I ever thought I'd do (and don't knock it, tough guys... I've seen bigger dudes than you crying on their mats). But my fitness-obsessed wife talked me into it, and thank goodness she did. It has made my life much better, physically and mentally, and it has become so critical to my well-being that I drag my butt out of bed at 4:45 am (4 hours after I typically go to sleep) to go to the first class, so I won't have any excuses to skip it later in the day. Every day I do it is better than every day I don't. It is hard, it is progressively challenging to mind and body, and the best part is that my BOSS won't go anywhere near a yoga studio. But I still have a long, long way to go -- my BOSS is still much stronger than I am.
So, that's me and my BOSS. How about you and yours? What does your BOSS do to you, and more importantly, what do you do to him (or her)? I know many of you are much better than I am at finding balance and/or just chilling out, and I'm jealous of you. But what about those of you who are naturally inclined to be a ball of stress, like me? What do you do to keep it in check so that you can run a business without destroying your own health and happiness?
And here we were, thinking we were self-employed.
(Flickr photo by stuartpilbrow)