If there is ONE thing everybody should know before starting a company it’s this: Be prepared for an Emotional Rollercoaster.
Since starting my own company I have felt a wide range of emotions — often over the course of a single day:
- Crippling Fear — of failure, of success, of being judged and of the unknown — which led to random crying break-downs and at times a chronic, underlying anxiety that turned daily life into a minefield.
- Ecstatic Excitement — when struck by a great idea or when a sales call went well or even when I got a random newsletter signup — which led to hours of flow-like work states feeling on top of the world and getting down a week’s worth of work.
- Repeated Anger and Guilt — when I didn’t complete all items on my to-do list because of external distractions or internal “faults” like bad planning or sleep deprivation — which led me down a negative cycle of self-destructive and punishing thoughts and behaviours that left me incapable of enjoying a relaxed evening with my partner or be present in yoga class.
- Deeply Depressive Feelings — when getting negative comments from friends or random people on the internet — which led me down the rabbit hole of “this is never…
