Take care of your mind, everything else will fall in place.

Being part of an early stage startup and helping it grow has proven to be a better part of my 2021 challenge. I’m not talking about dealing with a very agile space where everything can change in a matter of minutes and working late nights is not something out of ordinary.

This post is not about dealing with tasks, strategies or any other practical side of things.

It’s about how you as a startuper has to be ready for rollercoaster of emotions. Ups and downs. Disappointments and huge successes. And those things take a huge toll on your mental space. Consciously or unconsciously your mental state is fracturing if not taken care of.

Majority of people know on a surface level what kind of stress on your mental state being in a startup can bring, but not a lot of people talk about it. Hustle mentality is great, but when your mental space is trashed and you can’t make rational decisions — what good does that hustle mentality do then?

Taking care of your mind should always be your priority no matter what. If that means taking an offline weekend, dropping off the grid for the whole evening and immersing yourself in sci-fi books — do it! Doesn’t matter what it is that you do. As long as it helps you gain clarity, peace of mind and clears your head.

This is not some high level preaching. This comes from my own experience of not taking care of my mental state. I have been there where I felt that if i dont get back control of my mind — I will go nuts. And I have to say big thanks to my team who understood me and gave me a couple of days to breathe. Now I know better.

So I want to leave this here and bring a little bit more awareness: taking care of your mind should always be priority number one! Always!