4 Ways to RISE as a Female Entrepreneur with Mental Illness

Yesterday was one of "those days" for me. We all have them, and there is no doubt in my mind that even though they rear their nasty head in unique ways for each of us, they still all look very much the same. Still, these days are especially rough for me personally, because they come from a rather unique type of monster... But despite the fact that my day may have been a rough one, I'm celebrating my victory over my own mind today.

Every time these days come around they leave me wondering how many other entrepreneurs battle a mental illness. How many others know this struggle the way I do? And yet, come out on top!

But how do we pull through? What do we do when we are just not enough?

I can't give you a magic fix. Believe me, I still have that voice in the back of my mind on those "bad days" that tells me I'm not good enough. That tells me I'll always fail, because no self-respecting entrepreneur struggles to leave the house. No successful career is built by an individual who can lose hours at a time and not know where those hours went. No confident business women can't respond to a simple email correspondence. But some days, I JUST CAN'T. I couldn't explain to you why it took me 6 hours the other day to pick up my planner. I couldn't explain to you why it took me an entire work day to copy and paste a contract for a client. I couldn't explain to any "normal" individual why going to lunch with friends is sometimes just too much. Heck, I can't explain it to myself. Some days, YOU'RE JUST NOT ENOUGH. Or so you'll think. And really, that's okay. No one is perfect. My "Magic Fix:" 1. Keep going. Take it a bite at a time. Don't let yourself get bogged down under the weight of it all!

2. Do what you can, when you can. It may have taken me 6 hours to pick up my planner, but instead of beating myself up for not doing that small task I chose to complete other small tasks that didn't seem overwhelming. Yes, it sounds silly to someone who has never been there. But in that moment I accepted what I could not do, and instead tackled what I could.

3. With each task, give yourself a pat on the back. Celebrate the little wins! At the end of a "bad day" you won't have completed everything you normally would. That's ok! Celebrate each small step forward. Each step that said "I will be in control. I WILL REACH MY DREAMS!"

4. At the end of the day, cut yourself some slack. You won't get as much done as usual, but the important thing is you took steps forward.

5. Remember: You ARE enough! Your shortcomings don't define you or your success.