The Importance of Relaxation When Starting a New Company

If there is one trait common to at least 99.99% of all entrepreneurs who are starting a new company, it is being unable to sit back and relax. Unfortunately, the challenge of resting well might be one of the worst obstacles to success that you might ever face.

If you want to succeed, you need – really need – to learn to relax. And if you don’t understand just how and why relaxation is so important, maybe the following information will drive home why.

Check Out the Benefits of Relaxation

According to doctors and other health professionals around the world, relaxation has a huge number of health benefits. These advantages can have a profound impact on any business owner, old or new. The problem is, new business owners get consumed with putting their energy into their new companies. They are usually the ones who haven’t learned the importance of taking time to relax.

Old timers know they can only do so much work in a day. Most of them have learned to set their problems aside, go home, and begin again fresh in the morning. They understand that it is essential to get a good night’s sleep to avoid sleep-related mistakes.

And those entrepreneurs are still around, aren’t they? They have experienced the personal and professional benefits of relaxation, which include:

1. Keeping stress in check. It is a known fact that stress makes it so that literally every muscle in your body tenses. With this tension come headaches and the inability to sleep at night. Once you’ve learned the art (and science!) of relaxation, you will be able to let those muscles loosen. Then your mind will naturally drift off to sleep. What? It takes relaxation to relax? You bet it does!

2. Improved moods and thought processes. Have you ever been wound up so tight that the first comment from whoever crosses your path sets you on an hour-long tirade on why that person should not bother you? This reaction does nothing for your relationship with your peers, employees, or even clients. By learning to relax, you can think more clearly and, in turn, respond to people more appropriately.

3. Better concentration and memory. When you implement them as a whole, the other benefits of relaxation help you to concentrate better and significantly improve your memory. People who are wound up so tightly that they can’t remember what they should be doing next are certainly not assets to the businesses they are trying to start.

4. Better all-around health improves heart health. There was a time when women were much less susceptible to heart attacks. Why? Women were not out in the professional world as much as men were. The number of women in the workplace has increased, especially when it comes to leadership roles.

Much of the research that has come out within the past couple of decades is indicating that the number of women experiencing heart attacks is increasing by the year. There is a direct correlation between relaxation and heart health, and now both men and women face stress in the workplace and the home.

So now that you have an idea of the benefits of relaxation, what can you do to actually leave all your stress behind?

Some Relaxation Techniques

There are a number of ways in which you can train your body to relax naturally without the aid of medications. These strategies will eventually alleviate the amount of stress you face. For example, you can easily learn and use Eastern techniques, such as deep breathing exercises from the Zen philosophy.

Once you have learned the art of “stepping away” from the here and now by taking those deep, slow life-giving breaths, you will feel the tension evaporate into thin air. Are you at a business meeting that isn’t going well? Excuse yourself for a bathroom break and do a few minutes of deep breathing. You’ll be in a better place when you return to the table. It works every time!

Also, startups need to learn to leave their work at the office, as the saying goes. Perhaps at night you tend to spend your time pouring over contracts, calculating expenditures, or analyzing market metrics. But why not just set yourself up with a nice glass of your best port wine and a bag of chips. You can enjoy them while you watch a good flick of your choosing on providers such as VIDGO.

In fact, research has proven the merits of taking your mind off your current problems by watching a good comedy (or really anything that grabs your attention). Your muscles will immediately begin to relax. With an app like VIDGO, you can even take an extended lunch break during the day and watch that new episode you’ve been meaning to catch from your favorite series.

The takeaway here is that no matter how you achieve a state of relaxation, you will sleep better, think better, and feel better. You will even perform better at work. If you haven’t yet realized the importance of relaxation, it’s time to learn!

Originally published 10/26/16; updated 12/23/20

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Luis Aureliano

Luis Aureliano, a business writer and financial analyst. With over 15 years of experience in global finance and an MBA in economics and management, Luis’s areas of expertise include business, marketing, communications, personal finance, macro economics, stocks and emerging markets.

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