Make Sure You’re Doing What You Want to Do

Evaluate What You’re Doing Regularly

One of the best parts of building your own business is the fact that you get to change your mind when you want to. If you thought you’d love doing something, but it turns out you hate it, guess what? You can change your mind and do something else, hire someone to do it for you, or just not do it at all.

How wonderful is that?

However, this freedom also leads to a huge danger for anyone who is trying to build a business that runs itself and helps them live the lifestyle they desire so much.  Being in full control of yourself means that you can just quit any day and get a job or quit and go back to your “normal” life.

In fact, most people do quit. Most people don’t do what it takes to get their business on a strong footing. That’s the reason most business startups fail. But yours doesn’t have to. You can evaluate your business regularly to ensure that you’re doing what you really want to do.

Periodically ask yourself the following questions:

Will What I’m Doing Now Lead to the Lifestyle I Desire?

Look at your books. Look at your progress you’ve made to determine whether this business you’ve stared can even lead to the lifestyle you want it to or not. Just because you have passion about it or love it doesn’t always mean there is enough audience to make the kind of money you want to make with the kind of work you want to do.

Three Things I Don’t Like Doing That I Do Now

Periodically take the time to write down three things you dislike doing in relation to your business. Analyze each task to determine whether you’re the one that really needs to be doing it or not. If you can automate it, delegate it, or outsource it because it still needs to be done (like bookkeeping, for example), you can take that stress right off your plate.

Can I Imagine Not Doing What I’m Doing Now?

When your guard is down, and you fantasize about your life, which you should be doing regularly, what do you envision? Do you see yourself doing something totally different from this business? Do you see yourself still doing this business?

If you see something totally different – assuming it’s realistic – how can you make that alternate reality come true?

Would I Do What I’m Doing for Free if I Didn’t Need Money?

This is almost like your dreaming above, but now let’s take money out of the picture. If you won 100 million dollars tonight, what would change about your life tomorrow? Would you keep doing what you’re doing, or would you stop?

This doesn’t always mean that you should not do it, because there is nothing wrong with doing something because of the money. It’s just important to identify that this is your real why if you’d stop doing it when you don’t need money.

What Brings You That Childlike Delight in Life?

Write down three things you do in your business that make you feel giddy. If nothing in your business gets you excited and makes you feel delighted like you did when you were a child, you may be doing the wrong business. Even if you only feel that way when the money comes into your PayPal account, that’s okay.

If I Feel Stress About the Business, Do I Know Why?

What about your business causes you to feel anxious or stressed out? Those are the things that need to be organized so that you can eliminate the stress.

For example, for many people, paying quarterly taxes and bookkeeping is stressful. You can use software to automate this process to take it off your plate. So, if you feel stress, find a way to take it off your plate.

Keep in mind that everyone sometimes feels as if what they are doing has no purpose, and they feel as if they hate it and are missing the mark. It’s more about how you feel on a regular basis than how you feel at any one moment.

However, if you regularly feel stressed out and bothered by the work you’re doing, and especially if you feel resentment, you should reevaluate so that you can turn things around and do more of what you like.  This can be a difficult decision to make as you have put all this time and effort into what you have been doing, but if you are miserable, find a way out.  Life is too short.