Dhruti Shah

2. Purpose, not goals

We all experience setbacks and hurdles. Some goals are tougher and take longer to reach than others. But that shouldn’t swerve you away from your purpose. It is important to make the distinction between purpose and goals. Our purpose is our core reason for doing something – the why for each of the goals we aspire to reach. Our goals are simply milestones along the journey. Those are your What that will help you achieve your Why.

Keep your eyes firmly fixed on your purpose. Take time to meditate on it, envision it, and embed it within you. This will keep you on your path, even when your goals may seem out of reach, or if other areas of your life feel chaotic, or unexpected challenges arise. Continually clarify your purpose, keep it in your line of vision and use it as your guiding light when the path ahead seems rocky or uncertain.

3. Remember what really matters

It’s easy to keep fuming about a presentation gone wrong. Or the lack of support from your family and friends. Even that person in the coffee line who is taking forever to decide the order can prompt us to wade in and share an opinion about it. But ask yourself this – repeatedly mulling over a situation or expecting strangers to behave in a certain way – does it really matter? Is that the best use of your time and energy?

Reframing the situation or your inner dialogue can have a positive ripple effect. For instance, if a presentation has gone wrong, instead of berating yourself, you can say something encouraging to yourself like, “I know this did not go as per the plan, but now I know something that I should not be doing. This will save me heartburn in the future. How can I push myself to make this better? Is there something I am missing?”

What do you really care about? Go beyond the surface level, take a deeper dive if it’s worth your time and energy. If it’s not worth it, just let it go.

4. Ditch the comparisons

We are all different and no one really knows anyone’s full story other than their own. So ditch the comparisons between you and your hero CEO, your sibling, or your neighbor. It’s unhelpful and will only steer you away from what really matters. If you can’t help comparing, compare your present with your past. The journey could have been full of ups and downs, but take a moment to appreciate how far you have come.

When you compare past with present you open the door to insights, reflections, and deeper understanding. When you compare yourself to others, you close the door to possible opportunities and feeling gratitude. You are unique and you are making a difference – don’t tell yourself anything different. And don’t forget to operate from a place of humility.

5. Build confidence

One of the biggest differences between female and male entrepreneurs is confidence. While men often have an (over) abundance of it, one study shows it to be one of the key attributes holding women entrepreneurs back. This can result in lower levels of investment and becoming too risk-averse to innovate.

Fortunately, like almost every other skill, confidence can be learned. We can teach ourselves to trust our decisions and grow in confidence if we roll our shoulders back and try. Here is a simple hack that works for me. Everytime I go down the path of feeling less confident or unsure about my decisions, I first ask myself if it is a fact or an opinion (of myself). More often than not, it turns out to be an opinion. Once I acknowledge that, the next step is actually quite simple – I take action. There are hits and misses, of course. However, I will take failure and learn from it anyday rather than sitting and twiddling my thumbs. Needless to say, I am more confident than what I was a year ago (and that was an example of # 4 – compare yourself with you)

As a woman entrepreneur, you are a force to reckon with and you are making a difference in so many ways. You are creating employment opportunities, contributing to the economy, being a role model to future generations, and so much more. The five tips shared here can just be a starting point to stand tall and rise above the noise.