𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲

This post is part of a series on introverted startup leaders.*

"𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩, 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢 — 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄'𝙢 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙨." – Anonymous business leader**
 
All founders face anxiety, but the pressures of entrepreneurship can make introverts even more anxious since they are predisposed.
 
This post covers how anxiety affects founders, their particular challenges, and ways to function better.
 
 
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆
 
Anxiety can show up in ways you may not recognize.
 
Physically, you may be unable to relax, get tired quickly, and have difficulty sleeping. You also may get headaches, nausea, and/or muscle aches.
 
Emotionally, you may experience increased irritability without a clear cause, impacting your relationship with stakeholders.
 
Mentally, you may have trouble focusing and worry excessively about everyday decisions and events than warranted.
 
Anxious founders may be haunted by a pervasive and constant fear of failing.
 
Despite having serious anxiety, founders may seem calm and successful.
 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅

Being a founder is full of stress. How can you know if your anxiety is caused by your work or being predisposed to the emotion?

One indication is being anxious when it seems unwarranted, e.g. you feel nervous before 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 meeting, even if everyone works well together.

Recognize the tradeoffs that come with anxiety. For instance, a brief period before a big event may be useful, while constant nervousness is detrimental.
 
As a founder, you have to decide how much anxiety is necessary.
 
Ideally, you can mitigate the negative effects while retaining the advantages.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆

These steps can help to address the cause and symptoms: 

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵. Describe your anxiety (in writing or talking). When you can name your enemy, you gain some agency immediately.

𝘗𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. Join founder groups to gain practical advice and normalize your feelings.

𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. Learn meditation, breathwork, and yoga to face anxiety and reduce symptoms.

𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. Spend time with friends, hobbies, and interests to refresh and get a new perspective on problems.

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩. Invest in exercise, sleep, and a healthy diet to improve your wellness and offset feelings of doubt.
 
These tips may be particularly useful with ongoing, low-level anxiety. If none of these actions will be enough, engage a professional to reach a new level.

Many founders face anxiety, especially introverts. Recognize the signs and negative impact and determine strategies to improve well-being and success.

________________________________________

*𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲: Being a founder is always tough. Introverts tend to be more inwardly focused and recharge when alone. Entrepreneurship often requires an outward focus. This series sets out to surface being an introvert across selling, networking, leading, facing anxiety, and finding happiness. To be clear, there is a range of introverts, and extroverts also face many stressors. Hopefully, these posts offer something to everyone. Previous posts on Introverts and Sales: https://bit.ly/4diZ4Rl and Networking: https://bit.ly/3Wmne7v and Leadership: https://bit.ly/3wgZJ4T

**An Inspirational Business Leader on Leading With Anxiety, Source: https://bit.ly/4a23Uzv

Our latest newsletter talks about How Early VC Talks Uncover Blind Spots: https://bit.ly/4amL0nd
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This post was written by me with AI editing. The illustration is generated by AI.