8 things successful entrepreneurs do to cope with stress

During Wamda’s recent Mix N’ Mentor in Beirut, CEO Habib Haddad asked mentors and entrepreneurs how they relieve the stress and stay calm despite all the pressures of the entrepreneurial life (as shown in the video below). Once the event was over, we circulated the question to a few entrepreneurs in the Arab region to compile a list of best practices.

Whether you’re embarking on a new entrepreneurial journey or you’re already halfway there, make sure you check these tips:

1. Don’t be a superhero

For the past 16 years, the work-life balance was an impossible mission for Sohrab Jahanbani, cofounder of GoNabit, a daily deals website acquired by LivingSocial in 2011, then shut down. Looking back, working all the time through his 20s wasn’t the ideal approach. It has made him realize that working nonstop was not going to make him a hero. “When I go into weekends, I don’t want to lie to myself and say I want to get this and this done this weekend… I don’t want to answer emails at two in the morning, there’s nothing sustainable about that.” Unplugging at the weekend also seems to work with Oussama Ammar, cofounder of French accelerator and fund TheFamily. His trick? “I never work on Sunday,” he told Wamda during Mix N’ Mentor, “I don’t have my phone, and I don’t read emails.”

2. Move your body

Another great way of relieving stress is by taking care of that body. “An entrepreneur’s life is riddled with daily stresses and hardships that at many times feel unmanageable,” according to Mona Ataya, CEO and Founder of Mumzworld, an online marketplace for mothers. She advises entrepreneurs to “take a break, breathe, get a massage, and get out of the rut for an hour. I try to go to the spa once a month and just switch off and regain focus.”

Original article by Reine Farhat

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8 things successful entrepreneurs do to cope with stress