2025 was a dumpster fire of a year for a lot of consultants. So if this is your experience, you are not alone despite what the countless social media posts say. So many of us are struggling and it’s time we change that mindset.
What is the power of your mindset?
Okay, so that question makes me want to vomit. It sounds much more wishy washy than what it actually means.
I know when I’m in a bad mindset, I have trouble getting myself to do the basic tasks that could keep my business going. I ask a lot of questions like, “Why am I even doing this?”
This is not depression, however, and if you find yourself constantly in this kind of spiral, then you need to see a doctor. A mindset issue is very work-focused and tends to be short-term.
If you can’t wrap your brain around why someone would hire you, then you won’t go after the opportunities that could get you hired. And if you are not putting yourself in the way of those opportunities, you might as well pack up shop now. Your business will fail.
So what can you do to make sure you are in the right mindset?
Write it down
I used to start and end every day by writing down what I was thankful for. It was such a mind shift. Starting and ending your day positively just sets the right tone for everything.
If that sounds a little hokey for you, think about what you need to fix when it comes to your mindset. Most likely it’s confidence. And in that case, I would start each day writing down three things you do well and then end it with writing down three things you had done well that day. It doesn’t have to be big things. It can be something small that you just admire, even it’s for dumb reasons. The goal is to not judge yourself harshly about any of it. It’s to just get yourself thinking about yourself positively again.
Honestly, the sky is the limit with this. You don’t have to stick to any of the topics here. Just do what makes you feel good and work from there.
Talk to others
The time I’m most likely to believe terrible things about myself? Without a doubt it’s when I’m not talking to others. The more solitary I am, the more I believe there isn’t much good in me.
Obviously that’s nonsense. And it only takes a quick conversation with others to convince me otherwise. The problem is of course forcing yourself to actually get around others and have that conversation.
The best thing you can do is schedule some regular check-ins with friends when you are feeling good about yourself. Then when you are not feeling great, conversations are already on the calendar and you don’t have to do any work to make them happen.
But we’re not great at planning for these down times when we’re feeling good, are we? So in that case, just make yourself leave the house. It can be a grocery store trip or working at a coffee shop. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just anything that you can force yourself to do. That’s one small step toward having a conversation, and it might even result in talking with others. Keep collecting those small steps and then you’ll get yourself talking to a friend soon enough.
Just do it
I have a rule that I must do one business development task every day. It’s not a choice. I just do it.
It’s not the most groundbreaking way of doing things, but it does the job. And the cool thing is that there are more days than not that the one task leads to many more. It’s like ripping off a bandaid that’s sole purpose is to make me unproductive. And adding up those tiny wins lead me to eventually getting that big win.
Don’t know how to get started? The first step is writing down all of the tasks you need to get done. If any of them can’t be done in less than ten minutes, you should break them down even further. Once you are done, look at the list and pick out the task that seems like the easiest to do. And then just get it done. After you’re done, take a look at the list again. Is there anything else that looks easy? It’s optional, but you can choose to do that right now. Or if you don’t feel like you have the energy for that, simply schedule it on your calendar for the next day.
It’s all about doing little things and letting them add up. That’s so much better than looking at the whole of what you need to do and letting it overwhelm you to the point of getting nothing done.
Go like you have a good mindset already
A lot of this is faking it until you make it. If you act like you have a good mindset, then eventually you will get there. I wish there were more to it and you could simply flip a switch, but reality isn’t like that. It just slowly happens over time, and you have to keep going until your mindset gets there. So if you think you’re the only one out there doubting themselves, you’d be very wrong about that. Almost all of us are there, but some of us are just better at faking it.
How are you changing your mindset this year?