The rollercoaster
Hi everyone,
Almost a year ago, I pinned this Tweet to my feed:
It was Christmas Eve, and we were gearing up to announce to everyone that we were shifting to business units.
I knew that we were turning the company upside down and it was going to cause a lot of pain. And looking back, it was way more painful than I predicted.
Dealing with this emotional turmoil — and knowing that certain decisions will cause pain for the company — is really difficult for me. But I also think that while growth phases are painful, the opposite is painful too.
Here are a few things that have helped me deal with the emotional rollercoaster:
- Talking to others (outside of Drift) who have gone through or are going through the same challenges, or reading about companies and people who have gone through this period too. Context is important and what I learn every time is that this pain is normal, and that’s helpful to hear.
- Practicing gratitude every day. There’s an app I use every morning called “Day 1,” where I write what I’m grateful for, what I will do to make that day great and daily affirmations. There are days where these will change and others where they repeat and become more of a mantra.
- Practicing acceptance. If you’ve ever heard of the Serenity Prayer, it says this: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” I try to keep this in mind and practice acceptance every day.
How do you deal with turmoil?