Happiness doesn’t mean having a smile on your face all day long and exuberating with joy. It is, rather, a state of well-being that encompasses living a good life – which differs from me to you to the next person. When we first started Cobalt & Sapphire, we were transitioning into adulthood, moving to a new place, building a new business, all while trying to maintain a semblance of a social life. In the uncharted territory of being an entrepreneur, you will experience a lot of emotions, both good and bad.

The nature of being an entrepreneur means that there is no handbook on how to do things. Being entrepreneurs now for over a year, we can safely say that we experience a plethora of emotions each day. From maintaining client relationships to managing our finances, no two days looks the same. Throughout this adventurous first year, we have both worked and discovered how to maximize our happiness as entrepreneurs. Here are some of the lessons we learned.

This is an exercise we’ve embraced that has made a world of difference in our everyday mood. Once you wake up, take a moment to think about all the things you are grateful for. Did you wake up in good health? Do you have clean clothes to wear that day? How about a nutritious breakfast or the privilege to run your own business? Remember when you wanted what you currently have. We often forget about all our blessings. Remind yourself of this and you will learn to appreciate life a little bit more.

A lot of anxiety and stress can come from the unknowns of being an entrepreneur. One way we have learned to deal with this is by taking note of our emotions throughout the day. By becoming emotionally self-aware, we can pinpoint our stressors and successes that cause our emotions. This emotional awareness is like a muscle, that gets stronger over time. With each scenario, your emotional awareness will improve. As this muscle improves you will begin to recognize that you have control over your emotions and can avoid certain stressors that dampen your happiness.

Being an entrepreneur means that the lines between work and life begin to blur. A caveat of being an entrepreneur is that every minute spent doing something else can be spent building your company. What we have learned throughout the year is that balance is beautiful. You spend most of your day thinking about your business, take one hour to think about yourself. Find something that genuinely makes you happy and do it, as often as you can to give yourself a break. For some that may be going on a run, for others, it’s watching an episode of The Office (LOL who are we kidding one episode). There are plenty of things to do that are both affordable and will put your mind at rest. Our way of creating balance was by joining a gym that we frequent throughout the week #summerbods. By building out our days with time for ourselves it helps keep the balance. Granted there are plenty of days that we are in “hustle” mode, grinding away to do whatever it takes to make a deadline. But we always remember to make time for ourselves.

You are exactly where you need to be. Let’s repeat that, you are exactly where you need to be. The biggest mistake entrepreneurs, or anyone, in that case, can make is comparing themselves to others. We are all guilty of doing this. Whether it be on social media or in person there is always that one friend with the fancy corporate job or the other with the beautiful apartment. This is one of the fastest ways to cause unhappiness in your life. As entrepreneurs, we have had to sacrifice some aspects of our lives upfront with hopes of it all paying off one day. But that is not an easy emotion to feel. We have both grown this past year in understanding that our pace is perfect because it is our pace. Each day you are choosing your path and comparing yourselves to anyone else only deters that path from continuing.

Next time you are feeling frustrated or compelled to compare yourself to those around you, we ask you to do this: write down why you are an entrepreneur. You may even have to write it down each day as a reminder. We can ensure that every entrepreneur has a reason for choosing that career path, and acknowledging your motivation will go a long way in maximizing your happiness. We hope you find happiness in your entrepreneurship journey. We are right there with you working on it every day!