We’ve all seen the inspirational quotes:

“You matter.” “You are loved.” “You are worthy.” “You are enough, just as you are.”

It’s easy to believe these kinds of statements when everything in your business is going great.

When your latest launch is a smash-hit success, and your inbox is crammed with fan mail, and you just got featured on a list of “Rising Star Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017,” and life feels like one big heart emoji, then it’s easy to feel great about yourself! Self-esteem through the roof! Confidence for miles!

But what about when things aren’t going perfectly? What if your business is going through a rough patch? What if your launch doesn’t go exactly according to plan? What happens to your self-esteem… then?

For most of us, that’s when things get a lot messier.

Back when I worked in the corporate world, my self-esteem was directly connected to my work. If a presentation didn’t go well, or if I didn’t hit my quarterly targets, I’d fall into a deep, crushing depression. I felt like I had no value outside of my work. If I wasn’t the top performer in my department, if I wasn’t “the boss’ favorite employee” then… who was I? Nothing. Nobody.

Back in those days, I didn’t pay much attention to the “other” (non-work-related) areas of my life. Sure, I was married—but I didn’t spend much time nurturing my relationship. I didn’t take care of my body. I didn’t have any creative outlets, like music, dance classes, or writing. I didn’t build or grow new friendships. Self-care was a foreign concept. It was just work-work-work, all the time. That was my entire identity and the entire foundation of my self-worth. So when work didn’t go well… life felt like a black hole.

Maybe you feel similarly. Maybe your sense of self-worth is 100% tied into how well—or not well—your business is currently doing. And maybe you’re tired of feeling that way.

If so, the best thing to do—in my humble opinion—is to step away from work for a sec, and reconnect with the “other” parts of yourself. For starters, you can…

– Call a friend and go out to lunch.

– Plan a date night with your partner.

– Plan a family stay-cation for one afternoon.

– Hit up a new workout class or check out a new hiking trail.

– Post a positive Yelp or Amazon review to brighten someone’s day.

– Do something generous (a “random act of kindness”) for someone else, just to remind yourself that you can make a difference in someone’s life, and you matter, and your value as a human being has nothing to do with how much you’ve sold.

Your business is one amazing piece of you—but it’s not all of you. You are valuable, lovable, important, and influential in so many other ways, too.

When we remember this fact, then it becomes so much easier to weather the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

It’s fun to make sales, get subscribers and fans, and acquire tons of likes.

But the most important “like” is the one you give yourself.