Mental Health Practices for Founders

Founders: protect your mind like it’s your most valuable asset. Because it is. Startups rise and fall on the founder’s energy. If you’re depleted, your team feels it. If you’re negative, your vision fogs. If you’re reactive, your judgment warps. Here are a few practices I’ve seen help — not as hacks, but as disciplines for long-term optimism and clarity: 1. Limit inputs. 90% of news, gossip, and startup Twitter is junk food for the brain. Curate your information diet like you do your investors: wisely, and rarely. 2. Daily solitude. Even 20 minutes. No phone. Just you and your thoughts. Mental stillness is a superpower in a noisy world. 3. Default to long-term. Stress comes from zooming in. Step back. Think in decades. Most “urgent” fires are irrelevant at 30,000 feet. 4. Gratitude is underrated. Your startup could die tomorrow, and you’re still one of the luckiest humans to ever live. Say “thank you” out loud, daily. It rewires your lens. 5. Lead with emotional discipline. Not every emotion deserves expression. Your job isn’t to be unfeeling — it’s to filter wisely. Teams take emotional cues from the founder. 6. Play infinite games. You’re not competing. You’re building. Focus on compounding goodwill, learning, and relationships. Optimism is easier when you’re not playing zero-sum games. Stay clear. Stay kind. Stay long-term. Optimism isn’t naive. It’s a choice — and it’s contagious.

YOU'VE GOT 99 METRICS (BUT FEELINGS AIN'T ONE) Ever notice how you'll obsess over a 2% dip in revenue but brush off a week of feeling "off"?   Founders are masters at tracking metrics.    We've got dashboards for everything -- except our inner world.   But what if you treated your emotional data with the same rigor as your KPIs?   Go beyond the shallow "how are you feeling" check-ins.    And the vague "I'm fine" responses.   I'm talking about really knowing your feelings -- understanding the difference between being "tired" versus "depleted," between "stressed" versus "overwhelmed," between "disappointed" versus "discouraged."   In case no one told you in “startup school”: your emotional intelligence is as crucial to your biz as your business intelligence.   So here’s some helpful due diligence you can do in the service of your own mental health:   START WITH "I FEEL" STATEMENTS. Not "I think" or "I believe."    Get specific about the emotion.    There’s a lot of power in naming feelings.    You can’t truly address them until you’ve accurately identified them.   LISTEN DEEPLY. Not just to your team, but to yourself.    Often the insight you need isn't in what's being said but in what's beneath it.    Turn that legendary problem-solving brain toward understanding, not fixing.   PRACTICE RADICAL SELF-EMPATHY. You wouldn't judge your startup for having a rough quarter.    Why judge yourself for having a rough day?    Treat your emotional challenges with the same patience you bring to the work ones. Your feelings are a lot smarter than you're giving them credit for. How about you give ‘em a listen? Curious to hear what everyone thinks about showing feelings in the workplace? *** I'm Jennifer Kamara, founder of Kamara Life Design. Follow me for actionable strategies to design businesses and lives with meaning.

In 2008, Silicon Valley discovered something that changed everything about peak performance. Here's what happened when researchers studied meditation's impact on the brain: The "hustle harder" era was at its peak. Nearly 10M Americans worked 60+ hour weeks. Founders were burning out left and right. Then Intel did something revolutionary - they launched "Awake@Intel," reaching 1,500 employees. The results shocked everyone. Participants showed measurable improvements across: • Stress management (+2 points on a 10-point scale) • Focus and attention • Meeting engagement • Innovation capability But the brain scans were even more fascinating. Meditation wasn't just helping people relax - it was physically strengthening key regions: • Prefrontal cortex (decision-making) • Hippocampus (memory) • Anterior insula (self-awareness) The business impact? Extraordinary. When Aetna implemented their program: • $9M saved in healthcare costs • 62 minutes gained in productivity per employee weekly This sparked a revolution. Today, 20% of U.S. companies teach mindfulness. After coaching hundreds of startup CEOs, I've seen this transformation firsthand: • Teams become more aligned • Decision-making gets sharper • Innovation flows naturally • Culture strengthens organically The most successful founders I work with don't see meditation as a "productivity hack." They see it as the foundation of conscious leadership. Think about it: • Your psychology becomes your company's psychology • Your presence shapes your team's performance • Your inner clarity drives outer results This is why I help founders build sustainable meditation practices while scaling their companies. Because the best leaders know: Peak performance isn't about pushing harder. It's about accessing a deeper level of consciousness.

At WeWork, beer showed up at noon and espresso at 2 a.m. Once the adrenaline dropped, fatigue across the team was obvious. We had taken “always on” literally and built a culture that rewarded intensity. I left in 2016 thinking I was “just tired.” 3 months later, I realized I was burned out and self-medicating (with alcohol). My reset started with simple math. I counted hours worked, nights slept, drinks poured, and workouts skipped. My inputs were unsustainable. I quit alcohol, booked a standing therapy slot, and rebuilt my daily routines. 2+ years later I’m still alcohol-free, still in therapy, and still surprised by how much clearer my thinking is. I now encourage everyone, especially founders, to take their health seriously too (mental, physical, etc). Here’s how: 1️⃣ Budget for mental health. Annual allowance for counseling, coaching, or structured peer groups. The founder decides the mix. 2️⃣ Track weekly hours the same way you track weekly active users. Spikes are fine. Plateaus signal risk. 3️⃣ Professional support > flying solo. Therapy costs less than a CEO transition and prevents the dip in morale that follows. A startup’s half-life extends when the founder’s battery does. Consistent execution > sleep deprivation.