At a time of year where you are probably feeling swamped by busyness, it is good to remember that as a female business owner, you really are operating in an environment of abundance. Too often we can get ourselves in a rut of bemoaning the lack of cash flow or the proliferation of competitors. But in reality, those are just excuses.

As the ‘captain of your ship’ you need to remember that you hold the power to make your dreams a reality. Other people spend time fantasising about it: you are actually out there doing it! And as an added bonus, you know you enjoy being able to make decisions that affect your future, rather than being beholden to someone else’s goals and dreams.

Running your own business should mean you have flexibility and freedom – if not you need to ask whether you’ve just created a ‘job’ for yourself with an inflexible boss (you!). Yes, you work hard and often put in more hours than your friends and family with regular jobs. But ultimately you get to decide when to take time off and how many hours you put in.

In our current technological age, we have an abundance of resources at our fingertips: advice, how-tos, online support, blogs, webinars and more. What would have taken weeks of research, and a great deal of time and effort to solve, can now take a few hours.

This abundance of resources and circumstances should spur you on to continue forging ahead. Positive thinking by itself will get you nowhere. But being grateful for what you do have and viewing your situation in a positive light, will give you better focus and drive.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender