This holiday period, I took a pause from work to spend time with Family. After a busy and challenging year, it was an opportunity to take stock of what really matters to me. Have I achieved what I wanted in my business? And is that the achievement I truly wanted?

The critical balance between work and personal lives is notoriously difficult for those with an entrepreneurial mindset. The same qualities that help us succeed in Business – agile thinking, restlessness, thirst for new ideas and inspiration, drive, and competitiveness – also prevent us from prioritizing our health, our family, and our personal time over our businesses.

Whatever stage you are at in your entrepreneurial journey, whether you are just starting out or working hard to maintain momentum after a decade or two on the business frontline, it’s not easy. The pressure to get on top and stay on top, and to keep up or even lead the social media hustle, is intense. Economic demands mean that many of us are having to work more and harder to achieve the results we need.

I have come to understand, in time, that if your success can be marked purely on the growth of your business, or businesses, at the expense of your personal growth, of your family and of your physical and Mental Health, that is not success at all. I know other leaders and entrepreneurs have come to the same conclusion, albeit sometimes after decades at the top.

When leaving his job as British Prime Minister in 2010 Gordon Brown said in his resignation speech: “And as I leave the second most important job I could ever hold, I cherish even more the first – as a husband and father.”

I couldn’t agree more with his sentiment, and it was echoed again in the resignation statement of Ben Wallace, UK Defense Secretary when he spoke about sleeping with three phones by his bed. He said, “While I am proud to have worked with so many amazing people and helped contribute to protecting this great country, the cost of putting that ahead of my family is something I am very sad about.”

Balancing the pros and cons of being a successful leader but not the partner, parent, or person you may want to be is now the subject of numerous books, courses, and podcasts.

Gone are the days when business coaching and professional self-help books were stuck in the unloved corner of the bookshop. Simon Sinek’s best-selling books like Start with the Why, Hoffman Institute courses, and various leadership podcasts are now ubiquitous, with people from all walks of life and all professions seeing their value. There is a clear need to recognize and resolve our needs and issues because addressing them is essential for sustainable success.

The younger generation of public figures has caught on to this quickly – Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have both attended Hoffman Institute courses – and are showing the rest of us the way.

Despite this epiphany, that our mental health and our lives deserve our attention as much as our professional lives do, if not more, many entrepreneurs still face mental health obstacles. According to the US National Institute of Mental Health, 49% of entrepreneurs are dealing with mental health issues, with burnout, stress, anxiety and isolation from friends and family cited as the main reasons behind those issues.

I have put together some thoughts on my own struggle to balance between being a successful business leader and a present father and husband, whilst worrying about missed business opportunities that might not come along again. Here is what I have learnt:

Do follow Simon Sinek’s advice and think about your personal “why” as well as the “why” behind your business and work to understand that these should not be mutually exclusive.

Set clear boundaries and enforce them– vacation/weekends are work-free, planning activity spikes that do not coincide with family holidays, delegating and fulfilling family commitments. Try to hold yourself accountable to these boundaries or get your family or your mentor to hold you accountable instead.

Be consistent: families, and especially young children, need a consistent and reliable parent, but so do many other personal commitments you may have or want to have. You must make sure you are there for the soccer practice you signed up for in the same way you would make sure you attend an important client meeting.

Make small significant changes in your routine to protect yourself. Small changes like meditating, running, or listening to a relaxing podcast between your last business meeting and getting home to the family can help you switch modes and be fully present with your family, with your partner or just with yourself.

Say no to opportunities that are either too small to drive profit or too unwieldy to work for you,even if it pains you as an entrepreneur used to grasping every straw. Making you a calmer, more fulfilled human being first and a businessperson second is the route to achieving your professional AND your personal goals, instead of giving up one for the other.

Seeking mentorship and mental health support– admitting that you need support and advice is not a weakness, any more so than going to the dentist when you have a toothache, it is just common sense. Doing it early will mean preventing deeper problems in the future.

As a final thought, I wanted to share a piece of advice from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, an international religious leader and philosopher who wrote about the deeper meaning of life: “Follow your passion. Nothing — not wealth, success, accolades, or fame — justifies spending a lifetime doing things you don’t enjoy.”

About Mike Welch:

Mike Welch is the President and CEO of Tirebuyer.com. At just 16 years old, he launched his own tire business with a £500 grant from The Prince’s Trust. He later sold his business to Kwik Fit, where he became the group’s inaugural Head of E-Commerce, leading up to Ford’s £1bn acquisition. In 2001, Mike founded Blackcircles.com, the world’s first click-to-fit tire retailer, which was acquired by Michelin Plc for £50m in 2015. In recognition of his contributions to business and charity, Mike was honored with an OBE from the Queen in 2016. He also serves as the Founder and Chairman of The Welch Trust, established in 2015, dedicated to supporting children and young people.

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