It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. If you’re familiar with the universal Law of Polarity, you understand that for every condition there must be a polar opposite.

In order to have hot, you must have cold. In order to be light, there must be dark. One cannot exist without the other.

Since there must be a yin to every yang, so it goes with home-based business.

The good times are what make home business the most exciting, invigorating and rewarding experience possible.

The bad times are a true test of the entrepreneur’s strength and character.

As a home-based business owner, you must accept the fact that there will be challenges on your journey. Deals may fall through, things may go slower than you hope, and there will be times when you think the dragon has beat you.

The important thing to remember is that no situation is permanent unless you allow it to be.

During challenging times, can you “feel” the impact on your body?

Is your breathing shallower? Do you stop eating healthy and revert to bad habits? Do you stop exercising and find yourself slumped in your office chair trying to muddle through the problem?

Do you hang your head and avoid looking at people?

The mind and body form a strong connection. When you have negative thoughts, your body reflects how they make you feel.

Likewise, how you hold your body also affects your thoughts.

When you find yourself in a negative state, one of the quickest and easiest ways to break free is to change your physiology.

You have full control over your thoughts and your actions, so if you find yourself feeling out of synch or beaten by the events in your life or business, practice these five simple exercises to give yourself a much needed break and a safety line to hold onto as you pull yourself up.

1. Adjust your posture - Slumped shoulders and a down turned head indicate lack of confidence, disinterest, feelings of futility, etc. Straighten your back, hold your head up and walk with purpose. Practice this for five minutes. Walk around your home, office or wherever you are for five full minutes with a straight spine and looking straight ahead. You will quickly discover that it is impossible to hold negative thoughts and feelings while your body is a confident and positive position.

2. Take ten deep breaths – By simply taking ten slow, deep breaths and focusing on each one, you should immediately feel your tightened muscles release and relief from whatever it is that is creating your stress. Do this as often as you must to release the tension in your muscles. It will allow you to think more clearly and from a more positive viewpoint.

3. Get moving! - If you spend hours on end hunched over a keyboard, get up and do jumping jacks, pedal your bike around the block or swim laps in your pool. One exercise I’ve created for myself is skipping. Every day I commit to go outside and skip 300 times. It doesn’t take long, gets the heart racing and blasts away stale and negative energy.

4. Look at the ceiling and smile the biggest smile you can. - A study conducted on manic-depressives who performed this exercise, proved they couldn’t regain their depressed state unless they brought their head down and wiped the smiles from their faces.

5. Pick up the pace. – If you find moving at a snail’s pace, pick it up. Instead of dragging your feet, see how long it takes you to walk from one point to another, then try to beat it. If it takes you five steps to get from your desk to your photocopier, cut it down to two or three. Create a game around it.

When you’re excited, happy and in a positive space you carry yourself in a certain way.

Recreate the physiological equivalents and you create the matching emotional states.

Commit to the above exercises, maintain focused action and attention on your business, and fast track your return to entrepreneurial bliss.

2007 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source

Laurie Hayes, founder and director of The HBB Source, helps freedom seekers cross the bridge from employee to home-based entrepreneur. Subscribe to her FREE e-zine for valuable tips and resources designed to create business success, at http://www.thehbbsource.com