Social business work can be exhausting.

In a good and satisfying way, sure. But realistically, also in a not-so-great way. We talk to professionals all the time that have embraced the principles behind social business, even those that have been hired specifically to institute them, but feel the burn from the uphill trudge that’s so characteristic of rethinking entrenched ideas.

So, how do you keep on path when you’re discouraged and frustrated? Keep a few things in mind.

1. Remember that this stuff is HARD.

The most important things often are. You aren’t crazy, and you aren’t necessarily failing because something is difficult. We started SideraWorks in large part because we believed someone needed to get in, get dirty, and work on the hard parts of business model evolution. The nitty-gritty, messy parts of change.

That’s what you’re doing, too. And it’s not easy. Celebrate some of the wins along the way that may not make the cover of Fast Company, but that are making discernible progress for your company. That looks different for everyone.

2. In all but the most risk-tolerant organizations, change is a process, not an event.

We love the idea of complete, earth-shattering transformation. Breaking established systems wide opening and re-imagining them. We’re working on projects that are designed to do just that, with organizations and people who embrace that special kind of upheaval and benevolent chaos.

But let’s get real for a minute. Those companies are the exception, not the rule.

Which means that most likely, you’re working within a business that *can* change (and probably must), but it’s likely to be in smaller steps and pieces. The better we get at enabling change and the more organizations that prove out the models, the more we can accelerate the process and adoption.

But change involves many intricate pieces, both functional and human-based. Neither are simple. In fact, they’re often extraordinarily complex.

The more you see change as an ongoing state instead of a destination, the better off you’ll be.

3. You are in the translation business, not the “social” business (ha).

Social business is still a pretty radical idea to a lot of organizations. We live in a bit of a microcosm still, the bleeding edge of what’s taking shape in business. Call it early adoption, call it innovation, call it whatever you like.

But when you sit in that position, your job is much less about taking charge of some bold new vision — though of course that’s part of it — and much more about learning to translate that vision into the language of other people. LOTS of other people, and lots of different languages.

Diplomacy is still incredibly necessary while we move from what worked yesterday to what will work tomorrow. The job of a change agent is never really done, and always involves reaching out to others and helping them see the potential of your ideas through their own lenses.

You can’t do it otherwise. In fact, it might be the most important part of your work.

4. You’re part of a very small group of people, but you aren’t alone.

Don’t fret.

This is hard. Change is a process. You are building bridges more than skyscrapers sometimes.

But you’re also doing work that a lot of people would kill to do. You’re part of a truly transformational era in business, one that will be marked by companies that rise and fall in large part because of what the web — including social ideals — has wrought.

And there are other people doing this work, slogging in the trenches, working hard each and every day to achieve one discrete step in the right direction and show their companies, their leadership, and the world at large that this stuff does matter, that it’s not hype, that when you carve away all the flashy stuff you’re left with some pretty profound ideas about the way companies can and should evolve.

So, patience. Perseverance. Perspective.

Keep those handy, never stop learning, work tirelessly to build and bridge and create, and someday you’ll be able to look back on the work you’ve done with incredible pride.