17 minute read
BUILDING & MAINTAINING A POSITIVE MINDSET DURING DIFFICULT TIMES
from The Rebirth
BUILDING & MAINTAINING A POSITIVE MINDSET DURING DIFFICULT TIMES DAN GAYLE CEO - PEAK PERFORMANCE & WELLBEING COACHING
The world and her people are currently facing incredibly difficult circumstances. The global health impact stemming from COVID-19 is truly tragic and the economic fallout is being felt across most industries. Sadly, things are going to get worse on both fronts, before they get better.
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Another area that is being impacted, is mental wellbeing. The seismic shifts in our lives, our routines, our behaviours, coupled with the worries that come with these changes, all
create new stresses on our central nervous systems, and our minds. It’s crucial, more so than ever, to take conscious action to look after and improve, our mental wellbeing.
In times like these (and to note, this is of great value even when things in life are more ‘normal’) it is incredibly empowering to categorise things into two sections – what is CONTROLLABLE and what is UNCONTROLLABLE.
Here are some examples for each:
CONTROLLABLE
- What I choose to focus on. - Whether I choose to learn new skills. - Whether I choose to take action on the important things. - How I invest my resources (time, finances, energy, emotions). - How I treat my customers / clients. - How I treat my staff - How I treat my family, friends and people in my communities. - How much news I consume. - Whether I follow government advice on health guidance. - Limiting my social media consumption. - What constructive changes I make to my business and/or life, and how fast. - Adapting my thought and behavioural patterns in such a way, that benefit me and those around me. - How proactive I am in utilising appropriate government financial support schemes that can help my business and my personal circumstances during this time.
UNCONTROLLABLE
- How long the COVID-19 situation will last. - Other people’s behaviour. - The impact to stock markets and the economy. - Predicting what will happen. - What people’s motives are. The more clarity we have on this, and then consciously deciding to put ALL of the uncontrollable elements to one side and ONLY focusing on what we can control, leads to a happier, more positive, more empowered mindset.
Being happy and positive is a state of mind, not a set of circumstances.
Scientists estimate that the odds of being alive are a staggering 420 TRILLION to one. Every single new day that arrives is truly a gift of monumental value…I’d say it’s lottery win, even though the difficulties of life sometimes make it not feel that way. So, building a powerful mindset that can operate effectively, not only when life is going well, but also when our external environment is filled with adversity, is so crucial.
If you’re already on a personal development journey then that’s fantastic, keep up the good work. If not, now is a great time to begin.
Either way, the current situation is an opportunity for us all to look inward, at what we can work on to improve ourselves, to become clear on what truly is important in our short lives (100 years if we’re lucky), and to take action.
There are lots of techniques we can use to develop our mindsets. In addition to the controllable vs uncontrollable model, I’m going to share another three with you:
1. POSITIVITY MANTRAS (OR STATEMENTS)
Having a positive mindset is a hugely valuable asset and it’s not something that just happens.
A conscious effort must be made for a prolonged period of time, and at some point it will “drop down” into the subconscious (where the thought process becomes automatic).
Below are the simple steps for this exercise:
Write down a list of uplifting mantras that when you read and say them, makes you feel good. Repeating these statements back to yourself on a regular (can you do daily?) basis will yield some powerful results. If you’re looking for inspiration, you can use positive quotes, journal on
your days and highlight the good stuff, and for those more daring, search for the upsides even in the difficult experiences (there is almost always at least one).
2. PHYSICAL EXERCISE
Exercise is proven to have a significant positive impact on mental wellbeing, too. It… to other conditions like cancer and diabetes. Helps us to relax. Increases energy, concentration and focus levels. Grows confidence as our perception of how we feel and look improves.
3. GRATITUDE & APPRECIATION
Aids growth of new brain cells (neurons), improving learning and memory, whilst helping protect against degenerative conditions such as dementia. Lowers stress chemicals. Increases feel good, happy chemicals. Helps combat against (and treat) depression. Aids in the reduction of anxiety. Reduces the risk of serious health conditions such as heart attack and stroke, as well as lowering inflammation which is linked Retraining our brains is done by regularly changing the focal points to what we want be or do, rather than what we don’t. One way to utilise this concept is by implementing the below:
Every day, write down 3-5 things that you are grateful or appreciative of. These can be big, tiny and everything in between. Periodically go back through your list and really revel in the great feelings of all those wonderful things.
The more consistently you do these exercises, the stronger and more stable the benefits become.
WITHOUT THIS STEP, IT’S WORTHLESS.
It’s important to note, and to remember, that information without action is close to worthless. In order to get the true benefits of any information, we must also back it up with action. It is not enough to just know, we must do.
Please stay safe and look out for those around you. Best wishes, Dan.
Our aim is to support as many people as we can during this difficult time. So we would like to ask you the question, "what can we do to help you?".
To get in touch, please email us on inspired@dangaylecoach.com or visit http://www. dangayle-coach.com
DIGITAL MARKETING ANTHONY MILSTON
DISCOVER WHAT SMART BUSINESS OWNERS LIKE YOU CAN DO TO SAFEGUARD THEIR BUSINESSES
Being in a lockdown situation doesn't mean the end of the world!
Believe it or not, for those of us being forced to stay at home offers both the perfect time and a safe place to get things done.
Without the usual distractions most of us experience in our busy daily lives, it’s the ideal time to quietly reflect on
making new and achievable goals to help ensure your business is ‘not lost in the dust’ when this crisis is all over, and it will be over!
YOUR BUSINESS HEALTH AND WELLBEING:
Let me quickly introduce myself. I am Anthony Milston founder of Bluesky Multimedia - a digital marketing agency established in 2006. The sole aim of my business is to help my clients get the best results possible from their digital marketing.
During this extraordinary time, you can be quietly working away in the background on projects that may release extraordinary hidden value within your business to the benefit of your clients, customers and of course you!
LET ME GIVE YOU A KEY EXAMPLE AND WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER THIS?
Invest time in learning a new skill or updating ones you already have.
Check to see if in your particular field of excellence are there eLearning courses where you can skill - up on the latest thinking in your field or even study to gain a new qualification in a synergistic or adjacent skill to offer alongside your primary services? A platform for video eLearning that I frequently use is Udemy – they run offers from time to time so keep an eye out for their discounts which can be substantial.
Why consider this?
- It lessens your reliance on just one primary service. - Promoting a new service that does not rely entirely on a face to face consultation could prove very timely and encourage new clients or customers to take you up on your new offer and from a safe distance. - Similarly, you can promote the same to your existing clients or customers, thus opening up the prospect of doing more business with them. - New service brings you the perfect opportunity to write articles and pre-emptive blogs and social media posts while you are learning your new skill. Blogs that are written to include relevant keywords and added to your website can improve your search engine optimisation and rankings. Not dissimilar to the financial crash of 2008 – it is unlikely there will be any immediate return to business as normal. Momentum will start to build slowly and probably in line with an overall feeling of rising confidence.
So in the light of this here are several other actionable ideas you may want to consider. - Produce top tips, a how-to guide or perhaps a series of successful case studies taken from your archives. Several tools on the market allow you
to quickly and easily format professional high-quality and engaging eBooks or eGuides directly from a word document and at an extraordinarily low price.
I have placed a link to the tool I use in the author bio below. I believe this is available at a big discount currently (at the time of writing) and there is another link to my example using the tool- see GMB in the bio area. Creating helpful guides can bring you many benefits including; kudos, establishing yourself as a credible expert, encouraging visitors to your website to provide you with their email and other details in return for your –eBook or guide. You can then re-market to them with newsletters or other useful information in the future.
- Consider creating information products such as audio or video training courses based on your unique expertise. Producing video training is incredibly easy these days and you don’t even need to be in front of a camera. Again, please refer to a link to the software I use in the footer. You can then extract the audio file from the video using the free online tool Audacity, and sell both the video and the audio training formats directly from your website by way of an email marketing campaign. You can also sell on affiliate channels like Click Bank. Affiliates can then sell your courses to their lists of customers. See a link to Click Bank in the footer.
This could provide you with an extraordinary valuable income during the pandemic and possibly lead the way to more opportunities to rinse and repeat the process in the future.
- If you can offer your services via a video app such as Zoom, then make every effort to share this information with your current clients and customers and make a strong promotional announcement on your website and social media to encourage
new clients and customers. During this time it is vitally important that you spend time on marketing your business in any way you can. You need to be seen to be ready at the starting gate when this phase passes.
Additionally to help ramp up the power and potency of your marketing look closely at local search engine optimisation. This is not as complicated as it may sound and to help you get a strong competitive advantage I have produced a free guide (see link in the footer) that will walk you through the process of optimising your website for Google’s local search results which are where most of your new clients will find you online. This pandemic will reset the thinking of many businesses and how they will pick up on the other side of it. So make use of this time, review your business, your website, your digital marketing and get ready. You will be open for business again, and so will many of your competitors, all fighting for custom. You need to stand out from the crowd, so use this time to get ready.
ANTHONY MILSTON
About
Anthony Milston is an Internet marketer, website, video and content producer and publisher. He has been practising in the digital marketing space since 2006 following a long career in the finance industry. Since then, he has worked with many businesses across a wide spectrum helping them to achieve their online goals of local market dominance. He is available to advise both new and existing businesses on making the most of their digital marketing opportunity. Anthony has a long association and special interest in the self-help, personal growth and development fields and a close affinity with the complementary health sector.
Resources: Software to simply create eGuides, eBooks, currently on offer https://blueskymultimedia--page1.thrivecart.com/ designrr-special-offer-2019/
Software to create Video for training courses or website, social media video with a 7 day free trial: https://www. contentsamurai.com/c/Anthony12-cs-freetrial Here is the link to a free download guide to claiming and optimising Google My Business. https://gmb. blueskymultimedia.co.uk You can see an example of my eGuide from this link.
Here is the link to the affiliate platform where you could make sales from your video training course. ClickBank https://clickbank.com
SAF BUXY
My mission is to give everyone a message of hope and help people transform their lives in a peaceful, powerful and positive way. To help people become mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually free and in turn survive overcome and thrive. Once we have these freedoms, we can truly be a force for good and impact lives positively.
My name is Saf Buxy. I am a motivational speaker, a recovered addict, a radio presenter, an abuse victim, and above all a survivor.
My mission is to give everyone a message of hope and help people transform their lives in a peaceful, powerful and positive way. To help people become mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually free and in turn survive overcome and thrive. Once we have these freedoms, we can truly be a force for good and impact lives positively.
I act as a motivational speaker, a mentor and as someone who understands how to rebuild a life, even if you think there's no way back. About me: addiction, survival and recovery
Even a loving husband and father with a great family can find himself ensnared by addiction and I am a living example that it doesn’t discriminate.
I could use multiple excuses for the things I did. I was adopted. I was abused physically, racially, verbally and sexually. I was diagnosed as bipolar.
I suffered wounding bereavements, I had an inferiority complex and I could have blamed my circle of friends, but ultimately it all came down to fear and survival.
I don't know if I was born an addict but I do know that I am
an addict. After 33 years of using, I hit what I thought was rock bottom several times, only to find new depths to sink to. I was bankrupt: emotionally, physically and financially.
My mental health, selfdestructive behaviour, dishonesty, selfishness and irritability made my life unmanageable, but eventually led me to recovery.
Acceptance is the answer to all of my problems today. It was scary for me to ask for help, but in all honesty it was more scarier to continue to do what I was doing.
I find that it helps enormously to talk about my trauma, mental health & addiction and subsequent recovery and my philosophy is that if I can spare even one person from going down the path I did, then everything I do will be worth it.
If I could do this I know anyone can too. Once you accept you have a problem, that's your first step to a new way of life free from drinking and using. It's empowering to know and see what I have accomplished. I now work as a volunteer speaker for “The Children's Society”, I have my own radio show called “Saf’s Surgery” which is dedicated to trauma, mental health and addiction, I’m a Trustee of Aspire2Be Recovery Community (A charity that helps people in recovery from addiction and mental health who have suffered from trauma), I’m an Drug and Alcohol Practitioner, I’m a Counsellor, I’m a mentor, I’m a motivational speaker, I’m studying a Master’s in Addiction Psychology, I’m an author of an autobiography
“Out of the Madness”, I perform ‘Spoken Word’, I help talented artists who have experienced trauma, mental health and addiction to express their talent in a way they find comfortable to them and I intend to spend the rest of my life helping others to overcome, survive and ultimately thrive.
THE PAD WOMEN WHEN DETERMINATION WON OVER TABOOS SUMAN
Suman is an Oscar winner, whose story of grit and determination has inspired many women to address and fight-off taboos plaguing their life and the society they live in.
Like every other woman who emerged as a winner, Suman’s life has been through several ups and downs. She had to fight misogyny, stereotypes, and cognitive dissonance to get where she is today. Her life is an example that when life throws lemons at you, better make some lemonades! Hailing from a small Indian village, Suman was leading an ordinary life up until her women’s welfare group “Mahila Sabla Sangh”, associated with the NGO, asked her to participate in the project that required her to educate women in the village about menstrual health and hygiene, as well as, help in manufacturing sanitary pads. It was a huge call, especially in the society that didn’t find it acceptable to say the word ‘period’ out loud.
Suman set up a small sanitary pad manufacturing unit in her House and shifted to a rented house with her family. Then she set upon the herculean
task of convincing local women to start using sanitary pads. After constant rebukes and resistance, women finally came around to her idea. Women relatives like her sister-in-law Sneha joined her and thus, this small initiative turned out to be a significant movement of resilience.
The documentary, Period. End of Sentence is based upon the real-life challenges of Suman and how she had to move mountains to make sanitary pads accessible for women around her. The documentary follows a group of women in India in their quest to set up an affordable sanitary pads manufacturing unit. It won an Oscar in 2019 under the Best Short Documentary category. and also Win’s thirty five awards around the world before and after oscar, & “19 Most Important Moments for Women in 2019” around the world of @ELLEmagazine. Suman has now set upon an even bigger journey to spreadawareness about female hygiene and menstrual health throughout the country.
As a woman who finds great joy in supporting other women to live a life of connection, health, and wellness, Suman has worked passionately with women across various economic sections and regionalities. She has been awarded hundreds of prestigious awards in India and most prestigious awards for women in India Devi award by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, shri Yogi Adityanath Ji. Suman and Mavayna’s efforts have earned them the welldeserved nickname
Pad Women of India. Mobile:- +91 9818525511
Email:- suman.oscerwomen@ gmail.com Email:- manavmavayna@gmail. com
http://carevanta.org https://twitter.com/ theoscarwoman https://twitter.com/ MavaynaManav https://www.linkedin.com/in/ mavayna-manav-1060ab19a http://linkedin.com/in/suman
https://www. facebook.com/profile. php?id=100035188590186
instagram.com/theoscarwoman
https://www.netflix.com/in/ title/81074663
Regards Suman "Women of Wisdom" Co-founder, youtu.be/KocJP8dG1OA
LAVANYA SARIKONDA
With the constant development in the startup ecosystem,more and more women are chasing the entrepreneurial dream and succeeding in their ventures. Lavanya Sarikonda is the founder of Sarikondas Curry On and also the founder and CEO of Oblivion Solutions Ltd.She has a professional experience of more than 13 years in various software organizations.
Lavanya was a courageous lady who was at the top of her career in software and a busy mum when she made a decision to persue a much larger goal in starting her own venture while working full time, she chose courage over comfort,she went through various ups and downs in life before achieving the success she enjoys today. Lavanya is from Cambridge, UK and born in India. She persued her Electronics and Communications Engineering degree and Masters in Strategic Engineering Management.
"We women need to Speak up, Stand out and Shine our light"
