Written by: Mallory Meyer, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Dumbo could always fly…just needed a magic feather. How many times have you believed, to have greater confidence, you will feel better and feel more self-assured in your behaviours and actions? When you receive that piece of external validation or acknowledgment from your behaviours and actions, you'll no longer feel worried or anxious about if you made the best decision. You just need that magic feather, with someone in your corner. To believe in what you already have within to be exactly what clients, who inspire you, are ready and waiting for. When you are here and surround yourself in the energy of those here to stretch you, you fly. Have a mentor to take you there and hold you to YOUR ROLE and VISION in those times when it feels like: Your efforts and presence are going into an abyss. You are on the brink of giving up and feeling it's not worth it. You feel defeated and unsure in our offers for your audience You start to break away from your authentic self, just to make a sale. When it comes to pricing, to generate 4-5 figure sustainable income months in your business, you require a high ticket, solution-driven offer. A common theme in client sessions is the resistance and fear to raise their price and be in receipt of that money, for their services. Common questions that come forward when assessing pricing: Can I deliver that level of value It's difficult to charge this rate and believe clients will invest We've all been conditioned in various ways in how we perceive the consciousness of money. A piece of reflection: Where is this perception coming from that you won't gain clients? What would be the perception of the person that earns ‘BLANK’ amount for their services? How do you know you deliver over and above in value? Remember, your clients want solutions and the solution you offer is valuable to them as it eliminates and takes away the problem they've been encountering without your help. Money represents a commitment. If/when you receive objections around the amount of money available to invest in the program you offer it comes down to it being a reflectionof the client not understanding the TRUE value. There are people who want to give you the money. There are people who will buy from you immediately stumbling upon and consuming your content. There are people who will take a year to make the decision to invest. There are people who need to be, but there’s more nurturing required. Your role? Never give up on your heart-seeded vision and WHY for receiving the mission you are here to fulfill🤍 To explore more in taking the next step to work together to build and scale a heart-centered profitablebusiness and aligned business, I invite you to connect with me on Instagram. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mallory! Mallory Meyer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Mallory Meyer is a Reiki Master, Medium, Cosmic Channel, and certified Life and Success Coach, NLP, TIME, EFT, and Hypnotherapy Practitioner incorporating Trauma-Sensitive practices into her business. Weaving the metaphysical with the physical, the soul, and strategy, with intuitive transformational coaching and manifestation, to bring forward your reality at a quantum level. Mallory helps spiritual entrepreneurs build a profitable and aligned business that's sustainable in success in her 8-week online course and mastermind.

Written by: Bronwen Sciortino, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Here we are in the New Year! We scraped our way through the previous twelve months by the skin of our teeth, shedding blood, sweat and tears. But now, we find ourselves once again facing the unknown of the year to come… and the pressure of creating New Year’s resolutions that will create an epic life. So much pressure has been loaded into this moment through the course of time. We’re supposed to weave our magic and come up with our list of things we’re going to achieve… to revolutionise our life moving forward. Same process – same results. Most of us use the same process every year for creating the resolutions that will carry us forward in time. Sometimes, we’re so tired we just recycle resolutions that we haven’t achieved from previous years. It’s not surprising, really, when you consider the amount of noise that occurs at this time of the year. We’re bombarded with marketing campaigns that tell us how we’ve failed, how we’re not good enough, where we’re falling behind, how we’ve let ourselves down… and the list goes on. It’s not you, it’s the process. The reality is this: if the process we use every year yields roughly the same results – that is, ‘same‑same’ intentions that aren’t achieved year in, year out), then the process we’re using doesn’t work for us. You've probably failed to keep your resolutions because YOU didn't really make them in the first place. The majority of us base our objectives on the things we're taught we “should” be doing. We frequently hear about the aspects of ourselves that are flawed, and the things we need to improve, whether it comes from our family, our friends, or from those pesky marketing campaigns. But here's the problem: Whenever we adhere to what someone else deems to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for us, we cede control of our lives and, as a result, we begin to live lives that are not our own. We’ve literally forgotten (and sometimes have never actually experienced) what it’s like to have control over our own lives! Now’s the time to step forward and try a different way of doing things. We’ve spent years focusing our New Year’s resolutions on being better versions of ourselves, in the hope that doing so will change the way we experience life. But it hasn’t worked. Why? Because there’s nothing wrong with us. We don’t need to change who we are. The ‘same’ you, the ‘same’ me – the same ‘us’ as last year is more than enough for what we want to achieve in life. So, instead of trying to be better, why don’t we focus on being a whole version of ourselves? Let’s step outside the traditional process and instead choose the resolutions that help us to reconnect with the things that are important to us – the things that bring us joy and make our hearts sing. And the best news is that it’s simple to get started. We are perfectly, uniquely individual, and so we need a process that helps celebrate that. Know your values: knowing your values will enable you to live in accordance with them. In turn, it will be simpler to identify the things that are important to you and then make decisions that help you have more of those things in your life. Ask the questions that matter: before deciding whether or not to step in and start doing something, check in with yourself and ask yourself how you feel about it. By doing this, you will be more able to consciously choose what is best for you. Spend time with like-minded people: it will be simpler for you to establish your own path if you spend time with people who don't always share your opinions, but who encourage you to make your own decisions and respect them. Drop the judgement: the only outcome of spending our time passing judgement is to bring unfavorable energy into our life. You free up a ton of time and space to do things that are more important when you eliminate judgement from your day – and that means judging others and yourself. Live and let live: you’re forging ahead and creating a new pathway for yourself, based entirely around what is good for you and the things that are important to you. It is absolutely fine for people to hold divergent opinions. Just as it’s important for you to decide what’s right for your life, it’s also important to allow others to make the choices that are right for their lives. Focus on creating alignment in your own life and allow others to do the same. In doing so, we create an environment where we’re all OK. You'll probably also find yourself living a life with a lot less stress. You’ll need to be far less resilient if you can get over the need for other people's approval and shift your attention back to focusing on what is – and isn't – working for you. Taking one step at a time, making conscious decisions for what’s right for YOUR life… do this and you’ll create the pathway forward that is perfect – just for you. Bronwen Sciortino is a Simplicity Expert, an internationally renowned author, and a professional speaker, and you can follow her on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Read more from Bronwen! Bronwen Sciortino, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Bronwen Sciortino is an International Author and Simplicity Expert who spent almost two decades as an award-winning executive before experiencing a life changing event that forced her to stop and ask the question ‘What if there’s a better way to live?’ Embarking on a journey to answer this question, Bronwen developed a whole new way of living – one that teaches you to challenge the status quo and include the power of questions in everyday life. Gaining international critical acclaim and 5-star awards for her books and online programs, Bronwen spends every day teaching people that there is an easy, practical and simple pathway to creating a healthy, happy AND highly successful life. Sourced globally for media comment as an expert and working with corporate programs, conference platforms, retreats, professional mentoring and in the online environment, Bronwen teaches people how easy it is to live life very differently.

Written by: Bev Ehrlich, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Do you feel like you and your partner keep repeating the same behaviors and you just can’t shift things? Your relationship doesn’t have to be a constant struggle or a complete disconnect. Intimate relationships aren’t only about falling in love, they’re about how to stay in love long-term. The problem is that when our partner triggers us, our skills generally go right out the window. Wise Adult versus Adaptive Child Renowned trauma experts Pia Mellody and Terry Real suggest that we all have wise adult and adaptive child parts. The wise adult is the part of us that is mature, relational, and nuanced. Our adaptive child part is younger and more concerned with protection and self-preservation. When our wise adult goes offline and our younger self takes over, we move from an “Us” perspective, we’re in this together so how are we going to solve this issue, to a “you” and “me” adversarial position which sees limited resources and threats. Same Old Same Old We automatically repeat and use the familiar knee-jerk responses we first learned as kids when growing up. We either fight, or shut down by either leaving the room or just withdrawing from the conversation, or we may placate our partner and try to make things right between us. When we react the same way over and over again, we get the same disconnected outcomes we have always gotten. It’s only when we break that pattern and start choosing to react differently that we can create more loving and connected relationships. The Relationship Grid RLT couple’s therapist Terry Real developed The Relationship Grid. It’s a great tool that shows your automatic, self-sabotaging patterns that come to the fore when you’re triggered in your intimate relationship. These behaviors prevent you from experiencing the closeness and deep connection you so long for. In the center of the grid is relational health. Staying in the circle of health means that we are practicing healthy self-esteem and boundaries. An awareness of where we go when we are anti-relational is a prerequisite to staying in the circle of health. The circle of health is where we can sustain our relational practice; a place to move toward in difficult moments and live in or return to in good moments. When you cross the axes, you have 4 quadrants each with its own qualities and characteristics. Boundaryless and one down Boundaryless and one up Walled off and one down Walled off and one up 1. Boundaryless and one down You’re boundaryless, open, porous. What that looks like is, you think others think poorly of you and you think poorly of yourself. You have to control the stimulus coming at you. You have to go after that person and make them feel better about you. These people are often anxious and compulsive pursuers. The energy here is DESPERATION. “Love me love me love me. I’ll do anything if you love me”. 2. Boundaryless and one up The core energy here is DEMANDING. People in this quadrant feel entitled.” Get off the couch and love me now.” Verbal and physical abuse live here. All forms of abuse are boundaryless and contemptuous. 3. Walled off and one down Here you’re walled off and disengaged, and shame-based. The energy here is DEPRESSION. We’re born to be relational and attached. Here people feel there’s no point in trying. It’s useless and they don’t deserve connection anyway. 4. Walled off and one up You’re walled off, disengaged, and grandiose. The energy is “you don’t deserve to be in connection with me. You’re not worthy of me.” I’m more important than you are. All forms of SUPERIORITY live here. Elitism, racism, and snobbery are all here. Where you are on the grid, will tell you where you need to go. Place yourself on the grid and then place your partner on the grid. Where Do You Go on your Worst Days? The grid can help you understand where you reside at your most triggered moments with your partner. Once you know where you are on the grid, you’re able to start working to change patterns that create rifts and move into relational health at the center. Take a few minutes to answer the following targeted questions honestly to see where you reside on your worst days. Where you are on the grid, will tell you where you need to go. You can place yourself on the grid as well as your partner. Then check in and see how far off or how accurate you are with each other. When my partner and I disagree, I get angry that they won't see the reason. I turn away or leave, shutting my partner out. I have little patience or willingness for discussing my emotions. I am great at giving silent treatment. I am unable to speak my truth. I fear my opinions and feelings are not valuable or worthwhile, so I keep them to myself. It’s easier to withdraw than talk about how I’m really feeling. If only my partner would see it my way, we would get along fine. I fear my partner will leave, so I do everything I can to try to keep them calm and happy. My attempts to make up with my partner feel desperate. Understanding Your Position on the Grid You’ll know if you tend toward going one up into entitlement and superiority or one down into inferiority, shame, and feeling defective. You’ll learn whether you tend to move toward walled-off positions (a self-protective fortress, not open to honest communication and input), OR whether you tend toward boundaryless positions: too open, too porous (you judge yourself-worth according to how others see you.) Place yourself on the grid today and take the first step in learning how to live a truly relational life. A life of loving connection between you and you, between you and others, and society as a whole. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Bev! Bev Ehrlich, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Beverly Ehrlich is a relationship coach. She firmly believes that we heal, grow and thrive through healthy and cherishing relationships that show appreciation for each other’s strengths and build on them. Feeling helpless and strained when her husband of many years found himself in the depths of depression, they turned for support to Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy (RLT). She has since dedicated her life to bringing couples back into healthy connectedness. Beverly encourages her clients to stand up for themselves with love while cherishing their partner at the same time. She teaches strategies that help clients speak their truth so that their partner can hear them and come into repair quicker each time.

Written by: Marguerite Thibodeaux, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Your team missed a deadline. You assemble your team and ask, “What happened? We missed this deadline. How are we going to deliver this now and make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future?” A teammate immediately jumps in. “John said the client didn’t need this until next week. What do you mean we missed a deadline?” You’re surprised to hear this and ask John, “Why would you say that?”It only goes downhill from there. Pointing fingers in hard situations are natural in most team cultures. It’s also a flimsy excuse for feedback and plants seeds of mistrust, undermining the team's future performance. What is radical accountability? Radical accountability elevates your leadership. When combined with courage and compassion, accountability becomes something more, ensuring more than just execution. It also ensures trust and inclusion. According to Merriam-Webster, “radical” means “favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions.” Adding “radical” to accountability means doing more than just holding your teammates accountable. Radical accountability means accepting full responsibility for what you think, feel, and do. In other words, radical accountability means you proactively take accountability for your own part in every team situation. Instead of asking John why he would say such a thing, a radically accountable leader might say, “I understand you all look to John for answers when I’m unavailable. John, thanks for trying to lean in when I couldn’t. Some misinformation slipped through the cracks. Let’s look at what happened, as a whole team, so we can figure out how to make sure everyone has the most up-to-date information in the future.” Why is radical accountability essential to leadership? Radical accountability drives excellence. Paradoxically, proactively taking accountability for your own part in a team failure holds space for others to admit where they may have gone wrong, too. This shifts the focus from protecting themselves to tackling the issue at hand, opening up dialogue for collaboration to flourish, problems to get fixed faster, and continuous improvement. How do you practice radical accountability? One question: What could I have done differently to enable us to meet expectations? It's a two-way street. You need to provide your team with the resources and support to succeed. You also need engagement from your team to inform them how you can most effectively do that for them. Creating that space requires a special kind of vulnerability, and radical accountability. Do you have a teammate who has been constantly missing deadlines and failing to keep up with their tasks? Applying radical accountability means more than just pointing out the obvious; they know they are not meeting expectations. Instead, radical accountability requires digging deeper and being courageous enough to admit that you might also be a part of the problem. Was the timetable realistic? Did you check on them periodically to see if they had the resources needed to meet the deadline? Radical accountability often means realizing your team doesn’t feel safe enough to raise their hand when they need help to meet expectations. As their leader, that's on you. Thankfully, creating that safe space is simple, if not easy. Show compassion by listening, creating space in one-on-ones to make your teammates feel seen and appreciated. Ask how you can help and follow through.In team settings, keep the team focused on people positively (recognition and appreciation) and problems collaboratively (Let’s fix this!). Developing a culture of radical accountability requires a consistent investment in momentsthat matter. Radical accountability can be a game-changer in your team’s performance. Take it one step at a time, one day at a time. With consistency and a sprinkle of courage and compassion, you’ll see that your efforts are worth it. Want help figuring out what radical accountability looks like for you and your team? Click here to snag a free 30-minute complimentary session with the author. Every leader deserves support. Every leader deserves support. Follow her on LinkedIn for leadership tips and discussions. Check out her website for free leadership resources like a Professional Development Roadmapping Worksheet and Attrition Risk Matrix. Want one-on-one help adapting these strategies to your team? Book a complimentary call with Marguerite. Every leader deserves support. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Marguerite! Marguerite Thibodeaux, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marguerite Thibodeaux, an leadership coach and talent management consultant, helps leaders and organizations bring the best out of people with courage, compassion, and clarity. After building development programs and leading a talent transformation at a Fortune 100, she became increasingly aware that not all leaders had access to a Fortune 100 Learning & Development team. To do something about that, she started Magnanimous Leadership, a leadership coaching and consulting firm that's on a mission to make resources and support available to every leader.

Written by: Elizabeth Otis, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. If you landed here, you know the value of networking, and it doesn’t need to be explained to you. If you’re here, it's because you want to tap into networks and communities that will help you and your business move forward. You are here to create a positive global impact! Am I right? That’s why The BLIVE Movement is hosting many different types of events this year to help entrepreneurs & leaders in their businesses and missions. Along with consistent networking events, there are many other types of events such as workshops, summits, performances, classes,& even more that you can tap into for your business! To plug into any of the networking or special events, click the following link here to join the group where the events will be hosted. Here are 3 online networking events available to you now. Jan. 16th @ 230 CST – Conscious Collabs Networking This will be a LIVE networking event (w/ a collaboration theme)held via zoom for the BLIVE community members. Each person will have the opportunity to introduce themselves, share the projector objective they are growing, & receive solutions, connections, or support from other members within the group! All attendees are not required to speak but have the opportunity to leverage the spotlight if they desire. This will be a great networking event in terms of receiving new connections, partnerships, & solutions to areas of our business. Since we are using zoom, you'll have the opportunity to show your face, showcase your offers, & provide open feedback will be available. To access this event, click the link here to register! This event is FREE to you for being a BLIVE community member! Jan. 31rst @ 230 CST – LaughingCircle This is a non-traditional networking event intended to bring leaders together simply to connect over a giant laughing circle where we quite literally show up, laugh our asses off, & leave. The purpose is to give business owners a productive break by activating an intense state of pleasure,& joy within themselves while connecting with other leaders. This event will also be held live via zoom but you do not have to show your face. To access this event, click this link here to register! >>https://bit.ly/3Px3PLx Feb. 9th @ 230 CST – Speed Networking This will be a LIVE networking event held via zoom for the BLIVE community members. Each person will have the opportunity to introduce themselves, share the projector objective they are growing, & receive solutions, connections, or support from other members within the group! All attendees are not required to speak but have the opportunity to leverage the spotlight if they desire. Since we are using zoom, you'll have the opportunity to show your face, showcase your offers, & provide open feedback will be available. To access this event, click the link below to register! >>https://bit.ly/3Yqm7C8 This event is FREE to you for being a BLIVE community member! Conclusion In conclusion, The BLIVE Movement will be hosting consistent, online networking & special events to help bring together & elevate entrepreneurs/leaders around the globe. The majority of these events are free and can be accessed through the online Facebook group called “The BLIVE Movement – Where Leaders ThriveIn Making PositiveGlobal Impact” which is also linked here. If you’re interested in hosting your own event or workshop inside of the community or wish to be connected to any of the future events, join the BLIVE community FB group by clicking the link above & reach out to the Founder, Elizabeth Otis, or current group admins. May 2023 be your best year yet! Follow me on Facebook and visit my FB Group for more info! Read more from Elizabeth! Elizabeth Otis, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Elizabeth Otis is the founder of "The BLIVE Movement" and self-mastery coach. The movement is set out on a worldwide mission to help 7 billion + people live from a place of purpose & internal harmony. To BLIVE is to live FULLY in the now. To further serve this mission, Elizabeth helps leaders tap into & maintain their "flow state" so that they can naturally operate on top of their a-game. Allowing them to uplevel their careers w/ ease & thrive in their impact. The BLIVE movement is also continuously holding events around entrepreneurism & humanitarian matters to help contribute to the overall mission BLIVE holds.

Written by: Nikole Haumont, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Are you finding yourself on Facebook less and less? You are not the only one. In order to combat “Facebook Fatigue” as business owners and professionals we need to step up our marketing game. As business owners, we’ve all felt it. That nagging feeling that all the time, work and effort we are putting into our Facebook posts, ads, etc. is not giving us the return that we’d hoped for, or maybe it’s that we feel as if we aren’t fully sure what we are doing. Either way, sales don’t seem to be improving, followers are at a stand still and interaction is low. We think “maybe this isn’t worth it” and start contemplating just scrapping the effort all together and trying something else. But in the age of social media, there honestly couldn’t be a worse idea. Enter: Omni-channel marketing with the help from an expert. Omnichannel marketing is the smooth integration of branding, messaging, along with online and offline touchpoints as consumers move down the sales channel, creating a more impactful customer experience. Omnichannel marketing takes a consumer-focused viewpoint of marketing methods. Consumers can now interact with brands on innumerable channels, from social media to customer service hotlines. An omnichannel approach ensures that the consumer has a positive, consistent experience on each channel, by offering a few key elements: Consistent, identifiable brand voice Personalized messaging Content that is informed If that all sounds intimidating, don’t worry. We’re going to lay out the top marketing touchpoints we feel make the most difference with customers and clients today and will help you understand how to best incorporate them into your business and overall brand. 1. Social Media Social media is every marketer’s dream come true, and as a business owner, it should be yours, too. It offers completely free access to a boundless audience of consumers. Social media allows you to create brand awareness, generate website traffic, allows you to better understand your customers, keeps you ahead of competition and most importantly, helps you sell your goods or services. The key to being successful with social media is being consistent in your posting and in your content. Stay true to your brand and show that vast audience of consumers just why you are so special and why they should buy your product. Your page needs to have consistent content on it, at least one time per week. Savvy consumers research the companies they are interested in doing business with and if your social media is out of date, they will assume you are no longer in business. 2. Email Marketing There are many reasons why email marketing is such a great and important tool to use. Other than it being affordable, one of the top reasons is staying engaged with your customer base. Emails have the ability to keep them informed, in a way that feels personal to them. Consumers check their email at their leisure, when they see an email from you, it can give them a feeling that you were thinking of them. These emails can range anywhere from a simple “Hey, here’s a special offer for being a valued customer,” to sharing upcoming events, coming soon products, or even just a general update of what your business has been up to. 3. SMS/Text Message Marketing Text message marketing is the most prompt marketing channel available. SMS Comparison found that 98% of text messages are opened and read, and that most are read within three minutes of delivery. The benefits of this marketing tactic are plenty, including high deliverability and significant customer engagement. Using a combination of SMS and email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your customer base. Plus, just like email marketing, a customer can unsubscribe at any time. 4. Website Promotion Having a sleek, well-rounded website is probably one of the most, if not THE most important tool in your marketing toolbox in this day and age. Not only does it build credibility with consumers, having online presence, regardless of the industry you’re in, has an incredible impact on success. Seriously, it can make or break for generating more revenue for your business. On top of that, it is a great way to showcase your brand to prospective customers, generate leads, and, with an SEO-optimized website, you have the ability to show up in Google searches, generating organic traffic. 5. Lead Magnets So we’ve all heard of websites and emails, but what is a lead magnet? Well, it is an appropriately named marketing tool as it describes a free product or service in exchange for contact information, AKA, a great way to promote your business AND grow your email list and SMS marketing lists. In short, lead magnets have the ability to generate sales leads and can come in the form of many things, such as a complimentary consultation, a document with valuable information, a free trial and more. The key is to offer value to the customer, provide instant gratification and be easy to consume. People are more wary than ever about giving out their personal information, so in order to capture their contact info, the lead magnet must have value. To sum it up, an omnichannel marketing strategy allows businesses to meet customers where they are at, with the right message at the right time. Honestly, it is the strategy that all businesses, big or small, should deploy for optimal results. While it can be intimidating, rest assured there are many experts out there that can help you create and implement an omnichannel marketing strategy that fits your business. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin or visit my website for more info! Read more from Nikole! Nikole Haumont, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Nikole Haumont founded Shield Bar Marketing in 2013 after selling her equine magazine and working for GoDaddy. Nikole and her team of highly skilled contractors, combine their expertise to provide the best possible resources for the micro businesses and solopreneurs they choose to serve. The Shield Bar crew works on websites, SEO, social media, logo & graphic design and email marketing. Providing consistency and professionalism for their clients, online and offline, is at the core of what they do. Nikole also co-founded the Advantage Alliance Referral Networking group; and is the marketing subject matter expert for both the Town of Sahuarita, Arizona, U.S. and the Green Valley Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce.

Written by: Janifer Wheeler, Senior Level Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. I’m sure you are familiar with the traditional approach to setting goals and New Year’s Resolutions. You decide something about your life or business sucks and needs improvement, so you plan to change and then go full steam ahead to pursue that goal. The problem? It doesn’t always work. Your motivation peters out. You procrastinate. Unexpected shit happens. You get distracted. Your attention turns to something else, and that life-changing resolution is out the fucking window. Now you feel shitty and berate yourself for having no willpower. What if there was to end this soul-sucking annual cycle? One that didn’t involve the stress of goal-setting could help you move forward and achieve tremendous success. Enter “intentions.” (Do you hear angels singing, too? AHHHHHH) Intentions are way better than goals or resolutions because they give you permission to be flexible and adaptable Toss those fucking New Year’s resolutions in the trash. Intentions are where it’s at! Setting intentions for the year is a much more purposeful, meaningful way to ensure you create the life and work you want. Let me explain why intentions beat goals and resolutions asses any day of the week. The Difference Between Intentions, Goals, and Resolutions When setting up our lives for success, there are three primary ways people go about it: through intentions, goals, or resolutions. Let’s first define these terms to understand why intentions are better than goals or resolutions. Intentions are a call to action that comes from your heart instead of your head. They are a combination of how you want to FEEL during this upcoming year and WHY you want to feel that way, supported by actions that will create the feelings and results you are looking for. They don’t require external validation—you can check in with yourself throughout the year to ensure you’re on track and stay motivated with no one else involved (unlike resolutions). Goals are on end results—something specific that you want to achieve by a certain date. Goals can be short-term (by the end of the quarter), mid-term (by summertime), or long-term (by next year). They often require external validation—you may need someone else to give you feedback to keep going—and they don’t always account for how you feel when achieving them. Resolutions are kind of like mini-goals, but they come at a specific time—the start of the new year—and they often focus on something we want less of rather than more of (like “I resolve not to eat fast food this year”). Like goals, they often require external validation and don’t always consider how we feel when achieving them. Goals are too rigid – Didn’t We Give up Corsets & Girdles? When it comes to achieving success, the traditional approach of setting a goal and then working hard to achieve it can be too rigid and inflexible, just like a bad body shaper or an underwire bra. Life happens, and sometimes, those well-laid plans don’t pan out. This can set you up for disappointment and frustration when you don’t meet your expectations—or worse, you give up altogether! With intentions, on the other hand, there is no pressure to stick to a specific plan or timeline. Instead of feeling like you have to follow through on something just because it was written down months ago, intentions allow you to consider your life when deciding how best to move forward. You can adjust as needed without feeling guilty or like you somehow failed. Intentions Embrace Possibility – Yes, You can be a JOYFull BadAss in 2023! The best part about setting intentions instead of goals is that it opens up possibilities instead of closing them off. When you set an intention, you create space for your creativity and intuition to come into play—and who knows what amazing things can happen when those forces combine! By being open-minded and allowing yourself the freedom to explore different options, you may find solutions that would never have been possible if you had stuck with your original plan. Intentions Invite Action – You will get off your Ass and Get Some Shit Done! Setting intentions encourages action rather than stagnation or paralysis by over-analysis. For example, I used to set resolutions each year like: Lose 5 pounds in 12 weeks by walking daily for 30 minutes and eating only clean foods. I resolve to join the gym and work out for 1 hour each day. I will only drink water. Sound familiar? Yeah. I never stuck to that shit. By Day 2, I’m drinking wine all day, munching on Doritos, and binge-watching The Crown. However, when I think about WHY I want to focus on my health, what I want as the end result, and how I want to feel, I can reframe it as an intention. At 52, I want my health to be more of a priority so that I can continue to age gracefully and enjoy life. I intend to incorporate more movement into my daily routine through walking, dancing, yoga, and lightweight lifting. Even though I am exercise-resistant (aka a lazy couch spud), I want to stay active and not wind up like an old lady who can’t wipe her ass. I intend to maintain a moderate diet, paying attention to what I eat and drink while also enjoying myself. I intend to take my daily supplements and not stress out if I have a donut or a piece of fried chicken. If I go one step further and write this down on paper and post it around my house, I WILL create a system to achieve the results I want without much guilt or bullshit. Intentions invite us back into ourselves, so we stay engaged with our desires, dreams, and JOY —which means taking action becomes second nature! Screw Your Resolutions – Intentions are WAY Better! Intentions are way better than either goals or resolutions when it comes to making sure 2023 rocks! Unlike goals, there’s no timeline attached; instead, it’s all about feeling into what you need throughout the entire year. And unlike resolutions that focus on what you DON’T want in your life, intentions focus on what you DO want more of in your lives—which is way more motivating! Intentions don’t require external validation, so if things change during 2023 (as you know they will), that’s totally cool because you can adjust your intention accordingly. Ready? Set…Intentions! Switching from resolutions and goals to intentions may sound complicated or weird, but it doesn’t have to be. Basically, you think of something you want to change, improve, explore, or experience. Setting an intention for 2023 is an incredibly powerful tool that will keep you motivated and inspired no matter what unexpected shit life throws. So instead of stressing out over unrealistic goals or trying not to do some BS again (good luck with THAT, by the way!), try setting some simple yet powerful intentions for 2023 instead! You’ll thank yourself later 😉 Intentions are an empowering tool for anyone looking to make changes in their lives or businesses, whether small (like creating a new habit) or big (like launching a new business venture). They help us stay connected with ourselves while also giving us permission to be flexible as needed along the journey toward JOY and BADASSERY! So take some time today to think about what kind of intentions you want to set for yourself this year; I promise it will be worth it! Stay tuned for our next BLOG when you SUPPORT YOUR 2023 INTENTIONS WITH SYSTEMS for SUCCESS! If you need help or support or want to hang out virtually with other BadAss Women doing cool shit in the world, join our Friday 411! Let’s do this sh*t together! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Janifer! Janifer Wheeler, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine After retiring from teaching, Janifer Wheeler realized she had a bigger calling. She now brings her 20+ years of experience in education to the production industry to help entrepreneurs and teams find the proverbial work-life balance by following her JOYfully method. She’s also founded The JOYFully BadAss Academy, where they teach people how not only to do more but enjoy every minute of their workday — without taking any excuses or guilt home with them either (we know what it’s like). Give me 30 days, and you won’t regret it! Click here to learn more.

Written by: Marissa Hughes , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. This harmful ingredient in RoundUp weed killer, called Glyphosate, may be the link to figuring out why you are having seemingly mysterious health issues. With so much conflicting information out there about health, it is difficult to find answers to what may be causing the physical, emotional, or mental health symptoms you are experiencing. A quick Google search of your symptoms may come up with millions of different articles suggesting millions of different reasons why you would experience bloating, bowel issues, brain fog, fatigue, rashes, autoimmune disease, or insomnia. While many people are doing ‘all the right things’, they are still experiencing many of these symptoms and are looking for answers. If you are eating healthy, exercising, and drinking water, there must be a hidden reason for still having these health issues. Glyphosate, the main ingredient in RoundUp, is heavily sprayed on the majority of the foods Americans are eating today and is causing health issues, such as celiac disease, in many adults and children alike. Its rise in utilization, beginning in 1974, directly correlates with the rise of many health issues plaguing our country today. The highest amounts of this harmful chemical are found in wheat, corn, soy, and oats, with Honey Nut Cheerios being the worst offender at 833 parts per billion. Other popular foods tested high were many brands of bread, cereal bars, baby food, crackers, wine, and some organic products. While Bayer, who owns RoundUp, says it is a “safe and efficient weed control tool”, studies show otherwise. Taking measures to reduce glyphosate intake can positively impact your health in so many ways. Here are the 3 main reasons why glyphosate may be causing your mysterious health symptoms. 1. It kills your good gut bacteria Glyphosate works by inhibiting the shikimate pathway , a metabolic pathway found only in plants and bacteria. This is why it has been deemed ‘safe’ by the FDA, as humans do not use this pathway, but our gut bugs do. Glyphosate acts as an antibiotic, killing off our beneficial bacteria, allowing the pathogenic bacteria to overgrow, increasing inflammation, reducing the production of vitamins in the gut, and negatively affecting how we digest our food. “Gastrointestinal issues (such as IBS) and inflammatory conditions have been speculated to arise from gut dysbiosis resulting from glyphosate exposure via the foodstuffs frequently included in a Western diet” 2. It may cause intestinal hyperpermeability ‒ aka leaky gut syndrome Leaky gut syndrome happens when the very delicate lining of the intestines gets damaged over time. We need our gut lining to be just permeable enough to absorb nutrients from our food, but when it becomes too permeable, that’s when we stop absorbing nutrients properly, and toxins and pathogens are allowed to enter the body, causing all kinds of issues. By killing our first line of defense in our guts (our good bacteria), our probability of leaky gut rises. Signs of leaky gut include a range of symptoms from bowel issues to skin issues to autoimmunity. 3. It is known as a “probable carcinogen” In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic" in humans. A study from the University of Washington suggests that glyphosate increases the risk of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma by 41%. Bayer has been forced to pay out 10 billion dollars over tens of thousands of lawsuits claiming that this ingredient causes cancer. So, now that we know why we should try and avoid this dangerous chemical, how do we do this? Purchasing as many organic foods as possible will help you reduce your intake of glyphosate as it is not supposed to be used in organic farming. Even this does not bring your chances of ingestion down to zero, as neighboring farms using the product can leak it through the air and the water. Another way to avoid glyphosate is to avoid the most heavily sprayed crops- soy, corn, oats, and wheat. Most of these crops are genetically modified to be “glyphosate-resistant” and will contribute to the health issues mentioned above. There are not many ways to detox glyphosate. Only one supplement has been proven to actually begin to eliminate this harmful ingredient from the body, reducing 74% of glyphosate from the body in just 6 weeks. Doing this on top of a mostly organic diet is the best way to protect yourself from the harmful effects of this toxin. Seeing as 87% of children tested positive for glyphosate in their urine, this is becoming an epidemic that can’t be ignored. Protecting yourself and your children from this toxin is vitally important for gut health and overall health! Click here to download my helpful free guide – 3 Ways To Give Your Gut A "Probiotic Makeover " So You Can Live Life Without Worrying About Digestive Distress. It also includes a gut-loving sample 3-day meal plan. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Marissa! Marissa Hughes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marissa is a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach, specializing in Digestive Health. She had been down a very long health journey of her own before deciding to take matters into her own hands and is now dedicated to helping other women feel as good as she does every day. She gets to the root cause of her client's gut issues by using a microbiome testing process, so each client receives a totally personalized plan, based on their individual results. She uses a combination of specific foods, supplements, stress management, detoxification and Pilates in her online program, The Happy Belly Method.

The beginning of each new year is an exciting time for everyone. It's a time for renewal, a time to start anew, and a time to reflect on the past while planning for the future, as officials with ARC (Association of Related Churches) say. To kick off 2023, ARC church leaders and pastors worldwide will join together to participate in the 21 Days of Prayer. While prayer is always an important part of life, the 21 Days of Prayer is an intentional time where participants seek God in prayer and believe for Him to move in powerful ways. Below is a further description of 21 Days of Prayer and how ARC churches offer ways to participate. What is 21 Days of Prayer? The idea of 21 Days of Prayer, which is held twice a year in January and August, is to set aside three weeks at the start of the year and in late summer as we begin to enter the busy "stretch run" of the year and intentionally seek God in prayer. During 21 Days of Prayer, participants may gather for a prayer experience that lasts one hour. It includes time for worship, personal prayer, and corporate prayer. In 2023, the 21 Days of Prayer will be held from January 8 through January 28. How You Can Participate with ARC Churches The 21 Days of Prayer is an opportunity to cultivate prayer into one's lifestyle. According to ARC, church leaders and attendees can develop their prayer habits during this time by picking a certain time, a certain place, and a certain plan for how to pray. In addition to the Lord's Prayer, there are many types of prayers, such as the Tabernacle Prayer and the Prayer of Jabez. Alternating between different prayers can create variations in prayer habits. Church of the Highlands has made it easy for any ARC church to participate in the 21 Days of Prayer, regardless of where they are located. The church provides resources such as graphic design and electronic files such as Pray First Prayer Journal, a Kids Prayer Journal, Connection Cards, and Targets for God's Blessing. The files allow ARC churches to edit the resources so they can personalize them with their own name and logo. This makes the process more familiar to church members, which incentivizes them to participate. This is all made possible by the lead pastor of the Church of the Highlands, Chris Hodges, who serves on the ARC lead team. In fact, he was one of the founders of ARC (Association of Related Churches) and is one of the organization's first two church plants from back in 2001. Where an ARC Church Can Find Resources Any ARC church can find resources for 21 Days of Prayer at the Church of the Highlands' website. There, the church provides a link to download the Pray First App, inside which you can access guided prayer plans, create a personal prayer list and even listen to exclusive Highlands Worship albums. On the website, you can also download all resources related to 21 Days of Prayer, including Prayer Guides and information about Fasting and Prayer. ARC (Association of Related Churches) is excited to once again participate in 21 Days of Prayer and urges all ARC churches to participate as well. About ARC (Association of Related Churches) ARC (Association of Related Churches) is a cooperative of independent churches from different denominations, networks, and backgrounds who strategically resource church planters and pastors to help them reach people with the message of Jesus. ARC exists to see a thriving church in every community, reaching people with the message of Jesus. Since its beginning in 2001, ARC has grown into a global organization and has helped plant more than 1,000 churches.

Founder of Beauty&Cutie, Anna Misztela recognized for being crowned Mrs. Poland USA in 2017 and Mrs. Poland World in 2018, Anna is no rookie regarding the value of looking and feeling your best. However, while so many people saw Anna in the spotlight, what they didn't see was the struggle masked behind the makeup, hair extensions, and failed cosmetic products. Anna became eager to unveil the root causes of such adversities instead of settling with band-aid fixes. To pursue this initiative, Anna attained a Nutrition Science Certification as well as became a Board Certified Aesthetician to approach this initiative through a science-backed lens. After extensive research and experimentation, Anna's studies led to a deep connection between beauty and health, and the birth of Beauty&Cutie vitamins. To date, Beauty&Cutie vitamins have quickly become a rising staple for sustainable health and natural appeal. Even more, have unprecedentedly redefined the core meaning behind the phrase, “true beauty lies on the inside.” Anna Misztela, Founder of Beauty & Cutie Vitamins What inspired the creation of Beauty&Cutie vitamins? What made you pursue this? For far too long, I struggled with thinning hair, bad skin, and weak nails and felt the need to constantly hide my appearance by wearing heavy makeup and relying on hair extensions. I tried every possible product I could get my hands on in an effort to improve my look, but nothing seemed to work long-term. This frustration drove me to study nutrition and research the beauty industry. During this period of learning, I was able to experiment more with ingredients that had the potential to restore issues from within. Much to my surprise, not only did these nutritional concoctions work on me, but also on numerous friends who were looking for similar solutions as I was. After witnessing these excellent results firsthand, I decided it was time to spread the word so that other women could benefit from it. Because if there’s one thing for sure, everyone deserves a resource that actually works and one that allows them to wake up in the morning feeling empowered, healthy, confident, and unapologetically themselves. Can Beauty&Cutie vitamins transform anyone's hair, skin, and nails? How does it work exactly? First off, the answer is yes! Beauty&Cutie vitamins can transform anyone’s hair, skin, and nails since it is comprised of compounds that can benefit anyone in conjunction with a healthy diet. To answer how it works means diving deep into the comprehensive formula. The capsules are made with non-GMO ingredients that contain key vitamins, minerals and amino acids that support healthy hair, skin, and nails, which, if taken consistently, will make a visible difference. To experience optimal effects, you should take 2 capsules a day for 3 months or longer and keep them in the fridge once opened. And let's not forget diet – you’ve got to put the right nutrition in your body in the form of wholesome foods if you want to see big changes. The combination of vitamins and a good diet is what will give you the best results. For some extra support on that aspect, feel free to check out my free eBook featuring all my favorite tips and recipes! What is the best way to stick to a healthy lifestyle? How do you stay motivated? Sticking to a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to feel like a chore. Start small and simple. For example, include healthy fats in your everyday diet, such as avocado. This will help keep you fuller longer. Healthy fats also help absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are very important for your health and beauty. Remember, regular incremental steps can add to significant progress over time. And before you know it, those little changes will eventually become habits allowing you to ease into your new routine with barely any effort. Once these seemingly small changes start adding up and people begin seeing the results too, that's usually the best motivation to keep moving forward. What other insider tips do you have for people who want to improve their health and beauty? Making the right dietary choices is the most important factor for achieving optimal health ‒ both inside and out. This means eating a balanced diet full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, which are essential for your health and vitality. Additionally, take the time to read labels when grocery shopping and avoid anything with artificial colors, flavors, and seed oils ‒ this will reduce your exposure to potentially toxic ingredients that hinder progress rather than help it. When it comes to personal care cosmetics, opt for fragrance-free products, especially if you have sensitive skin. The reason is because fragranced skin care products are the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, also referred to as ACD. Another great way to improve your beauty routine is by utilizing natural products like coconut oil which works great on damaged and dry hair. Finally, if you're looking for greater long-term effects, consider investing in water filters for your home. Yes, your water quality can significantly help to improve your health and the appearance of your hair, skin, and nails. These may be small changes, but they sure do instill large impacts in the long run. What are the plans for Beauty&Cutie in the future? As the founder of Beauty&Cutie who has been through the immediate struggle, I'm extremely passionate about creating products that benefit women's health and appearance. Being able to use my research and inspire women to become aware of what to do in order to look and feel better is the very roots of what Beauty&Cutie stands for. This is why the future of Beauty&Cutie is projected to feature a full collection of products designed to accentuate hair, skin, and nails from the inside out. In fact, we are currently working on new innovative products that are expected to be available on our website later this year! All in all, Beauty&Cutie's long-term goal is to continue bridging the worlds of beauty and health, inspire new levels of adorning confidence, and of course, prove that looking and feeling your best does not have to be an uphill battle. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or visit my website for more info! Read more from Anna!

Dr. Annika Sorensen is a Medical Doctor, Stress Management Mentor, Author and International Speaker on topics revolving around the successes brought by less stress including financial and business success. She specializes in health and stress strategies and has a solid background in Swedish Public Health Care for 30 years. With profound personal, clinical and scientific knowledge about the subject of stress, she made it twice to TEDx. She is officially certified by The Big Talk Academy Today Dr. Annika is Helping Stressed out Business Leaders slow down, reflect, feel less stress, and then ramp up and get more done and create bigger success without having to work harder. She does it through speaking, workshops. Annika Sörensen, MD, Stress Strategist & Calm Creator Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better. I always wanted to study medicine, but my high school grades were not good enough. I did not let that stop me. I found alternative paths. At that time, you could apply in different categories. One was taking a special test and working for 4 years. So, I became a laboratory technician, worked as such for 4 years, and took the special test twice a year until I was 29 years old. Then I was admitted to medical school – I used resilience and some stubbornness to get there. During those 4 years, I also trained to be professional Hand-Weaver weaving tablecloths, blankets, curtains, rag rugs, and more. I sold my products or gifted people with them. Textile work has been a favorite since I was a small girl. I always loved knitting, sewing, crocheting, and alike. I sewed most of my clothes myself during my teenage years. I also sewed many of my girls’ clothes from the material of old worn-out garments when they were young. It is so calming to feel the material in your hands and see the physical result of what you do. It is a kind of mindfulness. You can even do things from worn-out textile materials like beautiful rag rugs. After the exam, I worked as a doctor and gave birth to our 3 girls, who today are beautiful, independent young ladies. I became a specialist in primary care and later also in clinical chemistry. Life was work, work, and more work. It was also caring for the family and our girls until around 15 years ago when the stress wall came close. That made me take a course in stress management – just to save myself. That was when I realized this is what I need to work with, helping people to not become patients from stress and lifestyle. It became so obvious that illness often comes from how we live, and it also became obvious that we have all the solutions in ourselves – we don’t need to buy all this stuff. We just need to learn how biology works and listen inwards to how we feel. So, at the age of 55, I started my business. It has been ups and downs, including bankruptcy, but I don’t regret ever that I took this path. I have had some good, fun, and prosperous years. I am now at that age where you are called retired, but I have never understood what that word means. Do nothing??? That is not me. I plan to live until at least 100 years of age, and I plan to be healthy and active all the way. Of course, I can maybe slow down later and become pickier about what assignments to take on, blink, blink! What is your business name and how do you help your clients? My business name is today AskDrAnnika. I changed from my original Swedish business name about 10 years ago when I decided to go from Swedish to English as my primary marketing language. Stress is a global problem and I want to do good globally. Today I help busy Business Executives slow down, reflect, feel less stress, and then ramp up and get more done and create bigger success without having to work harder. I do the work through speaking, workshops, my online course, and of course personal mentoring. What is your work inspired by? It inspires me to keep on doing this work with the stressed-out bosses every time I see someone “get it”. That is when I see and hear that what they have done is affecting them in a positive way. And it sends ripples from there. Ripples in their business organization but also to their families and friends. Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today. Everything in our ongoing life affects us. Sometimes you don’t see the true impact of that until much later. Around 15 years ago I was heading for the stress wall and that made me start on a journey inward. That was when I for the first time acknowledged and realized how much an extremely stressful situation had affected me, at the time when I took my medical exam. Within one week I lost both my brother and our firstborn baby. Both died from severe illnesses totally independent of each other. Now in the retrospective, I can see how much this formed me both as a human and as the doctor I became. I can also see why it fascinates me to work with mindset and lifestyle because of the lessons I learned to be able to come back to a normal life after that hard blow in my face. What kind of audience do you target your business towards? One group of patients that always stuck out in the health care clinic was the business leaders. They are not the most frequent patients but at an early stage in my career as a doctor I noticed that these people, both men, and women, came with factual symptoms and questions, they wanted things to be fast because they did not have time to care for themselves. They had more important things to care for like, employees, buyers, the economy, suppliers, machines, you name it. They take care of everything but themselves. When I scratched the surface a bit, they were all very stressed out. But as a leader you don’t feel it is okay to talk about stress, that is seen as a weakness and a no-no to mention. And still, it is just a normal reaction when you reach your capacity. When I started my business, I realized that this is my favorite group of people to help. They want quick results and are most often open to new ideas if you can prove this will give a good end result in the business. Giving them a safe space to be in they can relax and go from stress to calm in their leadership, leading to more efficiency, happier employees, and in the end more profit. It is such a win-win for everyone involved. If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? The Stress Management business today is swamped with quick fixes. Gadgets, Apps, “methods”, courses, and so on, all focus on doing things outside of you and as quickly as possible. As I mentioned above, I realized during my journey through life that working with stress is not about all the things, it is all about inside work, our mindset, and how we care for ourselves. That is what we need to work with to get less stress – our mindset. The challenge is that mindset work is not a quick fix since the stress system is part of our natural biology. We must care for this our entire life until the day we die. We need long-term solutions and more preventive work and that is not where the quick money is and therefore harder to sell – but these are the only products we really need. What are your current goals for your business? My goal for the rest of my career is to help hundreds of busy Business Executives find some peace and calm in their passion and find their best leadership and by that help thousands of people through their ripples. And I plan to be active in the field as long as I can breathe myself! You can read more about what I do at www.askdrannika.com – feel free to reach out Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or visit my website for more info! Read more from Annika!

Written by: Jon Gottsegen, Guest Writer People say just choose to be happy...or grateful...or yadda, yadda (enter your positive emotion here). No doubt how you respond to situations is a choice, but it is not as easy as this advice would make it seem. There is some work, or more accurately some intentionality, involved. It’s a practice. We have to exercise our gratitude muscles to make them responsive and resilient. Much has been written on gratitude, and there is a body of psychological research into it, so I am just touching the surface here. First, what are we talking about? Brene Brown calls gratitude an “emotion that reflects our deep appreciation for what we value, what brings meaning to our lives, and what makes us feel connected to ourselves and others.” Robert Emmons, a leader in gratitude research, says it begins with affirming the good and recognizing its sources. It involves the recognition that the good in our lives is a gift. We are not entitled to anything. Robin Wall Kimmerer also talks about recognizing the bounty we receive from the Earth as gifts. We should not take a berry from a plant without acknowledging the plant and Earth who provide it. Imagine how we would treat the Earth if we approached her with gratitude rather than entitlement. Which leads us to…why is gratitude important? Gratitude has been shown to bring psychological, physiological, social and spiritual benefits. It is also related to a constellation of other positive emotions including joy, self-esteem, motivation, social connection, and generosity or service. I like how Emmons puts it; we become greater participants in our lives rather than spectators, or as Kimmerer says about listening to the Thanksgiving Address of the Onondaga Nation School, you can’t help feeling wealthy. Gratitude promotes a feeling of abundance, which serves as an antidote to the feeling of scarcity, the “hungry ghost” energy, that drives consumerism. It inspires people to return service, to pay it back…and forward. Most faith traditions esteem gratitude as a highly important value. In my tradition of birth, Judaism, we are instructed that our first words in the morning should be ones of gratitude. Saying a blessing before a meal or when seeing a sight that inspires wonder, or even when going to the bathroom, is an expression of gratitude, gratitude for the chain of being that created the natural materials and even for the supply chain that brought food to our table. So, gratitude is good for the soul. It is good for the Earth. It is good for society, and it is good for our well-being, now what? Jewish tradition says we should say 100 blessings a day. Can we just choose an attitude of gratitude? It is a simple concept but not easy to do, especially with the constant messages we receive from media and other distractions in the world today. There are many gratitude journals for sale that suggest taking time each day writing down the things for which one is grateful. This is effective, and writing is more concrete than just thinking about these things, but Emmons cautions against taking on another obligation that feels like a burden. There are many useful suggestions out there about “doing” gratitude. Here are some pointers from my perspective about cultivating the attitude. First, gratitude should not be rote or a throw-away. Take a moment, breathe, and let yourself feel what you are grateful for. Breathe it into your kishkes, Yiddish for your guts or belly. But what if you are just not feeling it? Second, see if you can find one thing. Maybe your coffee is nice and hot this morning. Think of all that had to happen for that to come about. Let yourself feel some wonder for the way the Juncos (or choose your bird) seem to flock to the bird feeder or the crows converse. Perhaps you can invoke a memory of a time or event that was impactful or particularly enjoyable. Third, if you don’t write gratitude in a journal, a close relative is saying your gratitude out loud. You get to hear it, which involves different processing centers in the brain and also brings it alive. It may even surprise you. If you are spiritually inclined, the Universe gets to hear it too. Fourth, you can use technology. The day can get away from us, with its obligations and responsibilities. I have set reminders on my phone to stop and express gratitude. Sometimes it feels forced, but it develops an awareness and then a habit. The important part here is stopping what I am doing to take the moment (see the first point). I may also get up from my desk to move a little bit, look out the window, and change my perspective. Fifth, be gentle with yourself. We’re all human. That is, we are imperfect, and, frankly, wounded. Sometimes we forget, sometimes we are just not in the mood or life events are overwhelming us. Just acknowledge that and allow yourself the opportunity to act with gratitude in the future. Even remembering that you forgot is a step in the right direction. Sixth, enjoy it! From a spiritual perspective, practices that enhance our connection to ourselves, the world, and the Divine enhance our joy, and, according to Psalms, should be done in joy. See if you can put a little smile on your face when you express gratitude. Last, allow some gratitude for yourself. You can even be grateful for remembering to be grateful! This helps you feel good about it and reinforces the habit. Eventually we want to turn gratitude from a temporary emotion or state to a trait. If it is a trait, you are more inclined to feeling states of gratitude which also reinforce the trait, so it is a virtuous cycle. Of course, this takes a little time and attention. Happy gratitude-ing, and in line with this article, Thank you for reading! Get in touch with me here: https://www.jonspiritualdirectioncolo.com and https://www.earth-yearning.com. Or email me at jongottsegen@gmail.com for more info! Jon Gottsegen, Brainz Magazine Guest Writer Jon Gottsegen is a Spiritual Director and Nature Connection/Forest Bathing Guide. He loves accompanying people as they explore the depths of their souls and their connections to Spirit and pointing out the places of Mystery and discernment in this process. You can see more about his work at https://www.jonspiritualdirectioncolo.com and https://www.earth-yearning.com.