Written by: Maria Tecce, 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. Practicing and preparing for presentations and speeches can be a daunting task. Why? Because most of the time you don’t know where to start. That’s where ‘purposeful practice’ comes in. This one preparation skill can help you not only maximize your practice time but also feel more empowered and prepared at the end of it. Here are 4 ways purposeful practice can turbocharge your prep time and help you feel more prepared, confident, and ready to nail that presentation. 1 Purposeful Practice Gives You A Clear Plan Of Action Matthew Syed, author of the book ‘Bounce’, is an Olympic table tennis champion who introduced the concept of ‘purposeful practice’. This concept is about being 100% conscious of what you’re doing and why, and having a clear plan of action, and executing it with velocity. Olympic athletes are scrupulous when it comes to how they prepare for events. They have a team around them that put a very clear plan of action into place so the athlete can focus on practicing with complete focus. High achievers use purposeful practice when preparing for a speech or presentation. When you have a clear plan with specific, executable steps, you are much more likely to actually practice. If you don’t have a plan in place, then the odds of you procrastinating and putting off practicing is much higher. And if you don’t practice, the odds of you putting in a bad performance are much higher. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail. Get a clear plan of action and the odds of you succeeding and putting in a performance you’re proud of are much higher. 2 Purposeful Practice Means Focus On One Skill At A Time Purposeful practice cuts out the chatter that overwhelms you sometimes feel when you think of the huge task of practicing. There are so many physical and vocal skills you know you should be looking at, ie. vocal delivery, using your hands, breathing, crafting your story, slowing down… It can feel like a lot. So instead of trying to take one huge bite of the pie all at once, break up your practice into small, digestible chunks. For instance, take your three top takeaway skills when it comes to your delivery and practice each one separately, one at a time. It could be slowing down, using your hands, and eye contact. When you take each skill in turn, you allow your brain to focus on just one task at a time. You will get much more value out of each skill than if you try to practice them all at once. 3 Take Breaks In Order To Get The Most Out Of Your Practice Your brain takes in millions of pieces of information every day. It’s always filtering what you should pay attention to in order to be economic with its energy. Part of purposeful practice is preparing with specificity and also knowing when to stop. Your brain needs time to let the information you just gave it settle and sink in. The days of pushing yourself to doggedly study and prepare for hours and hours without a break are well and truly gone. Your brain works much more efficiently when it takes in manageable chunks of information instead of long streams of information. So make sure you factor in rest time and taking breaks when you prepare and practice. Focus on one skill, practice it for an hour or so, film yourself, watch it back. And then take a break. You will gain more value from your practice time. 4 Get Coaching And Specific Feedback When Your Prepare When you are left to your own devices, you are much more likely not to implement a clear plan of purposeful practice. However, if you have a coach to hold you accountable, you will turbocharge your practice time. It’s well documented that accountability is one of the key factors in getting results from building your business and achieving your goals. When you know that another pair of eyes are upon you, you will not try to get away with just doing the bare minimum. At the end of the day, you want to get more bang for your buck when it comes to preparation and practice. So do it with purpose and clarity and you’ll be crushing your presentations in no time. Want to know more and get private coaching from me? Book a free call with me HERE and let’s get you smashing out those presentations and turning in stunning performances! Want to learn more from Maria? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Read more from Maria! Maria Tecce, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Maria Tecce is a leader in public speaking & voice and speech coaching. After making her living as a professional actor and singer for 20 years, Maria began coaching business professionals and performers a decade ago in the same skills that professional performers use every day. C-Suite and Senior Executives work with her when they want to up their game and show up as powerful, confident, passionate, joyful speakers in their businesses and for the people around them. Her clients include Google, Diageo, Ulster Bank, Bank Of Ireland, Ericsson, KPMG, Smurfit Business School, Johnson & Johnson, Salesforce, and Virgin Media. Maria is dedicated to helping powerful men and women take ownership of their confidence, authentic voice, and joy as speakers and communicators. Her mission states, "Own your voice, own your story, own your space."

Written by: Talsi, 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 spent the better part of my life trying to fit in and conform- to ideals, to opinions, to expectations. It was important that I got good grades and went into a respectable profession – ultimately, it was decided - that was Law. It was also extremely important to be popular, to please, and for everyone to like me. I spent most of my early life crippled with anxiety over what ppl thought of me. I was a highly self-conscious teenager and young adult, which (I think) I masked well. In fact, I was very social and ran in all different circles. I found I was highly adept to wearing many different hats! I could fit in well in almost any setting and be very agreeable, becoming whatever the person or occasion called for. This applied in my family life, my friendships, work, and in my relationships. The trouble was, that despite these best (and rather exhausting) efforts, I hit major roadblocks - boyfriends left, certain friendships became strained, I never felt that my family entirely approved, I was always suffering from performance anxiety in my work. When I hit a roadblock, I assumed my flaws were to blame. Surely if I were more ‘perfect’, it wouldn’t be this way. But perfectionism is quite the paradox. The more we strive for it, the more remote and obscure the ideal becomes. The goal post just keeps moving! I experienced ongoing stress and despair over ‘falling short’- the psyche can only take so much perceived ‘failure’! From quite an early age onwards, I adopted dysfunctional and escapist patterns - disordered eating, negative thinking, a string of codependent relationships (including an extremely emotionally abusive one), and addictive behaviors. Basically, when I wasn’t playing the role of the daughter, the bubbly fun girl, the happy coworker, or the girlfriend, I was numbing, distracting or punishing myself. And as the roadblocks kept on coming, the cycles kept repeating. It wasn’t conscious - the ego was in the driver’s seat. Everything in my world seemed to confirm all that I thought to be true - I was not enough, I had to do better, be better. To please, I found myself giving in and going along all the time, and I would rarely speak up - I wouldn’t want to rock the boat, or to give anyone a reason to dislike or abandon me. I felt out of control and powerless, and I found myself silently blaming others, and ‘life’ for my powerlessness. I felt more and more lost, alone, exhausted, and disillusioned. I couldn’t really understand why, though! Over the years, I kept switching up my relationships, jobs, exercise routines, I ticked off higher, more prestigious qualifications, and I moved countries… The roadblocks and the discontent always followed me. And then one day- I crashed and burned. I was in Los Angeles, living what would appear to some to be the ‘high life’. Then I found myself suddenly with almost no money and a failed business created, in my long term, albeit unhappy relationship. The relationship broke down completely as did connections with many people who were staples in my life at that point. In the world of tarot, we call this the Tower moment- or for a better term (and what I’d soon come to understand), divine intervention. As everything crumbled around me, I was left in a state of complete panic, shame, and fear. A monumental roadblock and failure! Seemingly, I had lost everything! What would I do, where would I go? But then, amidst the debris, I had the most profound epiphany of my life. Stripped of everything – it all became crystal clear. I realized that what I had in fact lost, over all those years, with all those disappointments– was actually ME. All the pain, emptiness, and restlessness I had been feeling was not attributable to anything that had been won or lost. And it was not something that would be fixed then, with more money, a new job, a new boyfriend, approval or success. It all came back to me. “And who is that!?” I had to ask myself. I realized that I had (though, unconsciously), been living a constructed version of myself for so long. Who I had become had very little to do with who I am. Step one was realizing that, but then where did that leave me? Trying to be what I thought everyone expected had clearly failed me (time, and again). For the first time ever in my life, I asked myself, “who am I when I’m not trying to be someone for somebody else?” Puzzling as that was (and I admit, I had no answer!), it was groundbreaking. I decided it was time to find out. A huge weight lifted off me and suddenly I had all this space- not to become someone new but to become reacquainted with who I already was. And that’s when everything started working in my favor! From there, the ‘roadblocks’, I keep mentioning were no longer roadblocks - what was no longer for me disappeared - and I didn’t care one bit! I was making room for all that was me. As soon as I stopped trying to be someone else, all my powers came back. And I mean that figuratively and literally - my psychic abilities (that I had suppressed for years) returned at an almost unfathomable speed. People who exited my life were quickly replaced with a flood of new connections - teachers and mentors, soul mates (reflections of the pieces of me that I had long abandoned). I rediscovered my purpose and joy. I learned to say YES to whomever and whatever spoke to my soul and NO when I meant no! For the first time in my life, I defied expectations, including the pressure to ‘get a real job’ and instead I started my own, now very successful tarot and spiritual coaching business. I took the leap with no outside support but the universe and a very strong sense of self. I now work with people all over the world, and I earn a living doing what I absolutely LOVE. I’m much closer with my family, I enjoy deep, soulful relationships and friendships, and I live a life of freedom. And so, with that - I’d like to give you the 4 key things that I’ve learned in reclaiming myself, my POWER and my happiness: SPEAK YOUR TRUTH AND OWN IT. Speak up and stand up for what’s important to YOU. Be honest with yourself and others about who you are, what you want and how you feel. Being vulnerable can be scary, but here is a tip - anyone or anything that you lose by being you, is not for you. Authenticity is empowering - when you speak your truth, you align with that truth. You will experience deeper intimacy in your relationships, better quality friendships, and more overall satisfaction in your professional and personal life. IF YOU’RE GONNA TALK THE TALK, WALK THE WALK: Speaking your truth includes setting standards and having boundaries. Be okay with walking away or letting go when something or someone is not congruent with who you are and what you truly desire for yourself. This applies whether it is a relationship, friendship or a career that is no longer fulfilling. So long as you align with your truth, whatever you leave behind will be replaced with better. “I’M NOT FOR EVERYONE, AND THAT’S OKAY” There is SO much power in this. As soon as you stop wanting everyone to approve/validate/appreciate/like/love you, you will thrive! You will no longer second guess yourself; you will more freely tap into what your true gifts and passions are. You will feel lighter, and you will feel joy in who you are and whatever you create or do. And bonus - you will naturally attract in or gravitate towards ppl who truly appreciate you and what you have to offer. EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUENESS You were created with a unique set of quirks, gifts, and your own energy signature. There was always a higher plan for you when you arrived and that means you are inherently valuable! You have a place and an important purpose, which is to be you. The world needs YOU. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and visit my website! Talsi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Talsi is a world renowned tarot reader and psychic spiritual coach. She was born with her intuitive gifts, but spent her early career working as a lawyer in the corporate and entertainment spaces. Her spiritual awakening came later in life - when she was guided “home” to her true passion and calling. She now uses her gifts to empower others to defy the status quo! Talsi guides her clients back to a place of self love and compassion. She helps them face their fears, embody their truth, and reclaim their power in their personal, romantic and professional lives.

Written by: Jeanne Agius, 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. Many people walk around, drive, go to work, and live their lives in a permanent state of fatigue and burnout. Sometimes people are tired for unexplained health reasons. Still, there are often very typical reasons for fatigue, including lack of regular sleep, lack of self-care, poor diet, and insufficient exercise. In this article, we're going to look at different ways to combat and overcome burnout so that you can get your life back. Let's get back to the state of becoming an energetic, happy, recharged individual who can accomplish more than you ever thought you could. After all, prevention is the best medicine of all. Track How You Spend Your Time If you don't know how much you're doing, it can be easy to keep going 24/7 and never take a break. Take some time to track what you're doing daily for about a week. You can use your smartphone to track your activities or go old school and carry around a small notebook to record how you're spending your time. Drop Activities That Don't Produce Real Results When you look at the activities you did while tracking, note the things that aren't producing results, or that are busywork, or that are entirely unnecessary. For example, do you go to a lot of meetings? Do you have to? Do you spend a lot of time trying to help a relative, friend, or someone else without results? Let go of anything that you can either stop doing or outsource. Or, if you keep doing it, find a way to put limits on it. Put Everything in Your Calendar One reason people get overscheduled doing too much and become mentally exhausted is that they think they're magic. They believe they can do 48 hours of work in 24 hours. But, if you started putting everything on your calendar correctly, you would see that you just can't. First, schedule the must-dos. Then add family time, date night, friend time, and please don't forget "me" time to your day. Don't add anything to your schedule that will reduce these critical things. Get a Good Night's Sleep Don't forget how important sleep is. Most adults should seek to get between seven and nine hours a night. It largely depends on your genetics how much sleep feels right for you. Work with what you know you need. If you're having trouble sleeping at night, address that issue so that you fall asleep fast and your sleeping time is productive. To help get used to this process, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day for at least 30 days. You can start with the least time and work your way up to find out which amount of time works best for you to make you feel rested each day. Exercise Every Day Schedule exercise time each day. It doesn't have to be strenuous exercise, and it can be as simple as a brisk walk. You also don't need to schedule an entire hour. Look at your schedule so that you can determine if you have 10 minutes to walk six times a day or three 20-minute walks a day. You can also separate that into different types of exercise. The important thing is to get up out of a chair and move as much as you can. Eat Right I cannot stress enough that eating the correct type of food for your body is vital. There is bio-individuality and what you eat often depends on what you need. Ask your doctor to test your blood levels for vitamins and then eat what you need to avoid deficiencies. Try eating smaller meals throughout the day, which will give you a break, boost your energy, and help you stay more focused. Stay Hydrated It can be very easy to get dehydrated. Most adults should drink between eight and ten 8-ounce glasses of water each day to stay hydrated. If you exercise strenuously, you'll need more. Tea, coffee, soda, and sugary drinks (even fake sugar) are all dehydrating and don't do the same as clean, filtered water will. Take the challenge and commit to drinking enough water for 30 days, and you'll see a huge difference. Take Regular Breaks When you are doing mental tasks, it's hard to want to take a break sometimes because there are times when the time is just flying by as you work, and you don't notice. But, it would be best if you took regular breaks. Since the brain works in 90-minute cycles, one way to accomplish breaks is to set up five- to ten-minute breaks every 115 minutes. Set a timer if you must. Get up and stretch, go for a fast walk, grab a snack, drink some water, and you'll come back refreshed. Rest Your Eyes Many people using their brains all day tend to sit in front of a computer, and computer monitors are terrible for your eyes. You can install software such as f.lux to help lessen the strain, but getting away from the monitor on your regular breaks is going to help too. Understand That It's Okay to Do Nothing Many intelligent, busy people tend to be uncomfortable with downtime and feel like they're slackers. But, even if you have a mentally exhausting job compared to a physically exhausting one, everyone needs to get away sometime. Schedule your yearly vacations and do something. Even if you stay home and look at local sites, that's okay - everyone needs downtime, and everyone needs time to do nothing. Suffering from mental exhaustion is not a fun experience, and it can sneak up on you when you think you're doing wonderfully well and then realize you're not. Focusing on these strategies will create a deeper impact and create lasting change. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jeanne! Jeanne Agius, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jeanne Agius is a former Corporate Escapee turned founder of Self-Care Journey Coaching, every woman's Self-Care Coach, Healthy Lifestyle Expert, certified holistic wellness, life and success coach, NLP, EFT, hypnotherapy and Time Practitioner, International Speaker, along with a wife and mom of 2 rambunctious toddlers. She has also been featured in publications such as Yahoo Finance as one of the Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs, Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs to look out for in Benzinga, Authority, Medium, and Brainz. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she spent 15+ years in the Corporate world, leading various projects in Marketing, Communications, and Risk Management and the health and wellness space as young as 16 years old. Since becoming a mom of two, she has been a frequent speaker worldwide on guiding women, especially moms, to prioritize themselves and their whole health without feeling guilty, despite the many hats they wear. She has been fortunate to help hundreds of women worldwide elevate their lifestyles and optimize their whole-body wellness by using self-care as their superpower to thrive. She is on a mission to help thousands more build strong bodies, confident minds, and healthy lifestyles they're obsessed with through her signature Self-Care System. Her upcoming book will help redefine self-care for today's woman because she wholeheartedly believes tending to your basic needs is not self-care, but true self-care is essential to living a life you love.

Written by: Gurpreet Kaur, 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. “Life is balance of holding on and letting go.” Rumi The season of Fall is a wonderful natural reminder for us to learn that letting go is a way of life. The beautiful colors this season offers show us that the process of letting go can be beautiful, colorful, and nourishing. I know a lot of people don’t see the process of letting go as vibrant and intriguing as the season Fall appears to be. Let’s admit, who wouldn’t want to learn how to effectively let go the things that are holding them back? Of course, all of us would. But what does it even mean? Let’s explore. Why can't I let things go and what does it mean? Literally letting go of is to stop holding or gripping onto something or someone. That could be a person, mistake, or an event. However, it is much more than that. It is an emotional process of healing that takes place before you are ready to let things go. A big part of that process is holding something/someone accountable for what happened. Until you are ready to honestly say to yourself “I no longer hold anything (not a situation, not others, and not myself) responsible for the hurt I experienced,” AND hold the space for the wound to heal, you are not ready to let go of the things you might want to. Following are some of the reasons why you have difficult time with letting things go: 1. You learn from your past and history Most people don’t know what to do when they are suggested to let it go. That’s not a skill you are taught in schools or by your parents. Everything about the world is teaching you to hold on to things like your grades, your personality, your relationships, your career, etc. You learn from your past and history. So, the mind naturally has a hard time with letting things go. What Will Help: Be easy on yourself if you don’t know how to let things go. You being hard on yourself for not being able to let go of the things is making the grip of fears harder. It is counterproductive. 2. Letting go literally feels like dying Letting go literally feels like dying even though you haven’t experienced what dying feels like yet. Letting go means you are letting go of a part of you that you have been holding on to for a period of time. You are talking about letting go of a part of your identity even if that is hurting you. What Will Help: Know exactly what you are letting go of. Maybe you only have to let go of a part of the whole situation. Do you want to let go of a thought, belief, feeling, or a situation? Knowing what you are working with helps you with the anxiety you experience when are considering letting things go. 3. Feeling out of control Feeling out of control is at the core of all anxiety. Letting go may makes you feel like you are not in control although letting go of things directly puts you in control of them. What Will Help: Know that letting go is for you not for others. Most people think of letting go means that you let others (who may have hurt you) off the hook. Letting go of things that are holding you back is to free you out of the hurt not to justify someone’s actions. The opposite may be true as well. There might be cases in which you are holding on to the guilt of hurting your loved ones. And you might feel that letting go the guilt may mean that you are justifying your actions. That’s not true. You letting go of the guilt of hurting a loved one simply means you can’t do anything about the situation that happened in the past. You can identify steps you can take to perhaps change the dynamics of the relationships, but you can’t keep on worrying and holding yourself responsible for what happened in the past. The best thing you can do right now is to hold the space so you can heal your wound. That’s it. Once you make the decision to focus on healing rather than blaming someone/something, you are on the path to let it go. 4. Letting go means change Letting go means change and change can be scary. Unfortunately, we can be addicted to suffering. Suffering can be more comfortable than letting go because suffering is familiar. Letting go means it is unknown and unknown is scary. What Will Help: This technique may not make much sense first but it will once you practice it. Allow some room for mistakes. Change is scary when you have high expectations for the outcome of the change. When you allow some room for errors or mistakes, you are not afraid of failing as much. That certainly helps to let things go a little easier. 5. Letting go makes you feel weak Letting go makes you feel weak because most people equate letting go with giving up or giving in when it’s neither of it. Letting go is beyond giving in or giving up. Letting go means feeling free. It means choosing to be in this moment instead of being in the past. As I said earlier, it means to heal rather than blame. What Will Help: Face the fears that stop you from letting go. See if you can identify what are you afraid of if you let go of the things. For example, you might be afraid of letting go your anger towards someone who has hurt you in the past. Letting go of the anger might mean you will have to let the person back into your life again, which means I am afraid s/he might hurt me again. Facing this fear will allow you to be conscious of this subconscious fear that is holding you back. Now you can let go of the past hurt and create better boundaries so the person either is not back in your life or can’t hurt you. However, holding onto the anger against the person is not healthy for you and is not helping you protect yourself from such hurts again. Letting go vs. Suppressing I would like to say a word or two about letting go versus suppressing your feelings. Letting go is not as same as suppressing, which means avoidance and not addressing things. Knowing the difference between the two will help you in the process of letting go. When you quickly brush things off instead of actually letting things go, you are avoiding and suppressing your emotions. This act of coping pushes down the unprocessed feelings but never leave your body. Suppression transforms into emotional, mental, and physical dis-eases. If you have no other method of processing your feelings, journaling is a great technique to start with. Follow Gurpreet on her Facebook, Instagram and visit her website for more info! Read more from Gurpreet! Gurpreet Kaur, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Gurpreet Kaur is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Life Coach, Speaker, and an Author. Dr. Kaur is very passionate about self-love, self-empowerment, wellness, reaching the full potential, and applying quantum mechanics principles to daily life. Dr. Kaur teaches a step-by-step self-care process to live a mentally and emotionally healthy life.

Written by: Safia Haque, 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. The mission in my life is to free parents from suffering through an insightful understanding and not with any techniques. Because when we understand how something works it takes away all the suffering, confusion and provides us with clarity. For example: When we run our heart pumps faster, just imagine if we did not know that, we would probably panic and do everything to fix the problem somehow as we don’t understand the cause of it and the possibilities could be endless. But when you know what causes your heart to pump faster, i.e. the need of more oxygen and therefore a normal reaction you return to clarity and the suffering and the panic finally ends. The "Only reason for Negative Feelings" So when we know why our heart pumps faster, everything is simply logically explainable and clarity returns. In the same way when we know with certainty and logically that there is only one single reason why we have negative feelings, then we also loose the fear of having them. The only reason for negative feelings is “Negative Thinking”: When we think negative we will feel negative and that’s it, nothing more and nothing less. It does not matter what we are thinking about, the object is irrelevant. Nothing but our own negative thinking can cause our negative feelings. And when we insightfully realise that, we become free from suffering. It’s so simple that we innocently miss this logic. How “not worry about them ever again” When we know that Negative Thinking causes Negative Feelings, we can drop them and move on with life easier and much quicker. The less time we spend figuring them out the less negative feelings we have. Period. I still have negative thinking/feeling at times, but as soon as I realise they are created by my own thinking I drop them and return to peace and love and I am not scared or worried about them at all anymore. "Ancient Art of doing nothing", how to chill out while your negative feelings just float away Doing nothing here means that there is no techniques we have to do or apply to return to peace, we just have to wait for our thinking to change. For example: When we have a cut, all we can do is keep the wound clean and put a plaster, but our body does all the healing by itself. But if mess around with the cut and make it deeper and put another cut and some dirt in it, then we will get sick. It’s the same with negative thinking, when we add more negative thinking to our already negative thinking then we are stuck. So when you are seeing negative next time, just do nothing and allow the mind to return back to clarity and love, by not putting any energy into the negative thinking. Because we never loose our inner love and peace, it just gets covered up by our negative thinking. "3 Wise Words from Sydney Banks" Never Mind why Never Mind why you are having negative thinking and you will come back to peace and love. When you ask why you will find endless excuses, blames, reasons, believes and will be trapped forever in a repetitive cycle. But when you just say never mind why I am having negative thinking; a new world will open up to you. I have been living like this and so have my clients. For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from Safia! Safia Haque, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Safia Haque is an Effortless Parenting Coach, a Speaker, and a Home-Educator. After going through a life-changing Psychological Paradigm Shift that made her parenting effortless, non-reactive, and peaceful. She is on a mission to take one parent per family through the powerful Inside-Out transformation. She is the creator of the Effortless Parenting Course and is working with parents worldwide to raise happy, healthy, and confident children without any guilt, stress, or worry.

Written by: Kinga Zerhouni, 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. It seems like everybody feels burnout these days. The stress of the pandemic mixed with the pressure at work, online learning, and not enough support has affected all of us profoundly. And yet, most people try to push through their exhaustion, frustration, stress, and anxiety. Struggling to keep your head above the water feels like new normal right now. But burnout isn’t something you should push through. When you reach burnout, your body crashes, and you’re not able to meet the demands of your life anymore. I remember feeling like that when I experienced burnout in my life. That was the time when my youngest child was born. At that time, I was a stay-home-mom with a newborn, a toddler, and a preschooler. My days were filled with taking care of my family, keeping my house organized, and being with my kids. I did not take time for myself. What’s more, I felt guilty for taking time to rest because of the never-ending to-do list. I would stay late at night after all day of running to catch up on chores I couldn’t finish during the day. On top of that, my nights were filled with nursing and comforting my kids as they woke up multiple times a night. I was exhausted physically and emotionally. I felt like I was losing part of myself. I didn’t enjoy motherhood. I couldn’t keep up anymore with my daily life. My hair started to fall out. I couldn’t focus and recall conversations. I was experiencing an emotional rollercoaster as my hormones were completely out of balance. My skin was dry and dull, covered with eczema. It seemed like my whole body was falling apart. Over time I realized that constantly pushing myself beyond my limits and always putting my family first before my own needs weren’t serving me. I had to make changes. You might be going through burnout as well and feel like there isn’t a way out. It all starts with you deciding to make yourself a priority. It may not feel comfortable at first, but it’s necessary to get your life and health back finally. I’ve learned from the burnout three valuable lessons that changed how I see my life today: 1. I can take care of my family better when I first take care of myself. If you are a woman, giving is part of your DNA. But it also can be a recipe for burnout in our modern lives filled with long hours at work, after-school activities, and the pressure to be a perfect mom. Our never-ending to-do lists don’t leave much room for rest. But when you feel your best, you have more energy, a steady mood, and a clear mind. You can play with your kids after you come home from work. You can keep your cool when your kids leave a messy room again. You don’t have to wonder why you feel foggy all the time and keep stumbling on words during conversations. Think about what simple self-care practice you can incorporate into your life to help you recharge daily. 2. Boundaries protect my well-being and my health. We all have our limits on how much we can handle. However, we constantly push our boundaries to accomplish what others expect from us and what we want in life. But it comes with a price of broken health. Respecting your personal limits is the ultimate self-care. Knowing your limits protects your wellbeing and helps you find a balance between what you need and what other people need from you. How can you tell if you have reached your tipping point? You blow up over small things. You have a hard time focusing. You feel overwhelmed with your daily tasks. You experience physical symptoms like headaches and joint pain. When you become aware of your limits, you can develop daily self-care practice to help you stay within your healthy boundaries. 3. Getting support is necessary to create balance in my life. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I used to think that being a good mom meant I had to be always available for my kids. I felt guilty for taking breaks and letting other people take care of them. But lack of support has led me to burnout. You cannot do everything yourself all the time. Asking for help is part of your self-care. Creating a good support system allows you to find balance in your work life, family life, and personal needs. Our modern life is filled with constant pressures to perform at the highest level, be a perfect mom, and be connected all the time. Unfortunately, it is a recipe for burnout. Putting your wellbeing as a priority, getting clear on your boundaries, and building a support system can help you prevent burnout and find more balance in your life. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kinga! Kinga Zerhouni, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kinga Zerhouni is a Board-Certified Functional Wellness Coach helping women reverse burnout and fatigue naturally by following simple lifestyle changes designed to re-energize the body and mind. She wants to empower women to take charge of their health and find the root causes of their fatigue because feeling tired all the time is not normal. When she is not working with clients, you can find her spending time with her family taking nature walks and playing sports.

Written by: Ilaria Storch, 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 remember some typical, or funny sayings from your childhood, or from where you grew up? Today I want to invite you on a fun trip through some interesting Italian quotes and expressions, some of them I remember from my grandmothers and others I hear my mom mention them to this day! Every country and people have their own personal and cultural expressions – some of them resist the test of time and still look useful and very helpful when used today. Others remain part of other times and habits. Either way, the idea is for you to enjoy this ride and remember some expressions from your family, country, school, group of friends. I suggest you write them down and maybe spend a playful weekend afternoon reading them to your kids and then chat about what they like, what makes sense or not to them and add a few updated ones to your quote journal. You will find this feels like a classic family recipe, where you suddenly remember about and yearn for it, and want to try and cook it, starting a journey down former emotions, tastes, the you before now – quite an experience, because even if we know that there are so many new places, books, and amazing recipes to read and visit, many of them may have been created by drinking into specific sources before them. Mix and mingle, see what happens. Let’s start? I will write them in Italian so that you can feel the sonority when you read them aloud – usually, I find the sound matches the saying´s personality and culture – and then I will translate them to English, for understanding and clarity. 1. On Health and Beauty: “La pappa fa l’uccello ma la piuma lo rende bello.” “The food nurtures the bird, yet the feathers render him beautiful.” How UpToDate is this one right? We are all constantly talking about the different ways to blend a green juice, eat healthier, if we like, or not, bullet proof coffee, should we try intermittent fasting, where to buy our groceries, and so on. And really what this means is that our inner health will reflect on our disposition to feel better and to choose the outer clothes that makes us feel well and good looking – the feathers – and one can mostly look good when we take the effort inside and outside our bodies, mind, and soul. 2. About Time: “Chi ha tempo non aspetti tempo.” “The time is now.” That sounds like it was born during the pandemic, and yet, how many times have you heard this one? There are many interpretations to this saying and the outcome is all the same: if you have time, do it now, time does not come back and will wait for no one. I find it specially inspiring for us to start our projects from a place of deep desire and bring those hidden ideas and plans to the surface – to the now. Time is very sensitive to gratitude and taking actions, so we must remember to practice gratitude for time and people in our lives, and time also expands when we are doing activities that fulfill us and brings us joy – it can bring financial results too - time and money are energy after all - that is just a great match for your talents. Tip on Time: watch (or rewatch) the lovely movie “About Time” – Directed by Richard Curtis 3. On Feeling at Home Anywhere: “Ogni luogo è pátria mia perchè da ogni luogo posso vedere il cielo.” “Each place is my motherland because from each place I can see the sky.” This one is a very well-known saying and it fits very well in our current, extremely dynamic world, where technology is changing almost daily, people are being able to choose to work from many places around the globe – even before the pandemic, which only accelerated what was already happening. My special interpretation on this one goes further to add that not only the skies keep our human dimension and hope when we sometimes take longer to keep up with changes. Our internal skies and background can also guide us forward and remind us of where we came from – both are important so that we can keep the connection to ourselves, grow and be more understanding with others. Freebie Tip: this one is very Life Coach Nomads – I invite you here to visit the site and get my Free 07 Tips to Feel at Home Anywhere! www.lifecoachnomads.com See you there! 4. On Boundaries: “Chi troppo s’affida al dovere si accorge che è fatto per gli altri e a lui non avanzano che i resti.” “One who is too much attached to duties realizes he does only for others and for himself there are only leftovers.” How relevant and universal is this saying for us humans who are working each day more due to all the facilities and technologies, not to mention almost adult schedules for kids, teens, and pets. And how can you function properly if you are depleted and on automatic mode? You can´t unless you set aside some intentional time and space to unwind, rest, think and do some personal auditing on what you are doing and for whom you are doing things for? Who is in charge of your life, how are you connecting to what matters? You need and deserve for yourself even a few minutes a day, then increase, and not leftover hours and minutes. Tip on Book: “The Boundary Boss” – by Terri Cole – amazing book with steps to action. 5. Overcoming Challenges: “Se si vive in mezzo ai guai, sarà sempre un eterno mai.” “If you live and dwell on problems it will always be a ‘never’.” We all have our challenges, our bridges to cross on the way to our dreams and doing things better for ourselves, our loved ones, and for those who want to expand. This saying is so wise because it deals with mindset and places that are not helping you grow and solve your issues. It invites you to get away, move, find a way out of the place you are at, where you live, or work, and also train your mindset to start thinking in a way that finds solutions and not dwells on them – start saying words that sound more positive, talk to different people who can help you out, learn new skills and substitute the word “never” for “I am working on my dreams and projects now, going places that nurture me and seeing people that inspire me.” You got this! (Note: These sayings were heard in the family, some are popular, some anonymous, some from ancient philosophers, and are here for you to enjoy and think about them.) Do you want to share with me your sayings? I will be delighted to hear them! ILA at Life Coach Nomads Your Connection Coach You can connect with me also at Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Read more from Ilaria! Ilaria Storch, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ilaria Storch, a Life Coach Nomad, is the creator of Life Coach Nomads, where she shares her passion for travel and for inspiring people everywhere to access their true center and find more connection and energy on the way to more joy, fun, and fulfillment. She practices that following your emotions, wrapped up in a personal structure that can connect your goals, desires, and love, is the path to all real and true growth. Wherever you are, change is nomadic by essence, and it takes time, support and starts inside you when you absolutely desire to develop yourself and move on. She has a Bachelor´s Degree in Advertising, speaks many languages, won a Fashion Illustration Award during College, and loves coaching her clients towards their expressive life journey.

Professional Parent Coach, Jenn Wert, serves parents of young children who are looking for support in their conscious parenting. With a Master’s in Education, educator and doula experience along with post-graduate social-emotional training, Jenn knows how to counsel parents who want to authentically communicate with their children. After decades of her own therapy, while concurrently working with many different family types, she brings an honesty to her conversations and a discernment to her listening that allow clients to grow. Jenn inspires parenting that is nurturing, true and transformative. Tell us a bit about yourself – who is Jenn Wert? Well, first and foremost, I’m a parent. I’m on this wild parenting ride, doing my best to raise a confident, resilient and grounded girl in today’s world. I’m also a long-time educator; I’m a trained doula, a certified Iyengar yoga teacher, and I have my Masters degree in Education and have taught for decades. I’ve supported many young families in bringing their babies into this world and through elementary school. My dedication and training has focused on the social-emotional intelligence of families and how to grow this individually and collectively. I’ve lots of leadership and mentoring experience and though I work with all kinds of families, I’m especially passionate about empowering young girls and single parents. As a parent coach, I get to do what I love most, help adults bring more consciousness into their parenting and balance into their homes. What is it that you do for your clients, in other words – what exactly IS a parent coach? Coaching is about the future – it supports a future you create rather than the future you default to without coaching. It’s deliberate work that involves honesty, reflection and a willingness to try things that are new, to build new habits. I listen a lot. And serve as a mirror for my clients, who are committed to doing their best at being both humans and parents – who are willing to be vulnerable and authentic, who want more than anything to raise resilient, healthy and connected kids. There to point out blind spots, I hold clients accountable as they experiment with new behaviors, and believe in them as they grow alongside their children. What family types do you work with? Oh, gee, all types, really. I work with brand new parents, showing them how their small choices are perceived by their astute, sensory-based infants. I work with parents of preschoolers through elementary school on a variety of issues –tantrums, sibling rivalry, power struggles, self-confidence, communication. I encourage my clients to take a close look at their subtle messaging, language, unconscious habits, ability to empathize, etc. It’s deep work with results that are more than worth the commitment. My clients range from more traditional nuclear type families to single parents and same-sex parents, you name it. Some clients have lots of children; others have singletons. We work on mindful co-parenting, whether or not the parents live together. The list goes on and on. All family systems can benefit from Social and Emotional Learning. And this is where my focus lies. Yes, you mentioned this term before. Could you please explain – what is SEL? Oh sure, of course. Social and Emotional Learning (often referred to as SEL) is about attunement. This is not simple but let me try to break it down. It’s about you, as a parent, noticing what you’re feeling and at the same time your kiddos noticing what they're feeling. Being able to feel your feeling, name it, manage it and persevere through it is challenging and requires simultaneous vulnerability and strength. It’s more than most human beings do in this fast-paced world of ours. SEL is all about feelings – and of course connection and communication, as well. Recently, a number of big companies were surveyed and asked what qualities they sought most in their employees. Google was included in this research. The number one answer across the board was people with strong SEL skills (and right up there as a close second was of course STEM experience). Wow. So, then, who should work with you? Any parent wanting to hone these skills in their children so they grow up to become valuable, thoughtful and strong leaders in their communities. Could you tell us what makes parenting most challenging in this day and age, being immersed in technology the way we are, still dealing with repercussions of the pandemic (many of which are still unknown)? Everything is moving so fast, our most important practices have gone by the wayside, creating kids with massive depression and anxiety. Our children are desperate for us to slow down. They need us to be more present with them, which can feel almost impossible with our unconscious addictions to our phones and being ‘virtually connected’. COVID did not help. Though we’ve been able to keep some semblance of normality by way of the internet, personal connections were even more disrupted. Many of our little ones took the brunt of this and consequently, it’s our work to catch them up real-time. Spend our precious time with them face to face, consciously. There’s a lot here; I could go on forever. But, really – having our kiddos connect with themselves and supporting them in doing this positively and regularly takes more effort and awareness than it used to. Teaching them to listen. Really listen. To themselves. And to others. Again, seems easy enough however because of the pressures and speed of today’s tech world and the disconnection resulting from this and COVID, we need to reteach how to listen, again and again. And - we’ve got to dedicate ourselves to this practice. To the SEL. As parents. Yes – there’s a lot there to digest, thanks. Before we wrap up, I’d like to just take a second and get a feel for the rest of you, Jenn. Tell us about your family, where you live, what you do to recharge... Oh, sure. I live in Boulder, Colorado and have for half of my life – a quarter-century, believe it or not. Ha! I’ve one daughter who challenges and humbles me every single day - multiple times a day. No hyperbole. Though I have a parent coach and a therapist myself, my daughter is my number one teacher. She’s taught me to accept myself and others more than anyone, in a way that’s deeply transformed how I live. What else? We have a white Golden Retriever named Zeke, after the incredibly loving father figure on that old show Parenthood (go figure). He’s hilariously goofy, loves water, kale and snuggling so fits into our family perfectly. During COVID, we added a tuxedo kitten to complete our pack. He’s named Charles-Antoine, after an old crush of mine from when I lived in Paris. He wrestles with the dog, hangs from his neck… making it a bit hard to focus at times, here, working from home. I’m most centered when I’m at the barn working with the horses, in the pool swimming my mile, or hiking quietly in the woods. As an Iyengar teacher, my meditation and yoga practices also play an important role in my wellness. My home is my sanctuary, where you’ll find me cooking with locally grown foods, dancing with my girl, knitting or working in the gardens. Lovely. To end, please leave us, Jenn, with your three best tips for parents reading this interview: Be curious, authentic, vulnerable and present with your children. Remember you’re their model: be conscious out loud, make mistakes and practice repair. To deepen your connection with your little ones, deepen your connection to yourself. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jennifer!

Written by: R. Natasha Stephens, 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. The cultural climate of this post-millennial age has become overstimulated and overconnected. For instance, much like the word love, transformation is used loosely. When overused, these terms start to lose value. Though change and transformation are used interchangeably, there is a difference. A stark difference to be exact. We hear most about "transformations" as it relates to lifestyle from hair to wardrobes and body, whether natural or surgical, but according to this definition, do these examples qualify? Let's dissect both terms and see what we get. Change modifies behavior based on external influences to achieve the desired result which can be temporary as we can always go back to old behaviors due to habit. When this happens, change isn't complete and transformation hasn't yet happened. However, transformation occurs when one's core beliefs and values are modified causing more permanent and far-reaching impact. With that said, all transformation is change but not all change is transformation. For example, throughout the ages, the most popular topic of discussion is how to successfully lose weight and keep the weight off. According to the differences between change and transformation, changing how we eat to fit a certain dress or to be more desirable can motivate us to lose weight and get results but to keep it off will require a change at the core level. That dress will get old and the attention that is craved today may be the attention that is despised tomorrow for whatever reason. The point is, there is nothing more certain than change. When the circumstance that once motivated you changes, the motivation changes. Depending on how frequent and intense those changes are, the possibility of retreating increases. However, for permanent results, we must amend our beliefs and values about life with consideration of the role of food and exercise. Another difference between the two is that transformation doesn't focus on starting with changed behaviors, but it ends there. Examining your purpose for losing the weight and the values around your purpose is a good start and anchor for achieving permanent weight loss results. Additionally, transformation is different from change whereas it redefines a thing as it births new life and purpose. To reiterate, the evidence of transformation occurs when your actions, behavior, and desires shift due to changed values and beliefs. This change at the core level is deep enough, long enough, and impactful enough to see a manifestation. Transformation is a process and there are 3 simplistic ways to commit to the process of transformation. 1. Keep going. Everyone starts but few finishes. As soon as we are faced with opposition we allow fear to set in and we shrink back. Looking at opposition as training to develop your endurance muscle will help to persevere in the race. 2. Complete what you started. See it through until the end. You owe it to yourself to see your capabilities. In addition, there are people on the other side in need of those discovered capabilities. No matter how difficult, finish! 3. Revisit your why (purpose). The why motivates the how and what. Along the journey, there will be possible delays, distractions, and detours. Being aware of this, keep in mind why you started in the first place. This is also the same as believing or keeping the faith. Faith isn't a one-time event, it's a practice. Your purpose and faith are interconnected. To fulfill the purpose, you have to believe it's yours to fulfill. Lastly, transformation is a journey. It's a journey that will ultimately change how you see what you see. This takes time, a lifetime to be exact. Knowing this, let it inspire you to live a transformative life. One that is ever-growing, flexible, and light! The benefit of a lifetime committed to transformation is one full of adventure. This may sound appealing to those who feel underwhelmed and unenthused with how you've experienced life thus far. After reading this, what helps you to now understand the distinction between change and transformation? What practices can help you start your journey to transformation? Follow Natasha on her Facebook and Linkedin. Watch her videos from her Youtube channel. Read more from Natasha! R. Natasha Stephens, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazin Natasha, a retired dental hygienist, turned entrepreneur as owner of Transformational Coaching with Natasha and a women's athleisure clothing brand, Ripped and Restored, is committed to the transformational journey as she discovers new ways of being and higher than realized levels of existence through the power of pain and using it to her advantage as a springboard to create an ideal life for herself. Along the way, she answered the call to empower others with this revelation. With fiery passion and authentic advocacy, she is dedicated to revolutionizing mental health and fitness by embracing the pain of conflict and resistance in whatever form as a weapon for good. Realizing that thoughts shape reality, Natasha's coaching model is built around mindset shifts resulting in realized potential. She loves to volunteer in local and global dental missions, physical exercise, and travel in her spare time.

Written by: Patricia Faust, MGS, 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. As another drug trial fails in the quest to treat Alzheimer’s disease, another research study confirms the effectiveness of living a brain-healthy lifestyle. Building a bigger and stronger brain through lifestyle changes is receiving validation through many different research studies. And as often as I see people really find hope in this model, I still am discouraged to see how few really embrace living a healthy brain lifestyle. I did a presentation on 'Your Brain on Habit and Change' just the other day. The information that I presented on habit formation and the process of change enlightened me about how few people really make significant change even though it might save their life. As it turns out we create habits by repetitively and consistently performing an action. It doesn’t matter if the action is good, or the action is bad. Once you have fired and wired those neurons they fall out of the conscious brain and move to the subconscious brain. You are now on autopilot with that action – you don’t have to think about what to do – you just do it. Changing that habit is a pretty, momentous task. In order to change that habit – you have to create a new habit that will respond to the same cue as the old habit. Again, you have to do that action over and over and over again. Do it consistently and repetitively and you have created a new habit to mask the old one. This process is long. Old thinking used to be that you could create a new habit in 21 days. Now, research indicates that it can take from 21 – 254 days before you have a habit embedded in your subconscious (the actual brain area is the Striatum in the Basal Ganglia). The average number of days to complete this process is 84. The Reality of Change: Are You Ready to Take on a Brain Healthy Lifestyle? Now that you have the reality of change are you motivated enough to take on a brain-healthy lifestyle? Let’s take a look at your daily life. Everything you do matters to your brain – good or bad. Do you sit around worrying about your weight while you are watching TV and munching on high-fat snacks? Guess what – your brain won’t like that. You will be sluggish, unhappy, stressed out and your brain will adapt to that environment. You will lose brain volume, have memory problems, not be as productive at work, not be interesting to your spouse, kids, or friends, and probably end up going to the doctor more often. If that is how you are going to treat your brain, your brain will reciprocate. Being Brain Fit What does it look like when you are ‘brain fit’? Brain fitness is that state of awareness that you are performing well cognitively and emotionally. You are running on all cylinders, maintaining a mental edge, staying sharp, aging successfully. Aging is a broad term in this context because our brain doesn’t know how old we are. Your brain ages in response to lifestyle, chronic diseases, stress, and genes. So, your chronological age may be in the forties, but your brain age may be in the sixties because you live a hard life. You have to take responsibility for how you live and the impact it makes on your brain. Now, your brain is very cool! You treat it better and it will respond to that too. So, if you make a strategic plan to reclaim your brain – your brain will respond – that is the beauty of neuroplasticity. It requires concentrated effort, however. You cannot be complacent about your brain and the life that you live. You can create new neural pathways and grow new brain cells. But you have to be all in – not wishy-washy about it. Repetition and consistency will create new neural pathways. And this is where a brain-healthy lifestyle (physical exercise, mental stimulation, nutrition, socialization, sleep, and stress reduction) all play an important part. When you put the effort into building a better brain, you will experience better health overall. Again, it doesn’t make any difference what your age is. It is totally up to you and your commitment. How Can You Successfully Incorporate a Brain Healthy Lifestyle? How can you incorporate a brain-healthy lifestyle without it seeming like such a hassle? You will have to think differently about how you do or don’t do certain things during the day. But this is a program that needs to be implemented slowly so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. An enriched environment – one that is novel and complex (like your workplace!) will put you in the right circumstances to challenge your brain. If you are not in an enriched environment each day, then you need to create that environment for yourself. This can be accomplished by volunteering, mentoring, consulting, or any other activity that challenges your brain. When you are putting your brain through its paces, it will respond. You will be more engaged, more productive, feel energized. You also might feel stressed. But being aware of stressors gives you the upper hand in diffusing them. You want to keep your energy high, so you need to be more mindful of the food you eat and the exercise you get. A brain health lifestyle is very synergistic in that each piece fits together and the sum of your actions is greater than doing each piece separately. For example, you grow new brain cells in your hippocampus, center of new learning and memory, when you engage in physical exercise. If you don’t challenge yourself to learn new things, then the brain gets out its pruner and starts clipping away at the cells and pathways you haven’t used. Grow those cells and then use them. These activities will enable you to build cognitive reserve – thicker synaptic connections that keep your brain more flexible and ultimately offer some protection from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The Cognitive Fitness Strategy The following is the Cognitive Fitness Strategy: An Action Plan for Brain Health based on the Dana Alliance/Conference Board’s publication ‘Your Brain at Work’: Write it down: Putting your goals in writing makes them more meaningful Adding why you want to achieve each goal is a real motivator. Take baby steps: You’ll feel overwhelmed if you try to address every aspect of brain health at once. Set priorities. Give yourself a timeframe: And remember: That implies giving yourself enough time to work at and master your goals. Be realistic: People who try to do too much too soon often get discouraged and give up altogether. Don’t be a victim of your own ambition. If your goals seem impossible, revise them. Now determine your baseline. Think about how you measure up against the healthy brain practices below: Social Interaction: Who did I see today, and for what purposes? What did I do to reconnect with someone I care about today? Physical Activity: How many minutes did I walk today, including around the office? How did I work exercise into my day? Did I “walk and talk” at work, rather than emailing or phoning? Cognitive Stimulation: What did I learn today? What routine task did I approach differently today? Did I challenge my mind? Did I do anything just for fun? Stress Management: How was my stress level today? What caused me the greatest stress today? What triggered it? How did I cope? How did I relax? Sleep: How well did I sleep last night? How Long? Did I awaken during the night? If sleep was poor, do I know why? Did I feel drowsy during the day? Did I nap? How well you answer these questions may help you determine which areas of brain health you need to focus on as you map out your cognitive fitness plan. (Your Brain at Work, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and The Conference Board) For more info, follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and visit my website! Read more from Patricia! Patricia Faust, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Patricia Faust is a gerontologist specializing in brain aging, brain health, brain function, and dementia. She has a Masters'sin Gerontological Studies degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Patricia is certified as a brain health coach and received a Neuroscience and Wellness certification through Dr. Sarah McKay and the Neuroscience Academy. My Boomer Brain, founded in 2015, is the vehicle that Patricia utilizes to teach, coach, and consult about brain aging, brain health, and brain function. Her newsletter, My Boomer Brain, has international readers from South Africa, Australia, Europe, and Canada. Patricia’s speaking experience spans the audiences' spectrum as she addresses corporate executives on brain function, regional financial professionals on client diminished capacity, and various senior venues concerning issues around brain aging and brain health. References: 6 Surprising Things that Affect Your Brain Your Brain at Work. The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and The Conference Board

Written by: John Kenny, 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. Firstly, let me explain what I mean by attachment. For over 70 years, it has been recognised that how we form emotional bonds begins in early childhood. Attachment Theory was first proposed by John Bowlby in the 1950’s, where he stated that the way we form these bonds is directly correlated to the way we experience relationships at an early age, from birth in fact. And the process of developing healthy emotional relationships is a key factor in attaining happiness and improving quality of life. A healthy relationship between a child and their caregiver lays the foundations of healthy attachments throughout the life of an individual. And that means the opposite is also true, an unhealthy attachment can lead to a life of disconnected, chaotic and relationships that never reach the level of connectedness and meaning that they could. These may show in difficulty forming attachments, struggles to maintain close relationships, and may have problems with commitment. A significant amount of the world’s population, around 40% have what is called an insecure attachment. There is no significant difference between race, religion, geographical location or cultural background. A negative attachment in childhood doesn’t always lead to an unhealthy attachment in adult life, as an individual’s brain will dictate the best response to their environment. If it decided that you were still secure despite your surroundings then you can still develop something secure. On the flip side, you could have been brought up in a loving, caring environment and still struggle to connect in adult life. An example of this was a client of my own. She grew up in a loving family and had strong bonds with her parents, but they also loved each other deeply. When they showed each other affection she felt left out and unloved and felt she needed to chase affection. This led to her developing an insecure attachment that she played out in adult life. However, children that live what is termed as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) – such as severe trauma, neglect, and abuse, will have an adverse attachment and in some cases, this will lead to disordered personalities: Dependent Personality Disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder Borderline Personality Disorder Avoidant Personality Disorder Types of Attachment Secure Insecure: anxious, avoidant, anxious/avoidant (disorganised). Secure As a child, this person generally receives love, support, encouragement, positive feedback, time, and consideration. They attach securely, knowing that whatever happens there is someone to show them affection and soothes their mind when difficulties arise. As adults they feel comfortable and confident being close to people and don’t over analyse or react to situations they are unhappy with. Anxious When was faced with difficult relationship situations as a child they would have felt very insecure and exhibited the need to act out in order to receive attention – unable to control their emotions due to the distress they experienced. This could be seen as tantrums, crying uncontrollably, clinginess etc. As adults, they are unable to regulate their emotional responses and will have a tendency to chase affection in order to create security within themselves. The idea of rejection creates anxiety and overreaction – they may seem as though they enjoy ‘drama’ in their lives. They could be distant at the beginning of relationships in order to see if it is safe for them to give, but if connection is then removed, they chase it, whether it is good for them or not (my client example above). Avoidant The brain decides the best way to deal with pain as a child is to shut it down, retreat into your own space and avoid any situation that is likely to lead to loss. Fearful Avoidant As adults, in the early stages of relationships, they can be full on and 110% committed, but then retreat when they reach their threshold of commitment. They want the love and affection and connection but don’t know how to manage it when it reaches a deeper level. Dismissive Avoidant Find the thought of connection too difficult so avoid it altogether, preferring to choose surface relationships. Anxious/Avoidant (Disorganised) This is the most chaotic of the insecure types of attachment and is generally caused by ACE’s. The child craves connection (emotional security), but the primary caregiver creates insecurity within them. Gives love at times, but abuses neglect at other times. They could witness domestic violence against someone else in the family and then become scared of the person they see as responsible for their safety. (This is the type of attachment that is more likely to lead to the attachment disorders mentioned earlier). Other Impacts of Insecure Attachment In adults, attachment can do more than disrupt relationships. Several studies have linked attachment disorders to other physical, mental, and social problems. Alexithymia: Difficult to identify, express, or even experience emotions. They may come across as being cold and distant, which increases their difficulty forming and maintaining relationships. Depression and anxiety: Patients with attachment disorders tend to internalise emotions. Unresolved attachment was found to have a significant association with depression and anxiety due to emotional dysregulation. Addiction: Breakdown of attachment generally tends to go with addiction, as addiction can be seen as a self-isolating response. Alcohol consumption/drug use serves as an emotional coping strategy for adults with attachment disorders. Eating disorders: There is a strong association between insecure attachment and various types of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. This is attributed to self-identity issues and self-blame As you can see, if someone is unable to attach securely as a child, it can have lasting life impacts that mean they are unable to experience the healthiest and most connected relationships possible. At its worse, it can lead to certain attachment disorders, depression, and even addictions. There are other factors that go into being able to live healthy relationships, such as relational patterns and relationship beliefs, but I will leave those for another day. Attachment is not a fixed space and can be worked through with the right type of support and guidance. Coaching can help you to understand these traits within yourself (and others), move on from them, and enable you to experience the quality relationships that you want in your life. Want to discover what your attachment style is? Answer these questions to find out: https://yourattachmentstyle.scoreapp.com/ Be good to yourself, John For more info, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and visit my website! Read more from John! John Kenny, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine John Kenny is The Relationship Guy - relationship coach, author of The P.E.O.P.L.E. Programme, documentary maker, and speaker. After living a life full of unsuccessful and toxic relationships, John has created Interpersonal Relationship Coaching (IRC) to help successful singles who struggle with intimate relationships of their own. He has been in the field of personal development since 2004 and has helped thousands of clients to live the relationships and life that they choose, rather than the one they always have or feel they have to or should! John will not only help you to understand why you think, feel and do as you do, but also the intricacies of deeper human behavior.

Written by: Jay Staniforth, 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. "How much do you want to be successful?" This question is at the forefront of every entrepreneur's mind. The best way to create success is by making it a habit. A person can't make one decision or perform one action that will allow them to achieve their goals, but they can make small changes in their lifestyle each day that will result in huge gains over time. This article breaks down how you can leverage the power of 1% and create unreasonable results in your life and your business, if you commit today. The Habit of Success A habit is a behaviour performed without thinking, and unless we choose our habits, they will be chosen for us. Don’t believe me? We’ve been forming habits our entire life; from morning routines like brushing teeth and getting dressed to more complex tasks such as driving to work or pulling out a phone whilst waiting at a bus stop. But what I'm referring to specifically here are success habits. Success habits are the things that we do every day with discipline, repetition, and consistency, so as to build productive behaviours into our life in order to achieve our goals. I’ve seen unbelievable change in my own life, in the lives of my clients and of those around me, and there was no magic pill, no silver bullet, and definitely no magic string of words that made people fall at my knees. It was a direct result of micro-changes and micro-commitments that compounded over time. Some of them are so small that if I wasn’t looking for them, I may have missed them completely; and then we wonder why so many gurus and influencers struggle to put into words what they did to get to where they are now - they honestly just don’t know! So if it means in order to avoid forming negative habits we must be intentional with the habits that we form, how do we go about building these into our lives, and how do we know if they are the correct habits? Unfortunately, without guidance - we don’t! At least not until we begin to get the results that we expected (or fail to get the results as the case may be). However, over the last 3 years I’ve been recording my journey and the habits I have formed with the aim of proving that any entrepreneur, with the right habits, can achieve true greatness in their business, their health, and their relationships. Having tracked this, I have identified there are 5 key areas of habit formation needed to instill consistent growth and progression into the life of any entrepreneur and I will share those in this article. You can only make progress working with the truth Before sharing the 5 key areas of habit formation, there are two principles that must first be addressed, as without them, no habit will help anyone to succeed. The first principle is ‘true progress can only be made when working with the truth’. It's a hard truth that we all have to accept: we can't make progress working with lies. If we're not honest with ourselves about where we are, how far along in our journey we are, and what the next step should be, it will be impossible for anyone to grow as an entrepreneur or coach. I’ve never heard it put better than by Garret J White where he said that “when we tell the truth, it becomes a part of our past, but when we lie, we have to carry that forward with us into our future.” So we have to get real with ourselves. One of my values is ‘ruthless honesty’, as this is the only way to make real progress. If we spend time pretending we are something we’re not, or faking it that we are somewhere we’re not, we only harm ourselves and we only slow our own progression. Once we are honest with ourselves, we have a true starting point of where we are, what the goal is, and what needs to be achieved to get there. This is the point in which overwhelm, self-doubt, procrastination, self-sabotage and even imposter syndrome can begin to seep its way into our lives and all over our plans and our goals; and there are various ways to deal with this, but the most powerful and impactful way that I have found is with my second principle, ‘the power of one percent”. How to create unreasonable results by leveraging the power of 1% It's the little things that make all the difference. Whether you're an entrepreneur or a coach, it can be tempting to think of our success as some kind of isolated event. We may attribute our successes to luck, timing, or other outside forces. But what if we focused on making just one small change? What would happen if we made ourselves do just 1% more than we did the day before? It turns out that this simple idea is absurdly powerful and has wielded incredible results for hundreds of people over the last few years - not only with making insane financial gains and improvements in health, but also overcoming limiting beliefs, procrastination, self-doubt, and even imposter syndrome. In my business, Expert Unleashed, we lean heavily on this principle, not only because of its unreasonable ability to produce insane results, but because of its simplicity. When entrepreneurs and coaches come to me for help with improving an area of their life or business using our habits system, they’re already overwhelmed and on the verge of giving up. They’ve already tried the fancy marketing strategies and cleverly worded self-help articles littering the internet from productivity gurus; but an overwhelmed person cannot and will not effectively implement anything with any level of consistency - because they are already overwhelmed, and adding more to their list of stuff to do is counter-intuitive, and as such, fails to deliver results. The most effective way to successfully implement the ‘power of one percent’ principle is to strip back the layers of obscurity from the daily actions currently being taken - this alone is often enough to release the intensity of overwhelm and bring a level of clarity as to why results are not being experienced at present. Once operating from a clean slate, the 5 key areas of habit formation can be introduced. How to use habits to take control and create impact Up until this point, I have only ever shared these 5 key areas of habit formation with my own personal network, but having seen the incredible, life-changing results that they have delivered, I know their impact spans much further than my field of expertise, and as such, should be shared further afield. So, as a reader of this article, we are in a unique position to be able to share the learnings I am about to disclose with others who might be struggling to build momentum in their business or achieve the health targets they keep falling short of, or even reignite the love and passion in a dwindling marriage… and with that, below are the 5 key areas of habit formation. The first area of habit formation is the Morning Ritual The way in which our mind is first engaged in the early hours of our waking day will often determine the theme for the remainder of it. That’s to say, if we wake up late, feeling tired, groggy, rushed, panicked and agitated, we can expect to encounter more situations that support those feelings. Adjusting the ritual in which we follow at a habitual level each morning will change our day, our week, and our lives. For many, getting present with oneself and focusing on gratitude, goals and exercise acts as a springboard for an energetic and intentional day. For me personally, I practice my own ritual that goes by the acronym, the ‘GAME OF ONE’. This is a written exercise I follow that mentally prepares me for the day and sets my mind up to subconsciously look for the opportunities that will take me closer to my goals. The second area of habit formation are Revenue-Generating Habits (RGH) In business, one of the biggest and most common reasons people fail to make sales and achieve their revenue goals is not that they are not skilled enough, nor that their offering is not good enough, but that they do not ask for the sale. When we focus on building specific actions into our daily plan that have the potential to generate a hot lead or a prospect client, we drastically increase our chances of making more sales, having greater impact, as well as achieving our revenue goals. For many coaches and online entrepreneurs operating on their own, it’s my experience that literally days and even weeks can go by without them making a single offer or asking for a sale. I schedule 60 minutes per day to working on my RGHs, which has almost doubled my income over the last 2 years of doing so. The third area of habit formation are Needle-Moving Habits (NMH) Second only to not asking for the sale, the third area of habit formation solves the issue of not having anyone to sell to. Without a consistently growing and engaged audience, we run the risk of suffering stagnating sales. The key point to note here is that we do not need a huge audience to make sales, we simply want fresh connections to enter our world on an ongoing basis. To achieve this, NMHs are daily actions that focus on building an audience by delivering value both outside and inside of our direct network. The fourth area of habit formation are Non-Negotiable Habits (NNH) The simplest way to explain NNHs is perhaps by example. I personally trade and invest in stocks and crypto, with the majority of this activity taking place ‘during the working day’. I’ve made significant returns in these areas having worked with two incredible coaches and, as such, see them as being important to my lifestyle. Although they are not directly related to my work, they are linked to my core goal, so I prioritise 30 minutes per day to analysing markets and placing trades. For someone else, their NNH might be a walk with their dog at 3 pm to create mental calmness, or for someone else, it might be to weigh themselves at the gym at 11 am and get a full-body scan to track their health goals and continue to improve their energy levels throughout the day, or even to have a break from work at 3:30 pm to spend 45 minutes debriefing their child’s day at school to ensure they have a strong family connection. Non-Negotiable Habits are flexible in this respect, but they have to be tied to something that is important to our lives or support a specific goal that we have. The fifth and final area of habit formation is the Close of Play Ritual (COPR) There is a common assumption that we all have the ability to switch off from work at the end of the day. And while this might be true for some, it is an incredibly difficult task for many others. Most of us have experienced this at one time or another, if not consistently each day; but we do need time to switch off - not only for our mental health but also to allow us to maintain connection with our family and to 'enjoy' the journey. Sometimes, shutting off can lead to feeling unproductive and guilty about not working harder, and this is where the COPR comes into play. The COPR works on the premise that we should be creating huge impact in our business every single day by implementing the previous four habits, and if we get anything extra done - that’s a bonus! To provide an example, my COPR focuses around tracking numbers, clearing out any missed emails or messages, creating an outcome list for the next day, and finishing off my planned water intake for the time period. By creating a habitual process that we go through at the end of each day to physically signify another one percent progress and the successful close of another day, we mentally frame the ‘stopping of working’ as a positive action. Prepare to welcome failure and setbacks With any new process we introduce into our business or our lives, we have to expect there to be a learning curve; instant success is rarely the outcome. Over the years, I have come to realise that failure is part of the journey and often my biggest failures have become part of my biggest teachings. If we can learn to embrace failure, and seek the positive that we can extract from each event, not only will we progress faster, but we will enhance the level at which we understand ourselves, the journey, and the world around us. This habits framework, combined with the principles of truth and the 1%, provides a simple and structured map for those seeking to achieve a goal but lacking the tools to get there. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Jay Staniforth, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Jay Staniforth is a leader in high-performance habit formation and marketing strategy. After struggling with social anxiety in his teens, Jay dedicated 5 years of his life to studying Psychology and further understanding his struggle with focusing and taking action in public situations. He created strategies to strengthen his ability to hyperfocus on tasks whilst building the confidence to share his knowledge to benefit others. He has since dedicated his working life to helping entrepreneurs in the coaching and training niche to grow their business by removing overwhelm and gaining clear direction through coaching sessions which focus on habit formation, goal setting, and system creation. He founded Expert Unleashed in 2018 with his partner Naomi Hyett who wanted to create a support system for entrepreneurs looking to succeed in a business that positively impacted the lives of others. Together they have helped over 100 coaches and trainers globally to remove overwhelm and progress their business using an auto-organic marketing system that works every time! Jay's mission: to inspire and empower the next generation of thought leaders to unleash their inner expert and create a movement that positively impacts the world.