Written by: Marc Singer, 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 date is one that will be etched in my memory forever, the 11th of the 11th, 2011, at 11 am. That was the time my life changed forever… As I sat at the back of the court, awaiting my sentence, having been found guilty of a crime, I knew, and my friends and family knew, I was innocent of, I was a forlorn figure. Dosed up on painkillers to numb the physical and mental pain caused through the stress of having to go through a court case and subsequent conviction had taken a toll. I was numb to the events unfolding around me. I had been arrested following a fight at a work Christmas party whereby I had stepped in to defend a young lad who was beaten up by several members of a rival car dealership branch to the one I worked for. I was attacked myself and beaten up by four guys. My girlfriend thought they were going to kill me. I was to spend two weeks in hospital as a result. The whole episode was a sham from start to finish, and there were no independent witnesses, no CCTV, no forensic evidence. Only their word against ours. And because I had a past where I was involved in gangs and drugs, that ultimately came back to haunt me in court. The police decided I must have been to blame and arrested me, not the assailants. Even though it was clear I had been the one seriously assaulted. Their argument was that I must have needed restraining. Sentenced to what is called an IPP sentence, which is essentially a life sentence with no release date, I would have to demonstrate I would never offend again if I were ever to be released from prison. Once in custody, I appealed the conviction and sentence, but to no avail. Much to the horror of my family and friends. Who was campaigning outside for my release? My girlfriend blamed herself for not keeping the dress which she was wearing, which was covered in my blood, as evidence. It was a living nightmare! I was told that unless I accepted full responsibility for the ‘offense,’ I would never be free again. But how do you accept responsibility for something you know you have not done?! In order to not lose my mind, I told myself it was karma for all the bad things I had done in my youth. They had finally caught up with me… Just at a time when I had, on the surface, got my life together. I had a great job as a top salesman for the car dealership I worked for, a girlfriend I loved, and we were saving up for our first home. Two years into the sentence, I had completed an offending behavior course after offending behavior course in an attempt to demonstrate that I was no threat to society. It was Christmas 2013 when my whole world came crumbling down around me. My Mum, who was everything to me, was diagnosed with cancer. Within two weeks, she would be dead. But not before my beloved cat, Typsy, died suddenly the very day before my Mum did. I was stunned. Shocked. Empty. But I had to hold it together for my Dad, who was in poor health himself and struggling on his own outside. I had to arrange her funeral from prison because he wasn’t able to. He stopped eating. Stopped taking his medication for an overactive thyroid condition. He gave up. And exactly three months to the day after losing my Mum, he died suddenly from a cardiac arrest whilst I spoke to him on the phone. Again, I had to arrange his funeral. Attending both in handcuffs attached to a prison officer. Shortly after that, my last remaining immediate family went when my grandad died at the age of 97. Throughout all this, I had to arrange for the family home to sell, and with the help of close friends, managed to clear the house out, have it cleaned, and have our remaining 20 cats rehomed. All of whom were like babies to me. All in all that year, I lost no less than thirty-one people, animals, and things (i.e., my home) that I loved. And yet, I still had to keep my mind together and get the hell out of prison. For a while, I did okay. I was working in a warehouse for DHL there, and that helped occupy my time. But the breaking point came about a year after I lost my Mum. It came when my now ex-girlfriend secretly started a relationship with my best friend. They lied to me about it. However, a friend told me. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. I took an overdose and suffered a heart attack. Luckily, a friend found me and administered CPR. That was my turning point. The following year was hard. My health was poor. I was back and forth to the hospital having checks. And I had lost everyone and everything I loved. Thankfully I did still have some amazing friends supporting me, whom without I don’t know what would have happened. But I decided that I no longer wanted to be a victim… And that was when I decided to change things. I started working in the Education Department as a teaching assistant in the Critical Reasoning Class. And I started doing a degree. I was mentoring young kids who had been involved in gangs and drugs when I realized I had a natural talent and aptitude to help people and get the best out of them. It was then I started a business course and had to complete a business plan. The first thing that popped into my head was, ‘Life Coach’! After all, I had endured and been through, and it wasn’t long before the authorities recognized and rewarded me with the release. And ironically, as I write this article today, I have just been invited back to that prison to do a talk to the inmates in there now. Officers and inmates alike were in awe of how well I had coped under so much adversity and pressure. But I did take a toll. And I had therapy and counseling as a consequence. Fast forward to now, and I am a highly trained professional coach, having embarked on a two-year period and 360 hours of training with the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). I now use my personal experiences and my training to help others become the very best versions of themselves! Using a specific process over several months, I help people transform their thinking and create amazing things. After all, it worked for me, as after leaving prison, I was lost and directionless until I discovered iPEC. They taught me the CORE Energy Coaching process, a holistic approach that helps you and your clients transform their lives from the inside out. Optimizing all areas of your life so that you are performing at your best consistently, all the time. And using this amazing structure and process, coupled with my own personal experience, has enabled me to set up, build and thrive as a professional coach. And I am only just getting started! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Marc Singer, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marc is a highly trained professional coach, a graduate of (iPEC) the institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching. After being badly bullied at school, Marc became involved in a gang full of violence and drugs. Although having enjoyed a great upbringing and from a loving family, he went off the rails. Having moved on from that life, he found himself in a situation one night that would change his life forever. Imprisoned for life for a crime he didn’t commit, he embarked upon an incredible journey of change. Tragically having lost all of his family whilst in prison, Marc found the strength to rebuild his life, secure his freedom, and build an amazing career. He now helps others create the life they desire and become the very best versions of themselves. Currently authoring his first book, his life story, he also coaches one-to-one in groups and does inspiring speaking arrangements motivating others to overcome their own barriers to success. In fact, he was recently invited back to the prison he was in, but this time not as an inmate but as a speaker. His story is unique, tragic, and shocking, but ultimately evidence that with the right mindset and approach to life, you really can achieve absolutely anything!

Written by: Awaz Ahmed, 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. Everyone is creative! It’s just sometimes working, others' expectations of us, deadlines, meetings, appointments, clutter, and exhaustion can all get in the way of being creative. 5 Simple Tips To Bring Back Creativity And Innovation! Design an Environment that Promotes Creativity. The environment in which we live and work has a significant impact on how we think and feel, as well as our ability to be creative. A dull, cluttered, frantic, overworked environment can affect our abilities to be motivated. To be creative and innovative, we need to be upbeat, energetic, playful, and motivated. Therefore changing the office look, music, walls, declutter, getting new supplies, or anything that makes you feel happy helps with creativity! Be Aware of Your Biorhythms Keep track of the times of day when you're most creative and plan your day to make the most of it. Do you prefer to get up early in the morning? Then make a plan for your creative pursuits. Are you a night person? Do the dull tasks first thing in the morning. Make a timetable change. Try out different creative strategies, tools, methods, and processes to see which ones work best for you Listen to music, collaborate with others, bring a tiny notebook and pen with you so you may jot down ideas, take a break, go for a walk or exercise. Overcome Obstacles Too many demands might exhaust us, making it difficult to activate our creativity. It’s important to have a clear mind, therefore resolving obstacles/problems to get your train of thought. Journal Have an idea? Jot it down! Sometimes stuff comes to mind randomly, and we tend to forget later on. (ISEI, 2020) Included a Fun Creativity Exercise To Do with Colleagues and Friends! Working teams of 2-5, write all the ways you can use the following item or items realistically. Set the time for 3-5 minutes. The group with the most ideas wins! Ideas for items that can be used or choose your own! Paper Clip Toothpick Bobby pin Safety Pin Paper Cup Institute for Social + Emotional Intelligence®, (2020). Follow me on Instagram, Linkedin and visit my websit e ! Read more from Awa z ! Awaz Ahmed, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Awaz Ahmed is a Business Psychologist and Coach, helping organizations and individuals in the workplace by encouraging and facilitating clients in a range of professional and personal areas. In addition, she has worked internationally and is the founder of aweology, a company platform of Business Psychologists and professional coaches. With an MSc in Business Psychology and coaching Awaz Ahmed, is also a certified emotional intelligence coach, NLP practitioner, certified 70+ hours of ICF coaching training, member of the British Psychology Society, American Psychology Association, Society for Industrial and organizational psychology and currently studying her Ph.D. in Business Psychology. Through her extensive experience and education in Business Psychology, she is highly skilled and passionate about research, psychometrics, assessments, training, development, recruitment, and coaching.

Written by: Kristen Bilodeau, 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. We live in a society where we are inundated with information, options, choices, and responsibilities; a society where overachieving is valued alongside success. Many people feel overwhelmed by having so much to do. We find ourselves constantly juggling obligations while trying to find time to do what we enjoy, be with those we love, or to just be. The expression, “I’d love to, but I don’t have the time,” seems trite but, for many of us, a reality. True, there are so many waking hours in a day. This prioritizes how we spend our waking hours more essential than ever to feel healthy, present, and fulfilled in our lives. The experience of evaluating how we spend our days, weeks, and months can open our awareness to the agency we have to change and improve those choices. We have the power to decide where we direct our attention and how we choose to invest in the time we have each day. Time is a gift, and making space for who and what matters to us is a personal responsibility we owe it to ourselves to meet. Making mindful and deliberate choices is a deliberate process that involves truthfulness and reflection about what matters and how we are best serving ourselves and those who matter to us. Choosing with intention can pay off in dividends. What does it mean to make space, and why is it important? Being a victim to the demands of life earns you no admirable trophy. By taking ownership and agency over how you spend your time, you can consciously decide what is important in alignment with your values and purpose. For example, by choosing to spend 30 minutes checking email during your day so that you can make space to be with your partner or your children, go for a walk, or get in that workout because you know how great you’ll feel afterward. Start by writing down who and what is important to you. Ask yourself how much time in a day or week you spend on that person, activity, or goal. Then, list how you spend each hour of your day. What tasks are trivial, tedious, or distracting rather than meaningful and purposeful, such as unimportant errands or phone calls or mindless scrolling on your phone. Where could you eliminate, reschedule, or delegate tasks like these to make time and space to be doing what feels good for you, what helps you rest and stay calm, or helps you feel more energized? Don’t underestimate the power of the simple decisions you make; ten minutes to meditate or take a walk can have profound results when done with consistency. When you see people who feel happy and fulfilled in their lives, chances are they are consciously aware and deliberate about their choices of how they spend their time each day. The importance of self-awareness and intuition Making space to engage with what you desire or need requires understanding who you are and your unique needs and values. If you are an empathic person who feels deeply and gets overwhelmed by stress or overstimulation, taking time alone in silence, or to rest and unplug from daily demands, may be vital to calm your nervous system. Or if you are that person who is constantly doing for others but really makes space and time for yourself, you may be left feeling unappreciated because you are sacrificing your own needs. Having self-awareness means you are listening to your body and mind, which can provide valuable insight, often in the form of warning signals that your body is sending to your mind. Much in the same way that when we walk into a room and instantly feel uncomfortable, our intuition and physical responses can be the first sign of misalignment. When we are dictated entirely by our external demands while suppressing our own needs and desires, we can be left suffering from a myriad of negative outcomes; stress anxiety, depression, and burnout. Taking the time to know and be consciously aware of what is important to you and whether or not you are choosing to make space for those values in your life has an incredible impact on your happiness. How to proactively make space in your life: 1. Assess: Be truthful and honest with yourself. How are you spending your time? Write down, hour by hour or even minute by minute, what you do during your day. Do not judge or defend. Just let the list be what it is. Next, list what values or goals you have. What is important to you and why? How much time daily, weekly or monthly are you dedicating to these goals and values? Again, be truthful. 2. Reflect: Look at your list; what patterns do you see? Do you see important people or activities missing in this list (including time for you)? What feelings and emotions are connected or associated with your lists from number one? How does being or doing these activities make you feel, or how do they contribute to your happiness and well-being? 3. Evaluate: What activities and behaviors are necessary or unnecessary? Where can you prune or eliminate time spent on what is unnecessary and what could be delegated? Evaluate the role these activities and decisions play in your life in relation to your values and goals. Be realistic about what you can and should accomplish in your day. Also, remember that life includes both work, play, and rest. 4. Create: Be the designer of your time where can you create time blocks, even in 10 to 15-minute increments, to engage and be available for the activities that align with your needs, values, and happiness. Small steps done consistently turn into habits over time. Habits create your reality and experience. There will always be obligations and distractions in our lives; that is inevitable. We must not underestimate the power and agency we have over how we choose to do with our time. We are often overscheduled with “to do” list items that we forget we were put on this earth to live our lives. Start making choices that allow you to live that life with meaning. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more fro m Kristen ! Kristen Bilodeau, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As a Personal Development and Marriage Coach, Kristen Bilodeau leads women through their own personal journey of finding their voice, healing their marriage, and releasing their inner wild woman. As a woman who struggled in her own journey to self-awareness and truth in her life and marriage, Kristen uses the power of a woman’s story as the tool and catalyst for change, healing, and growth. She helps women uncover their truth through questioning and reflection so that they can be the creator of their experiences and thrive as the woman they were meant to be.

Written by: Julie Leonard, 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. A couple of years ago I was invited to attend an entrepreneurial mastermind in Italy. It was by invite only and limited to just 12 women. I embraced the opportunity and the experience turned out to be incredible and life-changing. However, during the first day, I felt uncomfortable and felt like I didn’t belong with these successful women. Even though I met the criteria for the group, I run a successful coaching business and was personally invited, I felt like an imposter. Looking back, I’ve felt like an imposter at various points in my life, usually connected with work and most often when I’ve felt out of my comfort zone. What I was feeling was imposter syndrome. What is Imposter Syndrome? The term was created by clinical psychologists, Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes, in 1978. They noticed that their female students doubted their abilities despite their degrees, test scores, and positive feedback. The women did not experience an internal sense of success. They saw themselves as’ imposters’. Imposter syndrome is when you don’t believe that you are worthy of your success and have the persistent fear of being found out, not feeling as good as other people, and often with feelings of anxiety. That due to some internalized limiting beliefs, you believe that somehow your success is down to a mistake or luck. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. According to research around 70% of people will be affected at some point in their lives- both men and women. Why do people experience it? There are many reasons why so many people feel like frauds. Internalized childhood beliefs such as not feeling good enough reduce our self-esteem and self-worth. Low self-confidence means we compare ourselves less favorably with others. Those who battle with perfectionism can be harshly critical of themselves. Negative Impact The negative impact of imposter syndrome means that you often work even harder to make up for this perceived ‘lacking’, are unhappy and not enjoying your life, and are not going for promotions and fulfilling your potential. Here are 5 ways to overcome imposter syndrome that I use with my clients: 1. Identify the thoughts behind the feeling. So often, our thoughts are so automatic that we simply accept them as ‘Who I am’. Getting behind the feeling of being an imposter and becoming aware of the negative thoughts is the first step. Become curious about what your negative thoughts are and begin to be consciously aware of them. 2. List your achievements and expertise. Challenge these negative thoughts with facts. Negative thoughts are powerful but they are thoughts, not facts. It’s easy for us to focus on what is aligned with our negative beliefs and ignore anything that doesn’t fit in with our beliefs. Get analytical and write down all the evidence that challenges your negative belief. 3. Stop overworking and set boundaries. Are you overcompensating for this perceived lack by overworking and overgiving? Stop! Set boundaries and learn to say no. 4. Let go of perfectionism, nobody is perfect. And if things are not perfect it does not mean they are terrible. Something or someone less than perfect is still amazing. Embrace the knowledge that perfectionism does not exist and embrace your imperfections. That is what makes us unique and fascinating. 5. Develop positive self-talk. The great news is that we can retrain our brains to become more positive. If your belief is ‘I’m Not Good Enough’ then tell yourself ‘I am good enough’. Even if you don’t believe it at first. Begin to lay those positive neural pathways in your brain and positive self-talk will become easier. In my self-compassion course, we train for just 5 minutes a day for 21 days with incredible results. Personal and professional growth requires us to be uncomfortable and that’s where the feelings of being an imposter can arise. Understanding what is happening and having the knowledge of how to overcome it, empowers you to change it from a syndrome to a process of transformation. Want to learn more from Julie? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Julie Leonard, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Julie Leonard is The Happiness Evangelist & Life Coach with over 30 years of Psychology, Mental Health, and Coaching Experience. Her concept of Intentional Happiness focuses on how much of your happiness is within your control and how to be proactive, not reactive in cultivating the life you really want. She truly believes that you do not have to be defined by your past, held back by your limiting beliefs, or remain stuck because of your negative inner critic and fear. She is the author of the No1 bestseller, Intentional Happiness: The Life-Changing Guide To Being Happy and Staying Happy, the creator of The Intentional Happiness Circle and Sunndach.com, and is the host of the international women’s Happiness Club. She used to be that woman. But not anymore, and not for a long time. And after transforming herself and her life and supporting over 1000 women over the past 30 years, she knows that you can take control of your life, let go of limiting beliefs, get clear on what you want, and truly live the life you desire. To be successful. To be Intentionally Happy.

Written by: Virin Gomber, 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. Being ‘busy’ has become a social norm in these fast-paced times, to the extent that people use this word freely and consistently to either express their hectic nature of life or just to project their ‘busyness’ as a status symbol. The problem has assumed such exponential proportions that if you don't come across as 'busy,' you're considered lazy, unenthusiastic, or coming from the stone age. This mindset is increasingly becoming more prevalent in the corporate and entrepreneurial world. However, this pattern of conformist behavior contributes to one of the biggest problems of the century – ‘overwhelm.’ What does the word ‘Overwhelm’ actually mean? According to the Cambridge Dictionary: “If something overwhelms someone or something, it is too much, or almost too much, for them to manage.” "Too much to manage" – are the keywords here. When the situation becomes that hard to manage, it easily creates a ripple effect on your psychological and emotional response. Eventually, it can increase stress, anxiety, fears, health issues, and even financial losses. Overwhelm to Burnout If the overwhelm becomes consistent, it can make you feel emotionally drained and then quickly lead you into the stage called ‘burnout.’ The key effects of burnout include - reduced productivity, mental and physical fatigue, apart from feelings of cynicism and resentment. According to an HBR research report: “The entrepreneurs, on average, said they experienced some level of burnout. But some were more burned out than others — 25% of entrepreneurs felt moderately burned out, while 3% felt strongly burned out.” It continues to add: "The researchers found that the entrepreneurs who reported high scores of obsessive passion were more likely to say they experienced burnout than those who reported high scores of harmonious passion.” This is a strong indicator that you need to identify this challenge at the stage of ‘overwhelm’ so you can avoid the stage of ‘burnout.’ Otherwise, it will soon seep into other areas of your life, including your personal relationships. However, as a busy entrepreneur or professional, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed due to all the distractions and notifications constantly vying for your attention. These distractions include — email alerts and message notifications and the never-ending demands from your social media presence - Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, and others. Above all, there’s the news overflow from the thousands of TV channels and the gigantic smorgasbord of entertainment options on OTT platforms. The Harmful Impact of Information Overload It’s consistently damaging your focus. Our brain is simply not equipped to deal with the information overload from an ever-increasing number of sources, especially technology-related, that are consistently trying to attract our attention. When we are feeling overwhelmed, we have difficulty sitting still. Our thinking gets clouded. Our ability to make decisions becomes weaker, and our memory is impacted. This can result in a loss of mental energy and strength required to concentrate on the tasks at hand. Your ability to focus starts to get diluted and weaker. Being able to stay focused on a set of tasks is one of the greatest indicators of your future success. Successful and mindful entrepreneurs and professionals make it a point to master the art of laser-focus because that's what gives them strong and fulfilling outcomes. The Antidote Now you’d think the problem can be easily resolved if you acted rationally and removed all the harmful distractions that are the source of overwhelm and so you can regain your focus. But, the pattern of acting with an ‘obsessive passion’ hijacks the ‘rational’ part of our thinking, making it more complicated. There is a deeper issue here that we need to address. While learning to improve your focus in the face of all the distractions and overcome overwhelm doesn't happen overnight, there are strategies to make it easier. With a few simple Mindfulness practices, you can quickly take charge of your mind, stop overwhelm in its tracks and develop laser-like focus. 1. Avoid Multitasking Imagine this – you're working on a project when your phone rings suddenly. It's your partner calling who needs you to be back home a bit earlier that night due to an emergency. As you finish the call, you hear a notification beep from one of your clients with an urgent query. You head over to Facebook to address this task, and half an hour later, you find yourself surfing social media and checking up on other messages. When you finally bring your attention back to your project work, you realize you had lost the same clear focus you had earlier when you started working on it. It's important to remember that consistent multitasking often can lead to a downfall in the brain's gray matter and eventually memory problems. It's not surprising that this can prevent you from focusing on one project at a time to complete it. So, here’s what you need to do to avoid multitasking: Never check your phone first thing when you wake up in the morning, as it can get you started on a multitasking mode and decrease your productivity. Wait at least an hour after you’ve completed some of your other morning priorities. Make an effort to eliminate all pointless distractions when focussing on project completion. The best way to do this is to switch off your social media, text and email notifications, or put your phone on airplane mode. You can turn them back on again after the task completion. Learn to say ‘No’ even when you get the opportunity for more projects than you can suitably handle. This will help you design a pattern of delivering high-quality work while reducing your multi-tasking madness. 2. Practice Mindfulness Meditation Whether in the form of meditation or breathing exercises, integrating mindfulness into your routine will help you with your goal of overcoming overwhelm. It has been proven to enhance focus, thereby improving optimism, happiness, positive emotional states, and self-acceptance. Psychologist Daniel Goleman says: “Bringing attention back to the breath each time you feel your mind wandering during meditation helps strengthen the brain’s neural circuitry for focus.” Essentially, it means when you notice that you’re off track due to any distraction, like a text or your phone ringing, you will be better equipped to come back to the task at hand. Whenever you find your focus decline during the course of a day’s work, this simple step of a quick and short meditation will help you restore your attention and focus. 3. Consume Mindfully Research shows that mindful eating and choosing your nutrition mindfully can help with greater psychological well-being, which directly impacts your brain’s power of focus. Our gut and brain are connected with one of the biggest nerves called the 'vagus.' This means that the health of our gut impacts our brain's cognitive functioning. According to Harvard School of Public Health: "Mindfulness targets becoming more aware of, rather than reacting to, one's situation and choices. Eating mindfully means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make." The keys to the mindful eating model rest on 4 pillars: what, why, how much, and how to eat. So, make use of the power of mindfulness to: Notice internal and external signals that affect how much you eat Observe how the food looks, smells, feels, and tastes Become aware of how your body feels after eating In terms of the 'How' – you can use mindful breathing techniques before or after the meal. Also, your brain needs lots of good fat to function properly. So, try to get more ‘good fats’ in your diet. Nuts, avocados, and coconut oil are all great examples. These steps will quickly improve your cognitive function and, thereby, your focus. 4. Master Your Sleep Consistent sleep deprivation can potentially ruin your focus. It’s a simple equation: poor sleep = overworked neurons. Research from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School suggests: "A sleep-deprived person cannot focus attention optimally and therefore cannot learn efficiently. Sleep itself has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential for learning new information.” Furthermore, a lack of sufficient sleep or low-quality sleep can result in a loss of ability to make correct decisions due to loss of assessment accuracy and judgment impairment. Above all, experiencing chronic fatigue or exhaustion brings down our performance and efficiency. At the same time, research also suggests that both situations - too little sleep or too much sleep – can result in cognitive decline. So, what’s recommended is accomplishing a routine of ‘optimal’ sleep. Here are a few quick tips: Optimize your bedroom environment by minimizing the use of electronic devices in the room, especially before bedtime. Create a regular sleep schedule to support your body clock. Avoid alcohol and/or caffeine after a certain time in the evening. Adopt a relaxing routine before bed – you can try reading, enjoying a warm bath, or mindfulness meditation. Apart from slowing down your overactive brain, this will also activate your pineal gland that supports the production of the sleep hormone ‘melatonin.’ The amount of sleep needed varies significantly across individuals. While there’s no ‘magic number of hours,’ become mindful of your own unique needs and follow that routine. 5. Stay Physically Active While we all know how beneficial 'working out' is for your body, several research studies have revealed that regular physical exercise can help build the brain's ability to manage distractions better and improve its ability to focus. Physical activity of any kind helps boost the levels of the ‘good’ chemicals in the brain - dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. All of this supports improving your focus and concentration scale. So, there’s no excuse not to make physical activity a regular part of your routine. Start your morning with some form of physical exercise. Or, you can include it in your evening schedule after work, making sure it suits your body type and the current state of your health. The simple routine of getting your blood flowing for 20-30 minutes every day will spark your mind sufficiently and help you develop stronger focus throughout the day. Staying focused is one of the biggest challenges we face today. It's not only because we have forgotten how to stay focussed, but also because we've far more distractions around us than ever. When you learn and manage to consistently stay focussed on your goals and tasks at hand, you can become unstoppable! Here’s what Steve Jobs had to say about focus: “That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” If you’re looking to master your distractions and up-level your focus and attention scale to transform your performance, I will invite you to explore my program - Mindfulness Powerhouse™. It’s an online program designed for professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and individuals aspiring to build a successful system to turn stress and overwhelm into emotional wellbeing, optimal balance, and high performance. This program will empower you to transform overwhelm into laser-focus, uplift your productivity, and enhance your emotional wellbeing. I hope this article has been of value to you and helped you to shift your perspective at some level. Please feel free to get in touch to share your thoughts - I’d love to hear from you. For your mindful success, Virin Gomber Disclaimer: The suggestions in this article do not reflect any particular diagnosis or course of treatment. They are meant as a tool to provide you new perspectives. If you have any further concerns about your current well-being, you may contact your GP or a medical specialist. Connect HERE for an opportunity to work with me! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Virin Gomber, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Virin Gomber is a leading Mindfulness Success Coach, Speaker, and Author. Following a successful corporate career that left him with stress and burnout, he learned, created, and mastered highly effective Mindfulness strategies to boost his balance and personal performance. Since then, he has integrated Quantum Physics, Neuroscience, and Positive Psychology principles to craft a unique blend for his Mindfulness success system. Dedicated to helping people become top achievers, the core of his work is with entrepreneurs, CEOs, professionals, and driven individuals to support them to achieve peak performance, balance and happiness. He offers more than a decade of Success Coaching, corporate training, and 25+ years of Mindfulness experience. Virin has co-authored an Amazon bestseller, “The Missing Piece in Self Love,” appeared on TV shows, and contributed to numerous global online magazines. His ‘WHY’: To empower people to create accomplished personal skills to achieve next-level success and happiness.

Written by: Linda Terjesen, 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. Four months ago, an Entrepreneur and Nurse Practitioner stumbled upon my Instagram site, and we started chatting. She wanted help losing weight. Well, she didn’t just want to lose 20 pounds. She wanted to open her closet and wear her clothes again. She wanted to get rid of the belly fat. She wanted to gain more energy and get her self-confidence back. She wanted to learn how to maintain consistency with exercising without just going all in and then slowly stop. She wanted to learn how to manage delayed onset muscle soreness. She wanted to control her late-night binging and stop her addiction to carbohydrates, which had become outrageous. She wanted to figure out some quick breakfast options, so she didn’t skip eating in the morning. She got all this and more! When I shared her transformation online, her comments were: “Thank you. You are such a dedicated and beautiful individual. I am so blessed to have come upon your Instagram site. I commented on something, and you reached out just at the perfect moment. The first pictures are painful to look at. Not because of my weight. But you can see how terrible I felt about myself. I was in such a funk. My latest pictures show the me I love to be. Energetic. Bright. Confident. Happy. You truly have made such a difference. Helping me on the inside as well as the outside.” You see, transformations like this are really not about losing weight. It’s about changing lives. It’s about becoming the person you desire and deserve to be. It’s inner work. It’s all about YOU. It’s about putting yourself first. Prioritizing you and your health. Stories like this make my work so worth it. It truly warms my soul and makes me smile big time. I love being a life changer and making a real difference in the world. So no matter what age you are reading this or what health condition you’re in, just know you can change, it’s your choice, and it’s all up to you. Just do it. You are worthy! For more information, follow Linda on Facebook , Instagram and visit her website ! Read more from Linda ! Linda Terjesen, Executive Contributor BRAINZ Magazine Linda Terjesen is an International sought-after Certified Nutritionist, Health & Fitness Expert dedicated to helping middle-aged women worldwide build consistency, lose belly fat and boost metabolism to feel and look confident for life with a sustainable, real food approach. After Linda lost her only brother at age 45 to a sudden heart attack, Linda decided to follow her passion for health and fitness and help others live their healthiest life. As a relatable Coach who truly cares about her clients and their success, Linda has served over 100 Clients worldwide, providing a wealth of accountability, support, and education.

Written by: Lee-Anne Mendel, 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 truly happy? When last did you ask yourself this question? I have heard many times the saying that we shouldn’t allow our external circumstances to impact how happy we feel or our state of mind. I believe it’s an art to master. It’s all about the feeling. We have to decide to choose happiness even when, in reality, it may seem impossible to even imagine. Are we playing a victim to our own situation? After 22 years of a happy marriage and now recently separated, I found myself questioning what happiness really was? For so long, I found the people-pleaser in me, doing everything I could to feel happy not only in my marriage but also for my kids, in certain friendships, and business relationships. I kept myself so super busy with schedules and routines and tried so hard in everything I did that others started to nickname me “Superwoman!” Not sure that was actually attractive or a turn-off, but either way, it was something I embodied day in and day out for many years. Not knowing any other way. The overachiever in me took over. I was stressed, tired, run-down, and mentally exhausted. I wasn’t happy and didn’t stop for a minute. That was my reality. I rarely took a breath to just be or take care of myself. It was just me every day racing against the clock to try and get as much done as possible. To finish my day with a whole lot of ticks off my to-do list. I thought this is what made me happy. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Going to bed many nights feeling alone, scared, and not knowing my true purpose — only to wake up the next morning and do it all over again. The woman I wanted to be was so far away. The structure of it all made me feel safe and in control. But was I kidding myself? I finally found myself with a big black hole in my heart where once there was truly magical love and innocence. All I was doing was filling it with endless things, materialistic stuff, dinners, gifts, holidays to help remove that darkness. While all along, I searched for so much more! This year, I faced my darkest deepest shadows and came to realize my Inner Child was starved. She wanted to play, craving adventure, fun, excitement, no rules, to be wild, to be free! My Inner Child was screaming inside for happiness! I wasn’t listening. At the same time, I was too scared to come out in fear of what others may think of her, or should I rather say, “me,” my true authentic self. Showing up with a mask every day, hiding who she truly was. Can you relate? Are you settling? Staying where you are just to feel safe? Is this feeding your happiness? 5 years ago, I was blessed to meet my spiritual teacher Debbie Stephenson from Love Soul Healing in Sydney, Australia. My journey began. It was like a breath of fresh air. The triggers around me were like firecrackers. I was shown that my personal growth was up to me and that everything happened for me, not to me. I was also shown that daily consistent work on being more rather than doing would allow me to have more in abundance, more flow, and faith than I could ever have planned on my own. Through my spiritual awakening, I was shown the divine was already inside of me. That light was there — I wasn’t broken or needed to be fixed. I was already whole. My light was dim, and all I needed to do was work on my own self to strengthen that light and make it stronger. By so doing, more light-filled my soul and silenced the darkness within. Allowing more love and light in. In this way, I could help empower more people, inspire others and make a difference. My happiness project began. I realized that superficial things and people who didn’t love and accept me just the way I was, wasn’t making me happy. That seeking outside myself for happiness wouldn’t work. All the money in the world, fancy cars, nice clothes, putting out for sex, or craving recognition wasn’t going to make me happy either. By saying and doing the right thing and being a “good girl” wasn’t a solution. Happiness was an inside job. It was my responsibility to work on it daily. No one person or circumstance, situation, or event would make me completely fulfilled and happy—only me. Here are my top tips for starting your own happiness project: 1. Explore your creative side – your inner child is craving fun. Do something to feed her curiosity and try new things. Pick an activity you have wanted to do for a very long time but never got a chance to do it. For me, this was Latin and Ballroom dancing. Dancing to music made me feel free and alive. 2. Cherish Love and Connection – it’s a flow between your mind, body, and soul connection to yourself, your family, friends, business relationships, community, and the world. To love and accept ourselves and to love and accept others without fear of judgment. 3. Contribution – “When you can see the bigger meaning of what you do and the end result that contributes to others’ happiness, that is when you are serving your purpose in life” – Linda Tomai Duong 4. Heal at a soul level – chanting mantras opens the soul, sound healing or chakra healing is extremely powerful in connecting within and aligning our energy to a higher source. I love the mantra “Om Namor Nayarani,” which means “I surrender to the Divine Mother” I chant it 108 times a day which is about 15-20 minutes. 5. Positive Affirmations – “I am JOY” - say it slowly several times a day. Joy attracts joy. Choose how you respond to outside circumstances. The more joy you feel will change the outside circumstances. 6. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting like-minded people who bring you good vibes and great energy. 7. Laugh and smile more. 8. Find the rainbow in the rain – be on purpose and intentional to choose happy. “Happiness is a choice not a result. Nothing will make you happy unless you choose to be happy” – Ralph Marston. In summary: Happiness is available to us all. We all deserve to be happy. The secret is it starts with you. You are brave and courageous to level up your own game to not accept or settle if you truly are not feeling fulfilled. You have a choice. Don’t stay safe just to please others, that will keep you stuck. You owe it to yourself to figure out those few things that fill your cup and feed your soul. Then go out there and be that person who owns it. Your inner happiness will have a positive ripple effect on those around you, your family, friends, relationships, community, and this world. Start your own happiness project today. If you are open and ready to make a change, I would love to connect with you. Want to learn more from Lee-Anne? Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website. Read more from Lee-Anne! Lee-Anne Mendel, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Lee-Anne Mendel is a Self Love Coach, NLP Practitioner, Professional Makeup Artist and Health and Wellness Advocate for vegan, toxic-free, and cruelty-free skincare, beauty, and nutritional supplements. Lee-Anne’s coaching approach is a holistic one as she believes once you have your mind, body, and soul all working in harmony, that’s when you can become the best version of yourself and live a fulfilled life aligned and on purpose. She is passionate about supporting women to awaken their Divine Inner Goddess, to tap into their own inner beauty and the divine feminine, discover their true authentic self and ignite the spark and light within so they can glow bright, look and feel their best from the inside and out and be confident and comfortable in their own skin. With the programs she offers, her clients are empowered to heal at a soul level their self limiting beliefs and emotions with practical tools and resources to bring back the joy, adventure, excitement fun into their lives. Lee-Anne graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Degree in both Industrial Psychology and Economics and spent 15 years working in IT Distribution and Corporate. She emigrated to Sydney, Australia, in 2000, where she now resides with her family. In 2020 she travelled to India on a spiritual retreat and studied a Practitioner course in Love Soul Healing. In 2021 she completed a Certification in NLP Practitioner & Matrix Therapies ® and launched her self love coaching business Divine Daily Coaching. Lee-Anne uses her own wisdom, healing experiences, and self-love journey of Divine Inner and Outer Transformation to support her clients through both 1:1 coaching and groups. Contribution is big on her heart as she spends time sharing her skills and passion with others and raising money for charity.

Written by: Maria R. Malec, 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 different our existence might be if more people heeded the quote from Proverbs 18, “Death and life in the power of the tongue”? When you look at the shape of your tongue, you might notice that it has the uncanny similarity to the likeness of a sword. While free speech is a noble aspiration, our words can either build others up, or they can mercilessly tear them down, and ourselves being the most frequent target. This fact was the catalyst for publishing my first book in 2020 titled, Dare to Declare, Greeting the Day with Intention. It is a compilation of sixty-three-morning greetings setting up the trajectory of your day. Why Declare With Your Tongue? The book brings awareness to the power of the spoken word. Using sound as therapy has a long history. Stress pulls us out of coherence. Sound is a key component to putting us back in tune. An out-of-tune body expresses itself in a variety of ways, like the things we label for sickness. Without expanding on all the science-ey aspects of sound and how it works in healing (that’s what Google is for), just consider what better way to affect yourself positively than with your own voice? Are you marveling, yet, at the possibility to self-regulate without any external aides? You already have everything you need within you. Your greatest hurdle is to be aware of each opportunity to consistently use what you learn and then apply it. Why 63 Declarations? Most people have learned that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. This is partially correct. In 2018, I attended a brain conference in Texas conducted by Neuroscientist Dr.Caroline Leaf of Think Learn Succeed. She explained that “It takes 21 days to build a long-term memory, and it takes 63 days to build a new habit. Be wary of anyone who promises a quick fix to problem-the results will only be temporary.” Despite what you currently believe, the power is within you to shift the way you think and feel. This process is powerful and effective if you incorporate it daily. According to Leaf, “Repetition is necessary for protein synthesis and consolidation of memory.” Do not let the simplicity of this law of attention fool you. When properly executed, amazing things happen. Using Your Nose To Assist The Process Like sound, scents have a long history of use for affecting positive change. While any aroma can be utilized, essential oils are now a widely accepted tool for many applications. One of their most powerful uses is to imprint a new thought process in the brain’s emotional storehouse called the limbic system. “Through scientific clinical research, essential oils have been shown to vibrate at a higher electromagnetic frequency than any other substances measured. If you’re sick or unwell, your vibrational frequency will be lower.” On the flip side, when you’re healthy and well, your vibrational frequency will be higher. In human beings, vibrational frequency can be measured with a biofeedback machine that gives a reading in megahertz (MHz). This is key to know because things like negative thoughts, processed foods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and toxins in the environment will lower your vibration. Low vibration opens the door to dis-ease. We are very sophisticated electrical machines. A good way to understand this concept is to think of the difference between a charged battery compared to a drained battery and its ability to power optimally. The most remarkable aspect of using oils during this process is that smell physically connects your feelings and visuals to your brain. What this means is that even if you forget how you felt, what you pictured or what you declared during the process, you will continue to reinforce the neuropathway or newly imprinted thought in your brain by repeated inhalation of the oil. This tiny bit of information is incredibly powerful to comprehend and thus utilize for optimal wellness. Though there are three basic uses of essential oils; smelling, applying topically, or taking internally, for purposes of this article, we will be using essential oils through inhalation only. It is one of the easiest and quickest ways to affect your brain, as well as create an environment within your body that builds, nurtures and supports well-being. Setting Yourself Up For Success The process to affect change is faster and easier than taking a little white pill. Using my book is a ready-made tool that can take the guesswork out of what you declare, yet you can create your own declaration to suit your needs. Choose a scent that you want to be associated with your declaration. My suggestion is to select one that you will often experience, i.e., peppermint, lemon, or lavender. The more you smell it, the more it will affect that new neuropathway. Simply drop the essential oil onto your palm. Spin your palms together because this will spin the molecules, activating their potential. Inhale the essential oil while declaring out loud the daily intention. What we focus on expands, so stick to one intention at a time if you want quicker results. If you ramble off more than one intention at a time you dilute your focus. Take a few deep breaths inhaling the oil of choice, and fully immerse yourself in the feeling while visualizing your desired intent. This method is backed by science and the inner working of our incredible brains. I have used this method and have been teaching others this process for many years. Just like any new skill, it takes consistency of action to affect the positive changes you wish to achieve. Igniting the inner healer is really the core of this process. Once you tap into the intelligence you have access to 24 hours a day, navigating through life’s emotional challenges becomes an effortless gift. About Maria For the past 2 decades, Maria has been a wellness advocate for informed self-care and ‘Chemical Free’ living. As a result of countless hours of training and personal development, she thrives on teaching others how to design unique blueprints for vitality by implementing a “live above the wellness line” mindset. Her enthusiasm stems from helping others make informed decisions and becoming responsible for how they care for themselves and their families. She's "just a mom" on a mission with a heart for sharing what works to make the world a better place for all. Her Mission Teach self-reliance and self-care skills to busy people who need help to overcome health & wellness hurdles so that they may confidently experience self-care success living elevated with everyday wellness. Want to learn more from Maria? Visit her website. Read more from Maria! Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine & 2021 CREA Award Winner As a Human Experience Coach, Maria reminds folks that living is an art. Using various tools found in nature, she creates experiential retreats that ignite one's inner healer. She brings people to the awareness that their level of wellness is directly related to their peace of mind. Through heart/brain coherence, it is her mission to inspire others to paint a beautiful living by daring to declare their innermost desires, bringing peace to chaotic hearts, and helping them to restore themselves to their original blueprint of design. Her methods teach others how to find their flow and live fully with all their senses. In addition to coaching and speaking, Maria published her first book in 2020 titled, Dare to Declare, Greeting the Day With Intention. You can get it here: https://amzn.to/3BXAvGQ

Written by: Joanna Hakimi, 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. We have all been in a conversation (or two) where the other person cannot see our side of things. You explain and explain in every way you can think of, but to no avail. Why can they not see your side or what you are trying to convey? Simply put - because their experiences do not allow it. This is where the pendulum theory comes in. We have all seen a pendulum. They swing back and forth in the same allotted space over and over and over again. Some swing wide. Some swing narrow. But, they have a finite range. This is exactly how people’s ability to understand works. Everyone has an internal pendulum. We can only understand the experiences within our own pendulum swing. Of course, we can listen to and feel for other experiences, but we cannot truly feel or understand those experiences outside of our pendulum. Let me give you an example. Many years ago, I had a friend whose mother had a brain tumor. She endured a 17-hour brain surgery. She had to have a second surgery to repair some of the damage left by the first surgery. After her mother’s experience, my friend had a very hard time connecting with others about her sense of grief and anxiety over the entire situation. She found that talking with people about the experience, many would try and relate by sharing a time their mother had surgery — on their appendix. Or maybe they were in the hospital for pneumonia. While these experiences of her friends were similar and scary for them, the pendulum swing was not quite as far as a life-threatening brain tumor surgery. Thus those well-meaning friends simply could not understand the gravity of this situation. To my friend, these situations felt so meager in comparison to the brain tumor. But, to those trying to relate, it was as scary as it got for them, so they could only share and connect with their end of the pendulum. The takeaway: you cannot judge people for not comprehending the experiences they have not had, and my friend learned that she might need to find other sources of support that aligned more with her needs. This is important because it forces us to look at our own experiences and truly think about how we can relate to others. Your pendulum can only swing as wide as your experiences, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sympathize with people outside of your range. Of course, some pendulum experiences are out of our control, but understanding the pendulum theory makes us more willing to accept the limitations of other’s ability to relate. Next time you are in a conversation and become frustrated by the lack of perspective from a friend, relative, or colleague, take a deep breath and remember, their pendulum simply does not swing wide enough to connect evenly on the topic at hand. Follow Joanna on her Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website for more info. Read more from Joanna! Joanna Hakimi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Joanna Hakimi is a proud entrepreneur and licensed marriage and family therapist. Starting her first successful business at the age of 17 and being president of the Young Entrepreneur’s Society at the University of Georgia, she never closed the door on opportunity. She then went on to Northwestern University and attained her Masters in Science, becoming an LMFT. After being a successful LMFT in the northern suburbs of Chicago for more than 10 years while simultaneously running a mindful goods boutique for 5 years and accomplishing a 200-hour yoga teaching certification, Joanna was itching for a new adventure. Seeing a need to connect independent professionals such as life coaches, wellness coaches, therapists, and career consultants searching for new clients, LifeChangers.info was born. Joanna's goal is to empower and enlighten others to reach their full potential while being their most authentic selves.

Written by: Agnese Rudzate, 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. Save yourself time by taking the time to organize our busine ss — its tasks, processes, team, and yourself for next-level success. In our busy lives, it has become a norm to wear many hats as business owners. There’s a lot to manage . Besides, it has to be done effectively to move the business forwards. Organized business means you don’t have to waste time doing things you shouldn’t be doing in the first place. Organizational skills are worth practicing to maintain business growth. Disorganization is one of the worst business practices that doesn’t let you level up in the scale you want. It’s highly distracting and messy. While organizing might not be high on your priorities list, it has many benefits that you need to know about. Starting from increased productivity to profits and more. Let’s look at 5 things organized business gets right to save valuable resources - time, money, energy. 1. Time-Management Managing your time as a business owner is crucial to not only your business but also your own well-being. Planning accordingly to your rhythm, abilities, and business needs will only increase your impact and reduce wasted time on unproductive tasks. Knowing what to do and when to do it is a skill that’s worth building. Understand where your distractions come from. What takes your attention away? By understanding the triggers, you will become a much better manager of your time. Meaning, you will be able to focus on strategically important tasks, prioritize wisely and delegate tasks that are not in your “zone of genius.” 2. Team-Management A team where everyone knows what they're doing is a great team. But a team where members take proactive action to fulfill your business goals, bring your vision to life and thrive for growth is a team worth investing your time in. The organized business has clear procedures that don’t allow confusion. Everyone is on the tasks without your constant attention and micromanaging. Effective team interrupts you much less. It saves your time and energy to focus on strategically important projects. 3. Process-Management A smooth process running is a structural fundamental of a well-organized business. Starting from client attraction to ensuring you receive testimonials. It’s all part of well-oiled business processes that run themselves without your constant monitoring. It’s all possible by establishing well-defined processes that bring results. It’s up to business owners to gain clarity and understand the direction and then put the processes on paper. This way, there are fewer questions, less confusion, and more productive work. 4. Success-Management Success is inevitable when business is organized towards success. Cleaning your desk and placing contracts in one folder is just a start to distraction-free space to level up. Maintaining that organization in physical and mental space is what makes growth smooth. Plan alone will not lead you towards your goal - you will have to take action. Take the right action. Going back and analyzing what didn’t work is part of your success management as an ambitious business owner with a vision to create a greater impact. 5. Stress-Management Stress is part of your lives, when and in fact, it's very needed (in moderation). Imagine how much stress you can save yourself if you know where things are when you need them. When you know who is doing what and when. And if you don't’ know, you know who to ask and where to look. It lessens the overwhelm and anxiety for you and your team. Asking your team what would help them to decrease stress is a great way to increase their productivity. Avoid the consequences of a poor organization. Instead, take the time to eliminate options for stress. Implement solid organizational systems to reduce anxiety and have more joy in and outside the workplace. All these factors are your way to level up without burnout. Saving time is great. Saving money is awesome, but saving yourself from constant anxiety is a gift that’s priceless. Each and everything from this list is completely doable for every business owner. All you need is a willingness to create more ease for yourself to focus your energy where it’s needed the most. For more info, follow me on Fa cebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , or visit my w ebsite ! Read more from Agnese! Agnese Rudzate, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Agnese Rudzate is a Business Productivity Coach and Time-management expert with a professional background in Quality Management and Empowerment Coaching. She has turned her lifelong passion for organizing into her mission, helping women gain the confidence, clarity, and time freedom they deserve by providing action steps, tools, and customized strategies. Agnese is a firm believer that anyone can achieve business or personal goals through a deeply focused effort, which is based on her coaching. Through structure, systems, and processes that bring results, Agnese teaches her clients to manage their business with ease, create time freedom, and scale in profits.

Written by: Kylie Mort, 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. Recently I was told I push people away in a cycle. I had witnessed some poor behavior, and I called it out. Did I have to? No, and in hindsight, should I have stayed out of it? Probably. Yet, I was impelled to take a stand. It seemed there was a truism that was unquestionable in my eyes. However, I was greeted with the fury of a man who believed my distaste for his actions was more about me than it was about him. This is the kind of food for thought that really whets my psychological appetite. Thus I settled down for some self-analysis and critical thinking because the best feedback is feedback you can use for self-improvement. Firstly, I needed to consider his assertion: Is it cyclical, or is it a more recent phenomenon? Being both a current performance coach and student of psychology and a survivor of childhood trauma and significant self-harm I have undergone many reincarnations along my colorful journey, so my first step is finding my common denominator. For those of you without my joyful enthusiasm for exploring adolescent maths training, this refers to the one consistent element. The most obvious answer would, of course, be me. I was the one who upset him, and indeed if I sit and think of people who dislike me, there are several people who will not be dropping by for coffee any time soon. Thus, perhaps he has a point? Am I pushing people out of my life? The second step is to find a common denominator in the catalyst. Again, this could indeed be part of my character or part of the external event. If I were to make a list of each person and their corresponding reason for disliking me, would I come up with the same factor each time? This is the part of self-analysis that can sting. The part where you admit your character faults and your responsibility for the hurt you cause. Have I caused hurt in each relationship? If I think back a decade or so, I can certainly see my harsh words causing pain. At that time in life when I was struggling for acceptance, I was certainly speaking someone else’s truth, trying to fit in with her group. Furthermore, since then, I have alienated certain people by insensitively highlighting their flaws. Indeed this is something I have always done. I do not just call a spade a spade. I quite often beat people over the head with it. I have been told I am arrogant and disrespectful and in at least three cases, I have burnt bridges by refusing to relinquish the truth, regardless of the harm it has caused. Reflecting on these instances, a different personality would have glossed over the inaccuracies or smiled politely at the injustice. In my case, the adage “would you like to be right or happy?” is certainly only recognized in hindsight a lot of the time. So at this point, I can honestly admit yes, I upset people, and yes, it is my personality that does this. But before I nosedive into a downward spiral of shame, there is one more step to analyze. Is it unhealthy? Is it a character defect to refuse to back down to falsehoods (albeit arrogantly and disrespectfully at times)? And why is it that I have this instinct? Erik Erikson was a psychologist who had a theory about the psychological development of humans. He believed there were 8 stages and that these were influenced by both internal and external factors. He also believed that each stage was centered around a “challenge” and that if a person did not resolve or overcome this challenge adequately within this stage, it would hinder progression. Interestingly, my dilemma of approximately a decade ago, where I was foolish enough to believe that mimicking my friend would see me welcomed into her clique, was at the peak of my Intimacy vs. Isolation stage (20-40yo). It was not a solitary situation of tribal shaming, and in the past 1-2 years, I have finally taken a stance against several people who have caused me considerable pain and anxiety. They have been threatening, vicious, and selfish. They have made me feel small and unworthy through their demands and their opinions of me. So why have I finally said enough is enough? What has changed in me? I have heard it claimed that women over 40 cleanse their world of unwanted baggage. Not surprisingly, this would correspond with another of Erikson’s stages. He believed that between 40-60, what he referred to as middle adulthood, individuals move into a stage known as Generativity versus Stagnation. The challenge being understanding how one is to leave an indelible mark on society through guiding the next generation. Well, that is interesting! During my Intimacy versus Isolation stage, I may have gathered to me many people along the way that perhaps were not the best choice but were, as such, simply part of the process. I struggled to deal with the tribal mentality that blocked me from close relationships. I asked the question, where do I fit in? Who are my people? And I found the answers. Now beginning the next step of the journey, I am impassioned by the need to nurture and guide younger people and contribute to their success. I lead a purposeful life, every day working on my vocation to help build strong, resilient young people who challenge their weaknesses, know their strengths and feel accepted and supported in their goals. Handy how mother nature does that, isn’t it? Sharing the wisdom of the experienced with the vulnerabilities of the next generation? Yet further to this, in this wisdom comes the time of regeneration and cleansing. And so, am I pushing people out of my life? I do not feel I am. I am happy to embrace the honest relationships I have with others. I am open to sharing relationships with those who genuinely want to share the joys of living. I no longer need to cling to the old and be subservient to the powers of those who have dominated me in the past. Contrastingly, I can now call out any falsehood or injustice with confidence, knowing that my instinctual need for sincerity and truth is justified, and the people I allow into my personal space are good, honest people. How to Feel Fearless at 40: Self-analysis is the highest form of honesty; ensure you start with critiquing yourself. All feedback is helpful if evaluated correctly; ensure self-improvement is the goal. Take responsibility for the hurt you cause; it is not your responsibility to heal others, but it is your responsibility to be accountable and purposeful with your actions. Ask yourself, “would you rather be right or happy?” Sometimes you may wish to just let it go. Know yourself honestly with all your strengths and weaknesses, and remember that we all have flaws, and you are loved despite these. Healing your past will ultimately heal your future. Have the independence of mind to speak your own truth fearlessly. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram and visit my website for more information! Read more from Kylie! Kylie Mort, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kylie Mort works with individuals of all ages to embrace and support the Academic Mind, Self-Awareness & the Mind-Body Connection. Assisting individuals by tailoring bespoke mentoring packages supporting academic, physical, and personal advancement and success. Kylie is an International Author and Writer for Global Magazines, writing both academically and creatively to connect with those who seek guidance and inspiration to be their best selves. A former Secondary School Teacher & VCE Leader with 20 years of teaching experience, Kylie is a qualified & registered: School Teacher, Yoga Teacher & Performance Coach. She is also an entrepreneur, leading multiple-award-winning companies. She is currently studying Psychological Science at Deakin University to provide holistic mentoring to her clients better, having spent decades honing her skills in face-to-face teaching, mentoring, and business & company development. Now, she is focused on the human mind and its power to empower through reimaging, redesigning, and recreating.

Written by: Veronica Sanchez De Darivas, 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. A few years ago, my family went through a very difficult time when one of our beloved twins was seriously ill. I remember feeling powerless and the only thing that kept me going was my spiritual practice. One of the key components of this daily practice was the repetition of affirmations and decrees in the same way of mantras are said and chanted. This routine showed me how words are a source of power. I also added the creation of a card containing an affirmation and a drawing that I gave to my sick child on a daily basis. Years later, my child told me how important it was to receive that card every day, because it helped them to boost their confidence and self-esteem. The use of words in such an elevated manner opened up a whole new world for me, in fact I started researching and created my own approach, a system to help people to incorporate words of high vibration into their way of talking to themselves and to others, this made way for the creation of a course and then the publication of a book that became a number one bestseller. Positive Habits, 21 Words That Transforms Your Daily Life, both the course and the book, is my way of contributing to our mental health and wellbeing. Words are energy, they vibrate in the invisible realms of our consciousness. In my book I say: “Words have power, a power that is invisible to the eye, and for that very reason, they are stronger than we think. Words translate the experiences of our lives—feelings, emotions, reflections, ideas—but words also allow us to influence people. Furthermore, words influence our minds as well. The language we use to talk to ourselves shapes our state of being.” I want to share here a few tips on how to use words to enhance positivity in your life. One Use the words “I can” more often. As human beings, we have a tendency to look for the worst scheme first and this habit doesn’t allow us to take action on important matters. Two Review the language you are using to communicate with others. By doing so, you will be able to change a few words that don’t contribute to your communication skills. Three Stop using harmful words when talking to yourself. Most of the time we are our worst critics and yes, we make mistakes, however, let’s try to see them as learning opportunities. Four Use the word “elevate” frequently. This word is a high vibration one, it encourages us to get out of difficult situations and toward achievement. Five Listen. Normally we half-listen when we are talking to someone, our mind is actually thinking on what to say next or even on something else. Make an effort to stop your mental chatter and really listen. This practice will enhance your communication abilities. There are infinite ways to incorporate high-frequency or high vibration words into our day-to-day language, find yours and start creating goodness around you. Using words in an uplifting form is an art and if we master it, we will be the most accomplished artists, creators of a better reality. “Words are vibration; they are waves of energy that break onto the shores of our minds and bodies. Use them wisely.” — Veronica Sanchez De Darivas To get a copy of my book Positive Habits, 21 Words That Transform Your Life Daily or to get one of my journals click here! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Veronica! Veronica Sanchez De Darivas, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Veronica Sanchez De Darivas is an expert in inner-self intelligence techniques. She shares tools on how to manage stress and negative emotions and on how to use high vibration words. Veronica is a Spanish grammar and literature teacher. During the last ten years, she has dedicated herself to spirituality. She is a Certified Instructor for the Cyclopea Method of Internal Activation of the Pineal Gland (Third Eye), a method created in South America 30 years ago by the spiritual leader Fresia Castro. Veronica is currently the only instructor in the world teaching this life-changing method in English. Veronica is also a number one bestselling author. She has been writing for many years for online magazines and blogs in Spanish and English. Veronica is both a Chilean and an Australian citizen now living in the UK. Her mission is the expansion of consciousness.