Written by Reena Pathak, Creator of the 6R Ascension™ Process Reena helps people move beyond symptoms, grief, and limiting patterns to reconnect with their true selves. Inspired by her own journey of loss, healing, and spiritual awakening, she has created the 6R Ascension™ Process, a structured pathway for deep transformation, self-discovery, and conscious growth. At this time of year, we observe Shraadh, a Hindu tradition of remembering and honouring our ancestors. Through prayers, offerings and acts of charity, we express our gratitude to those who came before us, and we pray for their peace. For me, that remembrance extends to ancestors whose names I may never know, but who are still part of the generations that came before me and made my life possible. Remembering ancestors is certainly not unique to one tradition. Across cultures, there are different ways of keeping that connection alive, through ceremonies and rituals, family gatherings, or simply through the stories passed from one generation to another. For me, this remembrance also brings a curiosity about what we may have inherited from them beyond the material things they left behind. Some of it is easy to recognize: a familiar expression, a sense of humour, the traditions we still enjoy. Love, strength, faith and the countless ways our families cared for one another are part of our inheritance. We may also inherit ways of thinking, behaving or responding that are less obvious to us, simply because they have always been part of our life. To understand some of these less obvious things, it is helpful to consider the lives our ancestors were actually living and what they experienced. War, displacement and loss were part of their lives. Some of them had to leave their homes and everything familiar behind. Others lost their parents at a young age and were raised by relatives, or perhaps by someone unfamiliar to them at the time. I wonder how I would have coped in their circumstances. Many of their decisions came from a need to survive, protect their families and give their children a better life. Being careful with money, working incredibly hard or holding on to things that might be useful may have been necessary at the time. Our circumstances have changed, but could we still be carrying some of those ways of living without even realising it? Perhaps you grew up hearing, “Save it for a rainy day” or “We can’t afford to waste anything.” If your parents or grandparents had lived with very little, it’s understandable that they worried about money. They wanted to make sure their family had enough. You may have learnt to be just as careful with money, even though your circumstances are very different today. Perhaps you still don’t like wasting things, but now it comes from caring about the planet rather than worrying there won’t be enough. Being strong may have meant managing every difficulty without asking for help. Perhaps there was once nobody to turn to. Over time, doing everything alone may simply have become what everyone expected of themselves. These are just a couple of examples of how something that once made sense within a family can continue in different ways. This doesn’t mean every fear, habit or difficulty has an ancestral connection. Our own experiences, upbringing and social conditioning shape us as well. There may also be other parts of ourselves and our experiences that we choose to explore through inner child work, past lives or something else that feels meaningful. But when you notice a pattern running through your family, you may become curious about where it came from. You may never know exactly where it began, and that’s okay. You can simply notice how it shows up in your life and whether it still supports you today. Ancestral healing goes beyond recognising these patterns. I believe we can connect with our ancestors and invite them to support us. I can ask for their help with something I feel ready to release. When I connect, I don’t decide beforehand what I should experience. I may receive an image, a word, a memory or simply a feeling of their presence, or I may not experience very much at all. I have learnt to let the experience unfold in its own way. Connecting can feel different, though, when the ancestor is someone I knew during their lifetime. We may have loved someone very much and still carry hurt from something they said or did. That history can sometimes become part of the connection too. There have been times when I have sensed an ancestor coming forward and asking for forgiveness. But what if I’m not ready? Understanding an ancestor’s circumstances doesn’t excuse their behaviour or take away the hurt. I can choose to forgive if and when I am ready. If I am not ready, I can communicate that too, and that is absolutely fine. At the same time, learning more about their life can sometimes change the way I see them. Things may begin to make more sense, or I may see them from a different perspective. It doesn’t change what happened, but it can help me see more of who they were and the circumstances in which they lived. Sometimes, even when forgiveness doesn’t feel possible, I may still feel willing to connect with that ancestor. I may ask for their support in letting go of a fear or belief that I feel has been carried through our family. That willingness is a personal choice. You don’t have to invite a connection with someone who hurt you. There are times when I sense their support, and my feelings towards them begin to change. I may understand something about them that I hadn’t understood before, or I may experience our connection differently. That is when forgiveness begins to feel possible. It may not come at all, and it isn’t something I expect or try to force. When I connect with my ancestors to ask for support in releasing a pattern or belief that may once have helped or protected our family but no longer supports me, I simply speak to them as I would speak to anyone. I might say something like this, but you can use whatever words come from your heart: “Thank you. I understand that this pattern/belief may have been needed once, and I honour the strength, love and courage that carried our family through. I am really grateful for all that has brought me here. I live in a different time and under different circumstances. My life is different now, and I am ready to choose differently. Please be with me and support me as I let go, with love, of what no longer needs to be carried. In doing so, I honour you, where I come from, and all the possibilities that lie ahead.” Choosing to let go of something doesn’t mean I’m rejecting my ancestors. I honour their strength and am grateful for what they passed down, while allowing myself to live differently. It can begin with something quite ordinary. For example, if I have always felt I must manage everything myself, perhaps I can allow someone to help. If I feel guilty about resting, I might give myself an afternoon without expecting it to be productive. I don’t expect an old habit to disappear simply because I have recognised it or explored where it may have come from. Sometimes I find myself responding in exactly the same way again. I may simply notice it a little sooner, and next time, I might make a different choice. Ancestral healing isn’t something that happens while I am sitting quietly, reflecting or connecting with my ancestors. It also shows up in the choices I make afterwards. A small choice made differently can be meaningful. If the old pattern returns, I can notice it again without turning that into another reason to judge myself. I can keep choosing what supports me currently. In healing something within myself, I believe that healing may also bring some peace to those who came before me and support the generations who come after me. There is so much from my ancestors that I would be honoured to carry forward, their love, strength, faith, humour, traditions and the many things that give me a sense of where I come from. I feel grateful for all they gave me, including the strength to make choices they may never have had the opportunity to make. At the same time, I don’t want to assume that what supports me today will necessarily be what future generations need. Something that made complete sense in one generation may not be right for another. So alongside everything else I hope to pass on, I would like to leave them something that matters very much to me: the freedom to choose. I can make the choices that support the life I am living without expecting those choices to become rules for those who come after me. I would like them to know where they come from, appreciate what has been passed on to them, and still feel free to find their own way. I hope they will be able to look at what I leave behind with the same compassion that I am learning to bring to what my ancestors left me, carrying forward what supports them, letting go of what doesn’t, and knowing that choosing differently does not mean loving us any less. Follow me on Instagram, WhatsApp, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Reena Pathak Reena Pathak, Creator of the 6R Ascension™ Process Reena is the creator of the 6R Ascension™ Process and a passionate advocate for healing beyond symptoms and transformation beyond awareness. Drawing on her personal journey of grief, spiritual awakening, and conscious growth, she combines intuitive insight, spiritual and energy healing, ancestral healing, inner child healing, egression therapy, and Qi Gong to support meaningful, lasting change. Through her work, Reena helps individuals reconnect with who they truly are and step into lives of greater clarity, purpose, and alignment.

Written by Nelia Camara Pereira, Founder of Carnelian Heart™ Nelia Camara Pereira is the founder of Carnelian Heart™ and creator of the Soul-First™ philosophy. Drawing from her own journey through loss, reinvention, and personal transformation, she writes about identity, conscious leadership, authentic living, and what it means to remain human in an increasingly AI-driven world. You can name the pattern. You can trace where it began. You can explain exactly why you do it. And still, when the moment arrives, you do the same thing. You agree when you wanted to say no. You over-function. You rehearse the conversation twenty times. You silence what you really want. You choose what feels familiar instead of what feels true. Then comes the frustration. I know better. Why am I still doing this? For years, I believed that if I understood myself deeply enough, understanding would eventually close that gap. It did not. Understanding changed my relationship with myself. It gave me language for patterns I had once mistaken for personality. It helped me see that many of the ways I had learned to move through the world were not character flaws. They were adaptations. But there was something understanding alone could not do. It could not live my life for me. That became one of the central discoveries behind my Soul-First™ philosophy. Knowing is the beginning. Embodiment is the practice. Insight is not behavior We have more language for our inner lives than ever before. We can understand attachment, boundaries, emotional regulation, conditioning, identity, nervous system responses, and behavior. We can know why we people-please and still abandon our own preference. We can understand our nervous system and still react before conscious thought catches up. We can identify a limiting belief and continue organizing our lives around it. We can recognize an old identity and still reach for it under pressure. Research on the intention-behavior gap arrives at the same conclusion as lived experience: people do not always act on what they intend to do. That does not make insight useless. It means insight and embodiment are not the same thing. The deeper question is no longer only, “What do I know?” It becomes, “What has my system learned to do?” Because behavior is often faster than understanding. Long before we have language for who we are, we are already learning how to move through the world. We notice what preserves connection. What reduces conflict. What makes us acceptable. What keeps us safer. What earns approval. What prevents rejection. A response works, so we repeat it. Repetition makes it familiar. Familiarity makes it easier to reach for again. Research on the psychology of habit describes the same process: responses repeated in the same context become the efficient, default way of responding, and we tend to assume that what we do often is what we meant to do. Eventually, the response can become so woven into daily life that we stop experiencing it as something we learned to do. We begin calling it, "Who I am." That distinction changed everything for me. Because if every pattern is treated as personality, changing it can feel like self-rejection. But if some of what feels like identity began as adaptation, another possibility opens. Perhaps I am not trying to become someone else. Perhaps I am learning to recognize what was learned, what remains true, and what no longer needs to lead. The question beneath the roles My own life eventually forced me into that examination. After my mother died, questions I had been able to outrun became harder to silence. I had built a life around being capable. Independent. Strong. The person who carried things. The person who kept moving. Those qualities were real. But eventually I had to ask whether all of them had been freely chosen. And beneath that question was another one that would shape much of my later work, "Who am I beneath the roles I learned to survive?" That question became bigger than grief. It led me into adaptation, identity, conditioning, self-trust, emotion, choice, behavior, and integration. I wanted to understand how a human being can become someone without ever consciously deciding who that someone will be. How much of identity is chosen? How much is repeated? How much begins as protection? How much becomes so familiar that we mistake it for essence? This is where the Science of Living Soul-First™ began for me. The science helps explain the self we became. But explanation raised another question. Once I understood how I had been shaped, how was I going to live? Where science meets art Science can explain the pattern. It cannot choose your life for you. Knowing why I had learned to be strong did not tell me when strength had become self-abandonment. Knowing why I scanned ahead did not tell me whether the fear I felt today was wisdom or an old alarm. Knowing how conditioning worked did not make every decision obvious. Knowing that a boundary mattered did not tell me exactly where that boundary belonged inside a complicated relationship. Understanding gives us context. Living requires discernment. That is where science meets art. The Art of Living Soul-First™ asks different questions. Can I be present enough to notice what is actually happening? Can I listen beneath the noise? Can I recognize when an old response is speaking? Can I choose something because it is true for me, even when another choice would win more approval? Can I hold a boundary without turning it into punishment? Can I express myself without performing? Can I remain in relationship without abandoning myself to preserve it? Can my private behavior reflect the values I speak about publicly? Can I return when I inevitably drift? There is no formula that can answer every one of those questions for us. They require presence. Discernment. Compassion. Self-trust. Integrity. Practice. That is the art. The Science helps us understand the self we became. The Art helps us practice the life we choose. Identity is the bridge This is why Soul-First™ places identity at the center of the conversation. My central philosophy is this, "Your soul is the blueprint. Your life is the expression. Your identity is the bridge." Identity matters because it sits between what is inwardly true and what becomes externally lived. You may consciously want a different life. But the identity operating underneath may still be saying: I am the one who keeps everyone happy. I am the one who never needs help. I am the one who must get it right. I am the one who keeps the peace. When that identity is under pressure, behavior will often protect it long after your conscious mind has decided it wants something different. This is why behavior change alone can feel so difficult. A systematic review that included 100 theories of behavior change maintenance identified motives, self-regulation, resources, habits, and environmental and social influences as factors in sustained change. This points to a broader idea: change involves more than conscious intention. The behavior is not always the deepest issue. Sometimes the behavior is protecting an identity. And sometimes that identity once protected belonging, connection, predictability, or safety. Soul-First™ does not ask us to fight that adapted self. It asks us to understand why it formed. Then to begin returning authority to something deeper. Living from the inside out I describe the Soul-First™ orientation as: Spirit to Soul to Mind to Body. Spirit holds meaning, purpose, truth, connection, and remembrance. Soul holds essence, identity, intuition, emotional truth, and inner authority. Mind contains belief, perception, story, and interpretation. Body is where sensation, emotion, behavior, practice, and lived expression appear. This is not about rejecting the mind. It is not about overriding the body. It is about changing the direction from which we live. Many of us become highly skilled at living outside-in. What does the room require? What will they think? What should I do? What response will keep everything stable? What will make me acceptable? When we live this way for long enough, external reference points can become louder than our own inner knowing. Soul-First™ asks us to begin somewhere else, "What is true?" Then: How does my mind understand that truth? How does my body learn to carry it? What choice would allow my life to express it? That is the bridge from insight to embodiment. A simple place to begin You do not need to rebuild your entire life tomorrow. In fact, that can become another performance. Begin with one moment. When you feel the familiar reaction arriving, notice it. Do not immediately correct it. Do not turn it into evidence against yourself. Ask, "What is happening here?" Then, "What is true here?" Then look for the smallest available choice that honors that truth. Not the most impressive choice. Not the bravest choice anyone could make. The next honest one. Then practice it again. This is not about performing change perfectly. It is about creating a different relationship with the moment in which choice becomes possible. What I eventually learned I spent years thinking growth would feel like finally becoming someone else. Stronger. Clearer. More healed. More certain. What I have experienced instead is something quieter. I recognize myself sooner. I hear the internal no more clearly. I notice when an old identity has taken the wheel. Sometimes I choose differently. When I do not, I return more quickly. That distinction has become one of the most important parts of my work. Soul-First™ living is not the promise that we will never leave ourselves again. It is the practice of becoming increasingly able to recognize when we have. Knowing the way back. Perhaps that is a more useful measure of growth than perfection. Not, "Have I completely eliminated the old pattern?" But, "Is the distance between what I know and how I live becoming smaller?" That is where the science and the art finally meet. Understanding who we became. Learning how to work with what shaped us. And practicing, in the ordinary moments where identity is actually lived, becoming increasingly congruent with what we know to be true. Begin practicing Soul-First™ I created the School of Soul-First™ Living because I wanted somewhere this work could move beyond reading and understanding into everyday practice. It is a place to explore identity beyond adaptation, presence, emotional regulation, self-trust, discernment, conscious choice, boundaries, expression, and what it means to live from the inside out. The work draws from my Science and Art of Living Soul-First™ body of work, but the purpose is not to consume more information. It is to practice what we know. Because understanding can take us a long way. But there comes a point when another insight is not the missing piece. The missing piece is living it. If understanding has taken you as far as it can, come and practice the second half. Join the School of Soul-First™ Living. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nelia Camara Pereira Nelia Camara Pereira, Founder of Carnelian Heart™ Nelia Camara Pereira is the founder of Carnelian Heart™ and creator of the Soul-First™ philosophy. Following the death of her mother in 2017, she began a profound journey of self-discovery that would inspire her writing, teaching, and life's work. Today, she writes and speaks on identity, personal transformation, conscious leadership, and authentic living. She is the author of Seeker of Light, Soul-First™, and The Unlearning™, and is passionate about helping people reconnect with who they are beneath the roles, expectations, and survival patterns that shape their lives. Her mission is simple, to help others remember who they were before the world told them who to be.

Written by Adnan Ghaffar, AI-Driven Automation Expert Adnan Ghaffar is an AI-driven automation expert and the CEO of CodeAutomation.ai. With over a decade of experience, he specializes in business process automation and custom tech solutions across industries like fintech, healthcare, and e-commerce. Practicality in the modern-day business environment demands that producing quality software in a short time is no longer just an objective, but a prerequisite. Users expect apps and platforms to work flawlessly, and even small hiccups can harm a brand’s image. This is why more companies are turning to test automation models. But what exactly is a test automation framework, and why should you, as a business, care? Let’s take a closer look. What is a test automation framework? A test automation framework is essentially an organized environment that dictates how automated testing is conducted. It provides a collection of test writing standards, guidelines, and tools for maintaining, executing, and writing tests. Not only are tests automated, but the whole process becomes uniform, efficient, and repeatable. With a strong framework, QA teams can standardize testing across projects, reduce errors, save time, and produce consistent results. This also simplifies testing efforts when scaling applications or introducing additional features. Why automation matters Manual testing still has its place, but it can be tedious, time-consuming, and prone to human error. This is where automation testing tools come in. They enable QA teams to execute hundreds, or even thousands, of tests that would have taken much longer to do manually. Automation not only speeds up testing but also ensures that quality remains consistent across several releases. Critical tasks can be prioritized, and bugs can be identified earlier, saving time and reducing costs in the long run. Key components of a QA framework An effective QA system relies on several key components: reusable test scripts, test data management, reporting and logging, and integration with continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. This environment allows automated tests to run alongside the development process, giving developers immediate feedback. A well-structured framework turns QA from a reactive operation into an active benefit, enabling teams to identify and resolve issues before they reach customers. Types of test automation frameworks Different frameworks serve different business needs. Keyword-driven frameworks are designed to be easy for non-technical users, relying on simple action keywords. Data-driven frameworks use various sets of input data to test software and ensure it performs consistently under different conditions. Modular structures break applications into independent units, making tests easier to maintain. Hybrid frameworks are commonly chosen by many businesses as they combine the best practices from other frameworks, making them effective for complex projects. The appropriate type depends on the project size, the team's experience, and the business objectives. Benefits of automated testing strategies Implementing automated testing offers several real benefits. Testing cycles are shorter, allowing software to reach the market faster. Over time, costs are reduced as manual processes are eliminated, and defects are caught earlier. Automation also improves accuracy by eliminating human error. As applications grow, automated testing can scale accordingly, ensuring that changes are implemented without difficulty. Continuous feedback ensures decisions are made based on real-time data, not guesswork. Implementing a test automation framework A test automation framework must be carefully planned. Businesses should identify which features of their applications are most repetitive or sensitive and choose the appropriate automation tools to fit their tech stack, integrating them into their workflow. Test scripts should be reusable and maintainable, and integrating them into the development pipeline ensures that any code changes are automatically tested. Regular script maintenance is essential since outdated tests may produce false results or miss key issues. Overcoming challenges While the benefits are clear, there are challenges. Automation requires an initial investment in tools and training, and teams need technical knowledge in programming, quality assurance, and automation systems. Automated tests are not a "set-and-forget" solution; they must be continually updated as software evolves. By addressing these challenges early in the process, businesses can ensure that automation provides long-term benefits, not just short-term fixes. Why businesses can't ignore test automation Ultimately, a test automation framework is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity. With the right testing tools, a solid QA framework, and well-strategized automated testing, businesses can minimize errors, speed up release cycles, and enhance the user experience. Automation allows teams to focus on innovation rather than redundant tasks, giving companies a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced digital environment. Investing in a test automation system is about developing smarter, more efficient teams, shortening delivery pipelines, and producing quality software. One of the best ways to ensure speed, accuracy, and scalability while maintaining consistent quality across all applications is to implement a well-defined test automation framework. This helps businesses stay ahead of the competition. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Adnan Ghaffar Adnan Ghaffar, AI-Driven Automation Expert Adnan Ghaffar is a seasoned AI-driven automation expert and the CEO of CodeAutomation.ai, a company that specializes in custom tech solutions, AI automation, and business process automation. With over 10 years of experience, Adnan has worked with top-tier clients in fintech, healthcare, and e-commerce to streamline operations through advanced automation. Passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI and machine learning, Adnan continuously seeks to innovate and optimize processes. When he’s not developing automation solutions, he’s exploring the latest in AI research and development, always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Written by Nassim Ebrahimi, Developmental Psychologist, Mental Performance Coach, Author, and Speaker Coach Nassim Ebrahimi, PhD, is the founder of Becoming My Stronger Me, LLC. As a developmental psychologist, mental performance coach, podcaster, and author, she empowers athletes, coaches, and parents to unlock confidence, mental resilience, and peak performance through evidence-based strategies grounded in sport psychology and human development. Organizations invest considerable time and resources developing people. They teach leaders to communicate more effectively, encourage employees to become more resilient, ask teams to take greater ownership, promote innovation, invest in wellbeing, and provide training on confidence, accountability, emotional intelligence, and managing pressure. Then people return to environments that may unintentionally reinforce the opposite behaviors. Employees are encouraged to take initiative but need approval for every meaningful decision. Teams are told to innovate but learn that mistakes carry consequences. Leaders attend workshops on communication but return to cultures where speed is valued more than listening. This is the hidden contradiction in how many organizations approach development. We identify qualities we want people to strengthen without always examining whether the environment around them supports those same qualities. Individual development matters. Training matters. Coaching matters. Personal responsibility matters. But if we want development to transfer beyond a workshop, coaching session, or leadership retreat, we also have to ask whether the environment reinforces what we are trying to develop. Development can fail even when the training works When a development initiative does not produce lasting change, we often question the initiative or the person. Did the training work? Did the person apply what they learned? Those are reasonable questions, but they are incomplete. Imagine a manager attends leadership training and learns to give team members greater ownership. The manager returns motivated to change, but significant decisions still require multiple levels of approval. When something goes wrong, senior leaders immediately want to know who made the decision. Over time, the manager becomes cautious again. Was the training ineffective? Not necessarily. The person may have learned exactly what the training intended. The environment simply continued teaching a competing lesson. People learn from what gets rewarded, what gets punished, how mistakes are handled, and what happens when someone disagrees. The workshop creates one environment. The workplace creates another. Eventually, behavior has to survive in the second one. What the environment is teaching Consider confidence and ownership. Organizations want people who trust their judgment, take initiative, and make decisions. Confidence, however, requires opportunities to act. Albert Bandura's research on self-efficacy emphasized the importance of mastery experiences in developing belief in one's capabilities. Yet a leader may say, “I trust you,” while reviewing every decision. An employee may be told, “This is your project,” but receive detailed instructions for every step. Over time, people adapt. They may wait for direction because experience has taught them that someone else ultimately owns the decision. That behavior may later be interpreted as a lack of confidence or initiative, even though the environment has helped produce it. A similar contradiction appears with innovation and resilience. Organizations want people to experiment, solve problems, navigate setbacks, and adapt. But if unsuccessful ideas become evidence of poor judgment, people learn to protect themselves. If admitting a mistake creates humiliation, people learn to hide mistakes. Resilience creates another question. Sometimes people need stronger strategies for navigating difficulty. Sometimes the environment needs to stop creating unnecessary difficulty. Those are not the same problem. We see the contradiction again with emotional regulation and pressure. Organizations expect people to remain composed and perform when demands increase, yet employees may watch leaders respond to bad news with anger, defensiveness, blame, or panic. The stated expectation is regulation. The modeled behavior is reactivity. Emotions are data. They tell us something about what matters, what feels threatened, and what requires our attention. Pressure also provides information, but it should not become purely evaluative. People need opportunities to experience challenge, reflect, adjust, and try again before every difficult moment becomes a test of whether they can perform. The goal is not to remove standards, accountability, challenge, or pressure. It is to become more intentional about what those experiences are teaching. What these contradictions reveal Confidence, innovation, resilience, ownership, emotional regulation, and performance under pressure may appear to be different organizational challenges. But the contradictions underneath them reveal a common problem. We often locate development within the individual while treating the environment as though it were simply the place where development gets used. Developmental psychology suggests something more dynamic. People and environments continually influence one another. People bring beliefs, skills, experiences, emotions, and behaviors into an environment, while the environment provides feedback about what is valued, expected, safe, possible, and rewarded. The environment is not merely where development is demonstrated. It is part of how development happens. If an employee hesitates to make decisions, confidence may be part of the issue, but so might a history of being second-guessed. If a team avoids difficult conversations, communication skills may need attention, but so might what people have experienced after speaking honestly. We cannot consistently create one set of conditions and expect them to produce a completely different set of behaviors. What BRIDGE™ adds to the conversation These contradictions are part of what led me to develop the BRIDGE™ Operating System. BRIDGE™ considers six interconnected capacities: Building Belonging, Regulating Emotions, Inspiring Identity, Developing Discipline, Growing Under Pressure, and Empowering Confidence. In organizations, none develops separately from the environment. Consider an organization that believes its people need to take more initiative. The immediate response may be to focus on confidence, accountability, or motivation. A BRIDGE™ lens encourages us to look at more of what is happening. Do people experience enough belonging to risk being wrong? What happens when someone makes an imperfect decision? Are responsibilities clear enough to support consistent action? Have people had opportunities to make decisions under pressure? Have they accumulated enough evidence and role clarity to trust themselves? Greater initiative may still be needed. What changes is our understanding of what may be influencing it. BRIDGE™ does not remove individual responsibility from the conversation. It expands the conversation enough to include the conditions surrounding that responsibility. Development requires alignment Organizations do not need to stop investing in training, coaching, workshops, or leadership development. The challenge begins when formal development and everyday experience tell different stories. A leader can learn to delegate and return to a culture where every mistake made by the team is treated as evidence that delegation was irresponsible. An executive can encourage transparency while difficult information continues to carry professional risk. Individuals still have responsibility for applying what they learn. But organizations should also become curious about what happens when they try. Does the new behavior receive support when it becomes inconvenient? Do systems, incentives, and leadership responses reinforce it or quietly pull people back toward what they were doing before? Development is happening in those moments. The meeting after something goes wrong becomes development. The response to disagreement becomes development. The decision to give someone meaningful responsibility becomes development. Organizations are developing people all the time, whether they intend to or not. The question is what people are learning. Final thoughts The hidden contradiction in organizational development appears when the qualities being developed formally are undermined by the conditions people experience every day. Seeing that contradiction does not mean abandoning individual development. It means making the environment part of the development conversation. When you identify something you want your people to do differently, consider not only what they need to learn, but what they are already learning from the environment every day. Are they learning that mistakes can become information, or that mistakes threaten reputation? Are they learning that responsibility comes with meaningful authority, or that ownership ends when a decision becomes uncomfortable? Are they learning that pressure is something they can develop within, or something they are expected to endure successfully the first time it matters? Then compare those lessons with the qualities your organization says it wants to develop. The gap between the two may be where some of the most important development work begins. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nassim Ebrahimi Nassim Ebrahimi, Developmental Psychologist, Mental Performance Coach, Author, and Speaker Coach Nassim Ebrahimi, PhD, is the founder of Becoming My Stronger Me, LLC. As a developmental psychologist, mental performance coach, podcaster (Becoming My Stronger Me podcast), author (The Stronger Mind and Baller Goals), and speaker, she empowers athletes, coaches, and parents to unlock mental resilience and peak performance under pressure through evidence-based strategies grounded in sport psychology and human development. She holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. Through her work, she supports individuals and teams in developing the mental skills needed to thrive in sport and life. Her mission is to help people train their minds with the same intention they train their bodies. References: Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press. Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. Lazarus, R. S., and Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.

Serena K. Elizabeth, founder of Calm Healing, supports neurodivergent women navigating perimenopause, burnout, and overwhelm. Her approach grew from years of searching for answers before discovering her own autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AuDHD), which helped explain why conventional wellbeing routines had often felt so difficult to sustain. In this interview, Serena reflects on how perimenopause brought unresolved trauma and previously unrecognised neurodivergence into focus. She shares the small, flexible habits that support her everyday life and explores what changes when self-understanding replaces the pressure to constantly “fix” yourself. Serena K. Elizabeth, Wellbeing Specialist What led you to create Calm Healing, and who did you most want it to support? Calm Healing was born from my own many years of feeling broken, long before I understood why. I struggled with health issues from a very young age. I experienced a nervous breakdown at nineteen, which I didn't know at the time was because of earlier trauma. Then came 2 decades of trying to hold everything together through big life changes, marriage, relocating away from my family, and quietly feeling like I was falling apart. When perimenopause hit, it triggered something much bigger: childhood trauma unleashed, and eventually the discovery that I'm AuDHD. Once I discovered that my brain is wired differently, so much of my life finally made sense. I tried almost everything to heal- therapies, energy work, endless research- before finding emotional freedom techniques (EFT), neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and the Three Principles, which completely changed how I understood myself. I created Calm Healing because I don't want other women to spend as many years as I did wondering “what is wrong with me?” At this stage in my life, I want to support neurodivergent women in midlife, especially those navigating perimenopause and burnout, who feel like everyone else is coping better than they are. What changes when neurodivergence, perimenopause, and unresolved trauma begin to overlap in midlife? For me, it felt like everything that was barely manageable became really loud and overwhelming all at once. I have since learned that for many women, low self-worth or suppressed trauma has been sitting in the background for years, never quite loud enough to notice. Perimenopause changes that. It rips the curtain away. Suddenly you're not managing one quiet feeling anymore; you're hit with a multitude of thoughts and emotions at the same time, often without any awareness or understanding of where it is actually coming from. For neurodivergent women, this can feel even more disorienting, because the coping strategies that worked for years suddenly stop working, and it's so scary because you can feel like you are the only one going through this. More women are talking about this online, but support options are still quite lacking. For me, it felt like Pandora's box had been unlocked and was leaking into every part of my life. That's what makes this overlap so overwhelming. It isn't one problem to solve. It's everything arriving together, and you're left trying to work out which thread to pull first. Especially as I didn't have much awareness of AuDHD at the time. How has understanding your own AuDHD changed the way you approach nervous system regulation and emotional wellbeing? Understanding my own AuDHD brain has been a long and slow process. I felt like I was stumbling around in the dark. Once I began to understand that my brain is wired differently, I stopped trying to force myself into neurotypical generic routines and started learning how to build tiny habits that actually work for me. That might look like learning how to imagine standing on the riverbank of my thoughts and letting them float by instead of drowning in them. Or using EFT tapping, something I've been teaching for ten years, to connect with my body and find some calm when I feel overwhelmed. It also means accepting that I'm not a morning person, and building my days around that rather than keep fighting it. Nervous system regulation, for me, isn't one big fix. It's a collection of small, brain-friendly tools I can reach for depending on how I feel and how much capacity I have, using them with compassion rather than pressure. Where does conventional wellbeing advice often fall short for neurodivergent women? For many years I tried wellbeing advice that simply wasn't built for how my brain works, and when it didn't stick, I assumed the problem was me. So much conventional wellbeing advice assumes every brain works the same way. Things like: Wake up at 5 am, meditate for twenty minutes, follow this exact morning routine, and you'll feel better. For a neurodivergent woman, that advice can often feel overwhelming. When it doesn't work, she doesn't understand that the advice wasn't built for her brain; she's left believing that she's the one who failed, again. I spent years collecting well-meaning advice that never really worked, and each time, it chipped away a little more at my self-worth. What's missing from most conventional advice is flexibility, and permission. Neurodivergent women don't need one more rigid system to fail at. We need tools we can adapt and personalize, habits small enough to make real progress, and reassurance that if something doesn't work for our brain, that's information, not failure. Why can the constant pressure to improve or "fix" ourselves sometimes deepen feelings of not being enough? When we're constantly trying to fix ourselves, we're sending ourselves a quiet, repeated message that who we are right now isn't acceptable. Over time, that message becomes the loudest voice in the room. I spent years believing I had to change before I could accept myself, when really, it works the other way around. We cannot change what we haven't first accepted. Trying to “fix yourself” before accepting yourself is like building on quicksand. The more you struggle, the more you sink. It usually leaves you feeling worse, more evidence that something is wrong with you, rather than proof you're simply human. The constant pressure to improve keeps the “not enough” feeling alive, because it never gives you permission to simply remember you were always whole; you have always been “enough”. Just like a piece of rock, once you remove all the dirty, dusty layers and it's cleaned, it reveals a beautiful diamond; that's your core. What does working with a neurodivergent brain, rather than against it, look like in everyday life? In practice, it looks like small, ordinary adjustments rather than big dramatic changes. It's walking my dog when I'm ready, because I know I'm not a morning person, so a rigid routine of time is unachievable. I also know that gentle movement and being in nature help me earlier in the day when possible. It's listening to audiobooks on the days my brain fog makes reading impossible, instead of feeling guilty for not finishing a book. It's using a simple digital calendar as an external reminder system, because relying on memory alone creates too much stress and pressure in my brain. Until perimenopause hit, I was largely able to avoid the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD tax by making notes in my calendar as soon as I signed up for something. None of these are complicated. They're tiny, repeatable habits that work with how I actually function, not requiring something of me that is impossible to give. Working with your brain means noticing what genuinely helps you, even if it looks nothing like what helps everyone else, and trusting that is enough. When someone feels overwhelmed or depleted, what is one small habit that can genuinely help without adding more pressure? What has helped me and my clients the most is movement, but not the kind that feels like another task on the list. Something as simple as singing or dancing to a happy song for 2 minutes can genuinely shift how overwhelmed I feel, because it helps regulate the nervous system in a way that feels joyful rather than effortful. I know that sounds almost too simple, and when you're deep in overwhelm, it can feel like the most unhelpful advice in the world. It isn't about fixing everything all at once; I tried that and failed many times. It's about giving your nervous system a moment of ease. If I am feeling sensitive to noise (which happens), then the movement I choose is based in energy medicine. I call it a Zebra Shake, based on how zebras behave in the wild. I have a 2-minute video demonstrating it on my YouTube channel @CalmHealingQuotes. It doesn't ask you to overhaul your day or find extra energy you don't have. It just helps you find release in one small moment, and practicing regularly is often what an overwhelmed nervous system needs most. What does "I am enough" mean to you now, after years of questioning whether something was wrong with you? It means something completely different to me now than it once did. For years, I searched for proof that I was enough, through achievement, through fixing myself, through trying to become someone different from who I actually was. Now I understand that despite all the life experiences I endured, I was never broken. I was just living with a misunderstanding. The “not enough” feeling was a story I had been carrying, not a fact about who I am, and stories can change the moment you see them clearly. “I am enough” now means I no longer need to earn my worth before I'm allowed to feel it. It's already there, underneath everything I once believed was wrong with me. Some days I still have to remind myself, and that's okay. As Jim Kwik says, “Practice makes progress, not perfection.” I am no longer sceptical about loving myself because I have been practicing it in small ways that grow over time and that impact everything. What would you most like a woman struggling with perimenopause, neurodivergence, or overwhelm to understand about herself? I want her to understand that even when she feels broken, she is still whole. The layers just need wiping away, and what she's experiencing has an explanation, even if nobody has offered her one yet. The exhaustion, the overwhelm, the feeling of suddenly not coping the way she used to – none of that means something is wrong with her as a person. It usually means her nervous system is meeting a hormonal and neurological reality that deserves real understanding and self-compassion, not more self-criticism. I want her to know she doesn't have to overhaul her whole life to start feeling better. One small step is enough to begin. I want her to know that whatever story she's been telling herself about not being “enough”, it is just that, a story, and it can change the moment she's ready to consider the truth. She was whole long before the world tried to convince her otherwise, and she still is. You can read more of my background and access resources and personalized support here. Follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Serena K. Elizabeth

Written by Eliana Bonaguro, Licensed Mental Health Counselor Eliana Bonaguro is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) who specializes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. She blends evidence-based therapy with visual storytelling through her illustrated self-help guides to make complex mental health concepts more approachable, engaging, and easier to understand. A panic attack can feel overwhelming. For many people with panic disorder, though, the attack is just one part of the struggle. The things people do between attacks, like checking, avoiding, planning, escaping, and trying to prevent another attack, can slowly start to take over daily life. Some of these habits are so subtle that they seem like reasonable precautions, not signs of anxiety. But over time, life can start to revolve around one goal: I need to make sure I don’t panic. What is panic disorder, and how can it lead to agoraphobia? A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort that can include a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, nausea, chest discomfort, tingling, or a feeling of losing control. Having a panic attack does not automatically mean someone has panic disorder. With panic disorder, recurrent unexpected panic attacks are accompanied by persistent concern about additional attacks or significant changes in behavior because of them. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that approximately 2.7% of U.S. adults experienced panic disorder in the past year in the survey data it cites. This cycle often starts when someone interprets normal body sensations or those related to anxiety as something scary. A racing heart might feel like something is wrong with your heart. Dizziness might make you think you could faint. Feeling detached or unreal can seem like you’re losing control. Then comes another layer of fear: What if this happens again? That fear can lead people to avoid certain situations. When someone starts avoiding places where it might be hard to leave or get help, agoraphobia can develop. This can include public transportation, crowds, lines, enclosed or open spaces, or being outside alone. It’s important to know that having agoraphobia doesn’t always mean someone can’t leave their home. The changes can be much less obvious. 1. Monitoring your body for signs of another panic attack After a frightening panic attack, people often become extraordinarily good at detecting changes in their bodies. Is my heart beating faster? Why do I feel lightheaded? Am I breathing normally? Is this nausea getting worse? Scanning your body for signs of panic might feel like a way to protect yourself. You might think that if you notice panic early, you can stop it. But paying constant attention to these sensations makes them seem more important. Normal changes in your body that most people ignore can suddenly feel like signs that something bad is starting. Fear makes your body more alert, which creates more sensations, and then you have even more to notice and worry about. Someone can end up feeling afraid not just of panic attacks, but also of the physical sensations that come with them. 2. Always knowing where the exit or bathroom is Some safety habits are easy to overlook because they seem practical. You may still go to a restaurant, but only if you can sit near the door. You may attend a concert, but immediately locate the exits. You may go shopping, but first determine where the bathroom is. You may stand in line, but only if you know you can leave quickly. None of these actions are a problem on their own. What matters is why you feel you need to do them. If you start to believe, I can only stay here because I know how to get out, your escape plan might stop you from learning something important: Maybe you could handle the anxiety even without a safety plan. 3. Avoiding sensations that feel like panic Sometimes, instead of avoiding certain places, people start avoiding certain feelings in their bodies. Exercise increases heart rate and breathing. Heat can cause sweating and lightheadedness. Stairs can make the heart pound. Caffeine may produce jitteriness. Being hungry or tired can create sensations that feel unfamiliar. If you’ve learned to see these sensations as warning signs of panic, even normal experiences can start to feel scary. This is why cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder often includes interoceptive exposure. This involves planned exercises that bring up the sensations you fear, but in a safe setting. The goal isn’t just to make you uncomfortable. It’s to help you change how you think about these sensations. The National Institute of Mental Health identifies CBT as a well-studied treatment for panic disorder. It describes interoceptive exposure as a CBT technique involving exposure to bodily sensations associated with panic. The Beck Institute’s CBT training for panic disorder similarly addresses hypervigilance, safety behaviors, avoidance, catastrophic interpretations, interoceptive exposure, and in vivo exposure. 4. Using distraction to feel safe Listening to music on the subway is normal. Looking at your phone while waiting in line is normal. Talking to a friend during a flight is normal. Distraction becomes important to notice when it shifts from I like doing this to I need to do this, or I won’t be able to cope. Someone might scroll on their phone the whole train ride to avoid noticing their body. They might call a friend every time they drive somewhere new. They might need headphones in a crowded store because paying attention to their anxiety feels too scary. The distinction is subtle but important. When you need distraction to enter or stay in a situation you fear, it acts as a safety behavior. You might finish the activity but think, I made it through because I kept myself busy. This way, you never really get to test whether your fear is true. 5. Traveling only when conditions feel “safe” Avoidance related to panic does not always look like refusing to travel. It can look like traveling, but only if you follow increasingly specific rules. Someone might take the subway, but never during rush hour. Drive, but avoid highways or bridges. Go into Manhattan, but only with another person. Attend a show, but insist on an aisle seat. Eat at restaurants, but avoid crowded ones. Take an Uber instead of public transportation because leaving feels easier. The problem is what happens when the list grows. First, one route is off limits, then another. Crowded trains are no longer an option. Long drives turn into short ones. Unfamiliar neighborhoods are skipped. Soon, you’re not asking, where do I want to go? but instead, where am I least likely to panic? This is how the line between panic disorder and agoraphobic avoidance can start to matter more and more. 6. Escaping as soon as anxiety rises Escape feels powerful because it works right away. Imagine standing in a crowded store and suddenly feeling dizzy. Your heart starts racing. You think, I need to get out. You leave. Within minutes, your anxiety decreases. Your brain learns a strong lesson: Leaving made me feel safe. But there’s something else you didn’t get to find out: maybe the anxiety would have gone up and then down even if you stayed. Maybe the feelings were uncomfortable, but you could have handled them. Maybe you could have stayed. This is why avoidance is so hard to break. It gives quick relief, but it can also keep you believing that the situation was truly dangerous or too much to handle. Treatment based on exposure takes a different approach. It lets you face situations you fear and learn something new, instead of always escaping. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) describes exposure therapy as a CBT method that helps people confront fears linked to panic disorder and get back to activities they’ve been avoiding. 7. Gradually building your life around preventing panic This might be the most important hidden behavior because it isn’t just one thing. It’s really a collection of many small choices. You stop exercising because a racing heart scares you. You avoid the subway at certain times. You won't go somewhere unless someone comes with you. You check the bathroom before sitting down. You choose the seat closest to the exit. You avoid unfamiliar places. You leave as soon as anxiety reaches a certain level. You carry specific objects because you believe you might need them if panic begins. None of these changes seem dramatic on their own. But together, they can shape your life around avoiding anxiety. That’s why treatment needs to focus on more than just the panic attack itself. How are panic disorder and agoraphobia treated? Effective treatment isn’t just about making panic go away. CBT for panic disorder can address catastrophic interpretations of physical sensations, hypervigilance, avoidance, and safety behaviors. Interventions based on exposure can include interoceptive exposure to feared physical sensations as well as in vivo exposure to situations that have become associated with fear. For people seeking panic disorder and agoraphobia therapy in NYC, specialized treatment may therefore need to address both sides of the cycle: fear of the internal sensations of panic and the external situations that have gradually become associated with danger, escape, or loss of control. This distinction matters in a city like New York, where everyday life may routinely involve crowded trains, elevators, theaters, restaurants, traffic, bridges, long lines, and situations where immediately leaving is inconvenient or impossible. Treatment is tailored to each person. The goal isn’t to push anyone into their scariest situation right away or to promise they’ll never feel panic again. Instead, therapy helps people look at what they expect will happen, change how they react to scary sensations, rely less on safety behaviors, and slowly return to situations they’ve been avoiding because of anxiety. The Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy includes cognitive conceptualization, behavioral experiments, in vivo exposure, imaginal exposure, and interoceptive exposure among the CBT skills used to train clinicians to work with anxiety disorders, including panic disorder. The goal isn’t to get rid of anxiety completely One common trap with panic disorder is waiting until you feel totally safe before doing something. I'll take the subway when I'm sure I won't panic. I'll exercise when my heart rate doesn't scare me. I'll travel when I know I won't feel trapped. But feeling completely certain rarely happens. Recovery often means something else: becoming more willing to feel uncertain, notice physical sensations, and handle temporary anxiety without letting them control where you go or what you do. Over time, the question shifts from “How can I make sure I don’t panic?” to “What would I do if I didn’t have to plan my life around avoiding panic?” That’s a bigger, more freeing question. Are you ready to stop letting panic run your life? Learn more about panic disorder and agoraphobia therapy in NYC or follow Eliana Bonaguro, LMHC, on Instagram for educational content about anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and related conditions. This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized mental health or medical care. Follow me on Instagram for more info! Read more from Eliana Bonaguro Eliana Bonaguro, Licensed Mental Health Counselor Eliana Bonaguro is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) specializing in OCD, anxiety disorders, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy. She is also the author and illustrator of several mental health guides that blend evidence-based psychology with visual storytelling to make complex mental health concepts more approachable and easier to understand. Her insights and contributions have been featured in Forbes, Healthline, Newsweek, and RTOR.

Written by Rasha Oudeh, Entrepreneur & International Expansion Expert Rasha Oudeh is a serial entrepreneur working across Switzerland and Germany, a board director, and an international expansion expert with over 25 years of experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She is CEO of Global Match AG, Chairwoman of CEDEM AG, and holds an Executive MBA from Frankfurt School and the IMD Board Director Diploma Seeing my book, Leadership Without Sugarcoating: The Decision, the Price, and What Remains, on a shelf at Orell Füssli in the centre of Zurich made me pause and smile. Behind those pages were more than 25 years of decisions, mistakes, and lessons worth sharing. Eight of those lessons explain why I wrote it and what I hope others can take from it. I wanted to bring the perspective of an Arab woman working in Switzerland and Germany, shaped by my Jordanian roots and experience across cultures. Business leadership has taught me to value financial discipline, but leadership reaches further, it includes people who transform their circumstances and create opportunities for others. Determination matters. So do transparent relationships, fair opportunities, and an environment where people can learn and contribute. Together, they help entrepreneurs and young leaders turn ambition into lasting value. Is there really one best leadership book? Every author loves their book a little like their own child. We know what went into it, and naturally, we believe it is special. But books are also like clothes, the right fit is personal. My hope is that the experience in mine helps someone better understand their own. What does leadership without sugarcoating mean? It means sharing the decisions behind the achievements, including those I would make differently. For me, authentic leadership requires acknowledging mistakes, questioning your judgment, and taking responsibility for the consequences. Executive leadership makes that responsibility visible, but it often begins long before a title. Young leaders deserve an honest account of what it takes, alongside the encouragement to try. Eight lessons from Leadership Without Sugarcoating 1. Responsibility can arrive before ambition “Leadership does not begin with ambition or the desire to advance, but long before that, with responsibility.” In 1999, in Amman, my father asked me for JOD 120 to cover the hospital costs of my sister’s birth. I was twenty and took an advance on my salary. Looking back, I recognise an early lesson in leadership responsibility, someone needed me to act, and my decision mattered beyond myself. 2. You sometimes have to decide while you are still afraid “I walked up, and with every step, I felt as though I was climbing over my fear, not because it had disappeared, but because it no longer had the power to stop me.” When invited to attend the Female Leader Summit, I asked to speak instead. I was afraid, but I stepped onto the stage, and more than 300 people gave me a standing ovation. Confidence can grow through action. Waiting to feel ready can mean never beginning. 3. Every important decision has a price “The price does not knock on the door, but slips in and by the time you notice it, it has already become part of your life.” In 2024, during a session connecting students in Zurich and Kakuma Refugee Camp, someone asked whether it had all been worth it. My answer was yes, with full awareness of the cost. Leadership decision-making requires asking what an opportunity will demand and who will carry the consequences. 4. Strength needs limits “What I know now is that breaking was never my enemy, it was the most honest teacher in my journey.” In 2022, protecting CEDEM and enabling my partners’ exit meant taking on a financial burden of USD 1 million. Sales had fallen sharply, and I sold most of what I owned. That experience changed my understanding of strength, leading also means recognising limits and changing what has become unsustainable. 5. Leaving can be a responsible decision “Sometimes, we already know the truth within ourselves, but we need someone to place it before us plainly.” In 2016, I left a partnership after helping build more than USD 18 million in sales. Walking away cost me much of what I had built. It also taught me that fairness and freedom matter, and that my knowledge, experience, and name were assets I could carry forward. 6. Rebuilding requires a different approach “I chose to rebuild. Not because I was no longer attached, but because I realized that true continuation does not lie in holding on, but in the ability to change.” Rebuilding CEDEM meant questioning priorities I had once defended. Years of investment can make change difficult, but attachment cannot decide a company’s future. Experience earns its value when it improves your next decision. 7. Anxiety should be heard without being put in charge “Real continuity is listening to anxiety without giving it the decision.” Business will never offer permanent certainty. I have learned to examine my concerns, "What evidence supports them? What can I prepare for? What action can I take?" Anxiety can signal a risk, judgment must guide the response. 8. Your achievements are only part of what remains “Conscience does not make the path easier, but it makes it clearer.” I care about building successful businesses and about what others can build because of my work. Every copy sold supports Amali Switzerland’s programmes, giving the book a purpose beyond sharing my experience. What publishing taught me about reaching people Publishing made me a beginner again. Reaching readers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa requires understanding different languages, reading habits, and distribution channels. The book can now be ordered through online booksellers across Germany and Switzerland, Amazon USA, and international channels reaching China, Korea, and Latin America. That reach is encouraging. Its value ultimately rests with the reader. Giving others room to lead Determination grows stronger with access to honest advice, fair agreements, and real opportunities. Experienced leaders can provide those conditions through a first chance, useful feedback, or the trust to take responsibility. This belief also shapes my work in entrepreneurship and leadership. Transformational leaders help others develop the judgment and confidence to change their world. I hope this book contributes to that process. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Rasha Oudeh Rasha Oudeh, Entrepreneur & International Expansion Expert Rasha Oudeh is a serial entrepreneur and international expansion expert who has built, grown, and successfully exited businesses. As CEO of Global Match AG, she supports companies with market entry, cross-border execution, strategic partnerships, and introductions to investment opportunities between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She is also Chairwoman of CEDEM AG, where she pursues her passion for women’s health and preventive healthcare. Beyond business, she leads Amali Switzerland, a nonprofit entrepreneurship initiative. She is the author of the forthcoming book Leadership Without Sugarcoating and holds an Executive MBA from Frankfurt School and the IMD Board Director Diploma.

Written by Linda Løwebeck, Counselor & Teacher Linda Løwebeck is known as a psychic medium and healer. She is the founder of Spirit of One, where people can book her for counseling, healing, and information about the spirit realm. She is also the head of an unidentified flying object (UFO) group called CE-5 (Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind) Copenhagen, which conducts CE-5 Skywatches in search of extraterrestrial life. A lot of people struggle with differentiating between intuition and anxiety. Let’s break it down. We have two concepts at hand: the capacity for intuition and the feeling of anxiety. Intuition can be trained, and anxiety can be processed. What is intuition? Intuition is the ability to perceive your higher mind. It is also referred to as gut feeling, but I make a clear distinction between the two. The gut feeling has to do with emotions, whereas intuition comes from the higher mind, spiritual guidance, and the soul. It works through both emotions and thoughts, pre-reacts before gut feeling, and leads to gut feeling. It goes: intuition, gut feeling, awareness. Your intuition is always active. Even when you don't consciously perceive it, it perceives you. Clear knowing, also known as claircognizance, is a psychic perception of knowledge from spirit guides that comes seemingly out of nowhere and lands exactly where needed. Intuition is a gateway to all the different psychic senses, such as clairvoyance, clairsentience, clairaudience, clairolfactory, clairgustance, and claircognizance. Intuition is a calm knowing and direction that aligns with your values and broader view of things. My experience is that it feels like a nudge. It can be acted on instantly or planned for the future. Intuition can be trained by practising listening to it and responding to it. What is anxiety? Anxiety is one of the six basic emotions that humans are born with. According to psychologist Paul Ekman, there are six basic emotions that can be detected through facial expressions. Those are anxiety, anger, sadness, joy, disgust, and surprise. Intuition is not one of them, as intuition is not a distinct emotion but rather a clear perception in which emotions are an aspect of what is perceived intuitively. Anxiety is a response to threatening or uncertain circumstances, and it can be debilitating. It is about getting through something or avoiding something. Anxiety is the fear of an awful or worst-case outcome. It often requires an immediate resolution to prevent a certain outcome or an outcome further down the line that should be prevented. The body can react with heart palpitations, clammy hands, and dryness in the mouth. Anxiety can be processed through, for example, meditation. Spend time feeling the details of the anxiety to gain an overview of the situation. Both intuition and anxiety can involve urgent or long-term perspectives, and both can be felt in the gut and bring clarity to a situation. I have noticed that intuition is often full of inspiration, whereas anxiety can feel energetically contracting, like a feeling of wanting to step away. Both reconnect you to yourself through perception and awareness. It can be a healing experience to discover the clarity that both intuition and anxiety bring. To further differentiate between the two, one can go to therapy and work through personal themes. This provides clarity about what causes anxiety and what constitutes intuitive inspiration. The modalities of meditation, therapy, and journaling are great ways to start trusting and listening to your inner guidance, both intuitively and emotionally. By reconnecting with your inner clarity, you can navigate through life with clearer perception, focus, and decision-making. Sometimes, it can be challenging to feel what's going on internally, but you can use the recommended modalities and sit with yourself for five or ten minutes. One thing is certain, and that is that your inner guidance is always with you. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Linda Løwebeck Linda Løwebeck, Counselor & Teacher Linda Løwebeck is a psychic medium and healer from birth and has also trained her gifts at a psychic school. Since childhood, she has been in communication with spirits and has had the ability to heal. She uses her gifts to help people find clarity in their life situations and heal their discomfort with the Spirit of One. UFOs have always been an interest, and in 2015 Linda saw her first one. She established the UFO group CE-5 Copenhagen and has had many sightings. Her mission is to expand awareness, so people can experience a clearer approach to life and experience spirits, healing, and UFOs.

Samka Keranovic is Co-Founder of Desert Roots Wellness, a former VP and COO with more than 15 years of business and leadership experience, and a coach with 16 years of private coaching experience. Her work focuses on high achievers who look successful on the outside but feel exhausted, resentful, disconnected, or uncertain about the life they have built. Samka Keranovic, Certified Holistic Life Coach, NLP Practitioner, and Neuroscience Coach Her perspective on burnout and self-abandonment has also been published in Fast Company. In this interview, Samka explores the connection between burnout and self-abandonment, why overfunctioning can be mistaken for strong leadership, how resentment can become useful data, and what it takes to rebuild self-trust and create a life that feels aligned from the inside out. What led you to build Desert Roots Wellness around helping high achievers create a life that actually fits? For a long time, I thought burnout was a scheduling problem. I had spent years in corporate leadership as a Vice President (VP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), so when I started feeling depleted and disconnected despite being successful on paper, my instinct was to optimize. I restructured my calendar, worked harder, and kept telling myself I just needed to get through the next milestone. Eventually, I realized the workload wasn't the real issue. I had spent years becoming incredibly good at meeting expectations, anticipating what other people needed, and keeping everything moving while slowly losing contact with my own needs, boundaries, and judgment. I was achieving, but parts of the life I was building no longer felt like mine. That realization became a major foundation for Desert Roots Wellness. I wanted to help other high achievers understand that exhaustion is not always a sign that they need to become more productive, or even simply rest more. Sometimes it is feedback that they have been disappearing from their own life. My work became about helping people rebuild that internal connection so they can remain ambitious and successful without sacrificing themselves in the process. After 16 years of private coaching and more than 15 years in business and leadership, what patterns do you see most often in successful people who are quietly struggling? One of the patterns I see most often is resentment in people who appear incredibly capable on the outside. They may feel resentful toward peers, leadership, a spouse, or other family members because they believe they are carrying more than everyone else and receiving very little recognition for it. "Resentment is data." When we look underneath it, there is frequently another layer. They have built much of their identity and their relationships around being the reliable one. They anticipate problems, step in, fix things, remember what everyone else forgets, and make sure nothing falls apart. That competence can become a trap. The more capable they are, the more responsibility they absorb, and the more others begin to expect it. Eventually, the resentment is not simply about other people. It is also a signal that the role they have been carrying no longer feels sustainable. Part of the work is learning that being dependable does not require being endlessly available or responsible for everything. Sustainable success requires allowing other people to carry their share. You have written about chronic self-abandonment as a pattern that can contribute to burnout. What does self-abandonment look like in everyday life? Self-abandonment is the chronic habit of overriding your own needs, instincts, values, and boundaries in order to manage someone else's comfort, expectations, or approval. In everyday life, it often looks far less dramatic than people expect. It can be not speaking up when something does not feel right, overexplaining your decisions because you feel responsible for making everyone else comfortable, or staying constantly available even when you are depleted. Individually, those behaviors can look like professionalism, flexibility, or being a supportive partner, parent, friend, or leader. The problem is when they become a pattern. Over time, you become highly attuned to what everyone else needs while becoming less clear about your own limits, preferences, and priorities. That is why I describe burnout as more than overwork. You can reduce your workload and still feel exhausted if you are continually abandoning yourself inside the life you are living. Rest can help with fatigue, but it does not automatically repair the pattern that created the depletion. Why can behaviors like people-pleasing, over-explaining, and always being available be mistaken for strong leadership? Behaviors like people-pleasing, over-explaining, and always being available can easily be mistaken for strong leadership because, in the short term, they often look like commitment. The person says yes. They step in. They solve problems quickly. They make themselves available after hours, absorb extra responsibility, and keep things moving when others do not. From the outside, that can look like dedication, loyalty, and reliability. Organizations can even reward overfunctioning because the cost is often invisible until it shows up as burnout and resentment. The problem is that these behaviors are not always coming from healthy leadership. Sometimes they come from fear of disappointing people, difficulty setting limits, or a belief that being valuable means always being useful. Over time, the same behaviors that once earned praise can leave a leader feeling like they are carrying everyone while no one is carrying them. Strong leadership is not endless availability. It is creating clarity, accountability, boundaries, and shared responsibility so success does not depend on one person constantly overfunctioning. What do conventional approaches to burnout often miss when identity or misalignment is part of the problem? Conventional approaches to burnout often focus on recovery without asking what someone is recovering to. Rest, vacations, meditation, exercise, better time management, and healthier routines can all be valuable, but recovery without realignment is often temporary. If someone returns to the same role, the same expectations, the same lack of boundaries, and the same version of themselves that created the exhaustion, they may feel better for a while and then find themselves right back in the same pattern. When burnout is connected to identity or misalignment, the deeper questions are different. Who have you had to become to maintain this life? What are you continuing to tolerate because it is expected of you? Which responsibilities still belong to you, and which ones have you simply become accustomed to carrying? Sometimes the problem is not that a person needs to become better at managing their life. Something about the life itself may need to change. Burnout can become useful information when it reveals that the way you are living, leading, or relating to others no longer fits who you have become. How can someone tell whether they genuinely need rest or whether their role, priorities, or lifestyle no longer fit who they are? There is no single sign because misalignment can show up in many different shapes. For one person, it may look like exhaustion. For another, it may be resentment, irritability, dread, numbness, or a growing sense of disconnection from work or relationships they once cared deeply about. One question I encourage people to ask is, What am I returning to? If time away genuinely restores you and you return feeling engaged again, recovery may have been what you needed. But if you rest, feel better temporarily, and then quickly return to the same depletion or disconnection, that is also useful information. That is when I become curious about what the person is returning to. Does the role still fit? Are these priorities still theirs? Are they living according to their values, or primarily according to expectations they have inherited or accumulated? Rest is important, but sometimes exhaustion is carrying a message. The goal is not to interpret every difficult day as a reason to change your life. It is to notice persistent patterns that remain even after you have given yourself real space to recover. What is one practical way a high achiever can start rebuilding self-trust when every decision feels difficult? When someone is second-guessing every decision, I do not start by telling them to simply be more confident. I want to understand why they stopped trusting themselves in the first place. We go to the root cause. Is the hesitation coming from fear of someone's reaction? A need for approval? Fear of judgment, rejection, or disappointing someone? Once we understand the pattern, we begin challenging it in small, intentional increments. For example, if someone is afraid of how a particular person will react, I may have them make one small decision for themselves and communicate it without asking for permission. Then we observe what actually happens. We look at the other person's response, separate their reaction from the client's identity and worth, and examine why that response has carried so much power. The process is simple but powerful. Find the root, make one independent decision, observe the reaction, separate the reaction from your identity, and repeat. Each small decision becomes evidence that you can tolerate discomfort, remain grounded, and trust your own judgment. Self-trust becomes much easier to rebuild when we address why it was lost instead of simply telling someone to believe in themselves. What does it mean to you personally to choose alignment over external expectations? Choosing alignment over external expectations is deeply personal to me because I see alignment as part of the essence of being human. When the life you are living no longer reflects who you are, even success can begin to feel empty. For me, choosing alignment meant letting go of the identity of always being the dependable one. I also had to stop measuring success by how other people defined it or by what looked impressive from the outside. There was a point when I realized that being perceived as successful was not the same as actually feeling fulfilled. I wanted a definition of success that made me feel whole, not one that required me to keep performing a version of myself that no longer fit. Alignment does not mean abandoning ambition. It means becoming more intentional about what you are ambitious for. It is choosing work, relationships, responsibilities, and goals that are consistent with who you are now, not simply with who others expect you to be. For me, that is what choosing yourself really means. What would you want someone who looks successful but feels exhausted and disconnected from themselves to understand first? The first thing I would want them to understand is: do not turn the exhaustion into resentment toward yourself or everyone around you, and do not immediately assume you need to tear down everything you have built. When people feel deeply disconnected, it can be tempting to believe that changing careers, leaving a relationship, moving, or completely reinventing their life will solve the problem. Sometimes external changes are necessary, but changing the scenery does not automatically change the patterns you carry with you. Before making major decisions, I believe in becoming curious about yourself. Where did you stop speaking up? When did you begin overriding what you needed? At what point did you become more committed to meeting expectations than listening to yourself? That requires personal responsibility without self-blame. Other people may have contributed to the circumstances, but understanding your own patterns gives you the power to change them. When you identify where you began abandoning yourself and start rebuilding that relationship, decisions about your career, relationships, priorities, and future often become much clearer. "You do not have to destroy your life to find yourself again." Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Samka Keranovic

Written by Tata Islem, Human and Business Strategist Tata Islem is a human and business strategist, speaker, and executive contributor helping leaders and high-performers elevate their identity, presence, and personal brand through neuroscience, embodiment, and strategic transformation. She blends leadership, emotional intelligence, and human behavior to create lasting impact. You can be intelligent, experienced, and successful, yet spend days thinking about a decision you could have made in minutes. The answer is not always more information. Sometimes it is learning when thinking has stopped serving you. The real question is this. Are you thinking to move forward, or are you thinking because you are trying to know what will happen before you move? This distinction changes how you make decisions, communicate, execute, and lead yourself. Thinking creates movement, overthinking creates noise Thinking helps me move. Overthinking keeps me in the same place. That is the simplest way I can explain it. When I am thinking, I look at what is in front of me. What do I want? What do I know? What decision do I need to make now? What is the next step? Overthinking is different. Suddenly, I am dealing with everything that could happen. What if this fails? What will people say? What if there is a better option? What if the market does not want it? Now I have ten problems in my head, but maybe none of them exist yet. For me, overthinking begins when I demand certainty about an experience I have not lived. The brain naturally predicts, but a prediction is not reality. Just because my mind can generate a possible future does not mean that future is true, and it does not mean I have to make my decision based on it. The gap is not always knowledge A person can know a lot and still not move. A founder can understand strategy and keep changing direction. A leader can have all the information and still delay a decision. An expert can keep preparing because the work is not ready yet. The gap is often not between ignorance and knowledge. It is between knowing and acting. In business, that gap has a cost. Decisions slow down. Projects remain open. Teams receive changing directions. Good ideas become complicated before they have even been tested. This is why I do not see self-leadership as something soft or separate from performance. How you lead your own mind eventually appears in how you lead everything else. You do not need an answer before it's time I saw this when I wanted to create my own event. My mind immediately made it huge. I need a team, a landing page, systems, and all the answers. Then I came back and asked myself, what is actually the first step? "Choose the date." That was it. Once I chose the date, the next step became visible, and then the next one. When the event was finished, I remember thinking: This is actually easy. It is just the steps. The complexity was not necessarily in creating the event. Much of it came from trying to mentally complete the entire future before taking the first action. I experienced the same thing with Airbnb. I did not begin by learning everything about running an Airbnb business. I had a property and wanted to list it, so I took photos and put it online. Then I received a reservation. Now I had a real situation to solve. Later came messaging, automation, and delegation. The knowledge arrived when it became useful. Sometimes the most powerful question is not, what else do I need to know? It is, which of these questions actually needs an answer right now? Expertise should support your vision, not replace it I research, analyze, and work with experts. But I have become careful about how much authority I give information in my decision-making process. I once worked with someone who understood funnels better than I did. I trusted his expertise. Slowly, his language entered my offer, and his priorities started changing how I communicated. His focus was strongly connected to making more money. My deeper purpose was to help more people experience my method. Neither perspective had to be wrong, but they were not the same vision. Because I thought he knew better, I started changing myself and overthinking. Eventually, I understood that he could know funnels better than me, but he could not know my vision better than me. I do not need an expert to become the leader of my vision. I need to lead the vision and allow the expert to contribute expertise to it. Self-leadership is not refusing feedback. It is acting, receiving real feedback, and adjusting without giving away ownership of your direction. Your state changes the quality of your decisions I have learned to recognize two different states in myself. In one, my thoughts rush, my body is tense, my voice becomes faster, and I want an answer immediately. In the other, I am clear. I know what I want, why I want it, and what purpose it serves. This is why I do not make every thought important simply because it appeared. I reset first. Sometimes I walk, move my body, or breathe. Sometimes I do absolutely nothing with the problem for a moment. I come back to my body and to what is actually happening now. Calm does not magically make every decision correct. I reset because I do not want a temporary emotional state to make a decision with a much longer consequence. Not every thought deserves authority, and not every emotion requires a reaction. Self-expression is not self-monitoring When I became an Executive Contributor, I suddenly had too much in my head: neuroscience, embodiment, leadership, human behavior, and my own experiences. Then came the questions. Is it good enough? Will people understand me? Is my language clear enough? I kept postponing. Eventually, I stopped forcing myself to write. I walked, moved, and came back to myself. Then I thought, I will simply talk about what I am actually thinking. I spoke, recorded it, and organized it into an article. There is a huge difference between expressing yourself and monitoring yourself while you express. When I am expressing, my attention is on what I want to communicate. When I am monitoring, part of my attention is watching me. How do I sound? Am I doing it correctly? What are they thinking? That constant self-monitoring makes execution heavy, and people can feel the difference between communication with direction and communication that is constantly checking itself. The shift is from certainty to experience Many people are not stuck because they do not know enough. They are afraid of change and the unknown. So they research, prepare, compare, and think again. It looks productive, but it can protect them from the one thing they are avoiding: the experience. Once you act, reality becomes involved. Maybe it works. Maybe it does not. Maybe people buy. Maybe they do not. But now you know something you could never have discovered by remaining inside your head. This changed my relationship with uncertainty. Instead of asking, "What if this goes wrong?" I can ask, "What? So what?" Let us see. Not recklessly and not without thinking, but without demanding that life reveal the ending before I am willing to enter the experience. A simple way to return to yourself The next time you notice yourself overthinking an important decision, do not immediately search for another answer. Stop and notice your state. Are you clear, or are you reacting? Ask yourself: What do I actually want? Why do I want it? What is the real question I need to answer now? Which questions am I trying to answer before their time? What is the next step that will give me contact with reality? "Then move. Experience. See. Adjust." You do not need to know that everything will work. You need to know that you can respond to what happens. The thought is there. You still decide whether you give it authority. That is where leading yourself begins. Lead yourself If you are successful on the outside but overthinking, self-monitoring, or constant mental noise is affecting how you decide, execute, communicate, or lead, this is the work I do. The Lead Yourself Method strengthens your ability to recognize what is yours, make clear decisions for yourself, and lead your life and work without constantly abandoning your own direction. Connect with me to explore the Lead Yourself Method and private mentorship. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tata Islem Tata Islem, Human and Business Strategist Tata Islem is a human and business strategist, speaker, and executive contributor known for blending neuroscience, embodiment, leadership, and human behavior in a unique and deeply transformative way. Through years of traveling the world, challenging herself beyond conventional paths, and living through real-world experiences, she built a global personal brand followed by hundreds of thousands of people. Her work stands out for bridging human transformation, personal power, freedom, and modern leadership while embodying the lifestyle and philosophy she teaches.

Parents have more tools than ever to monitor and protect their children's online activities. From screen-time restrictions and content filters to location tracking and parental control apps, technology has made it easier to establish digital boundaries. But what happens when those safeguards aren't enough? A teenager may receive threatening messages from an anonymous account. Someone might create a fake social media profile using a child's photographs. An online friendship could turn into harassment, manipulation, or blackmail. These situations raise questions that parental control applications cannot always answer. Who is behind the suspicious activity? Has an account been compromised? What information has been shared, and can the available evidence help establish what happened? This is where digital forensics may become valuable. Why parental controls are only the first line of defense Parental control applications can help families manage screen time, restrict inappropriate content, and establish boundaries around device usage. However, these tools primarily focus on prevention and supervision. They are not designed to investigate complex digital incidents. For example, a content filter might prevent a child from accessing certain websites, but it cannot necessarily determine whether someone is impersonating them on social media. Similarly, limiting screen time will not resolve an incident involving threatening messages, a compromised account, or the unauthorized distribution of private information. Another challenge is that children increasingly communicate across multiple platforms, including messaging applications, gaming communities, and private social media groups. Parents may have visibility into some activities while remaining unaware of others. This does not mean families should abandon parental controls. Instead, they should recognize that online safety requires a combination of prevention, communication, account security, and an appropriate response when something goes wrong. The digital threats parents often overlook Online threats are not always obvious. Some develop gradually through conversations that initially appear harmless. Understanding common risks can help parents recognize when additional attention is necessary. Cyberbullying and anonymous harassment Cyberbullying can involve threatening messages, humiliation, impersonation, or repeated harassment across digital platforms. In some cases, an individual may create multiple accounts to continue contacting a child after being blocked. Parents might notice emotional distress or changes in online behavior without knowing what triggered them. While schools and social media platforms can help address these incidents, persistent harassment may require careful documentation of messages, accounts, and other available evidence. Fake profiles and online impersonation Creating an account using someone else's name or photographs can be surprisingly simple. A fake profile may be used to embarrass a child, deceive their friends, or distribute misleading information. The challenge is determining whether the account is genuinely fraudulent and documenting its activities before it disappears. Parents should avoid assuming they can identify the person responsible based solely on a username, profile picture, or writing style. Account compromise and unauthorized access Unexpected password resets, unfamiliar login notifications, and messages sent without a child's knowledge may indicate that an account has been accessed by someone else. Sometimes the explanation is straightforward, such as a forgotten login or an application connected to the account. In other cases, the activity may suggest compromised credentials or unauthorized access. Understanding the difference requires examining the available technical information rather than relying on assumptions. Online manipulation and blackmail Children may also encounter individuals who use emotional pressure, deception, or threats to obtain private information, photographs, or money. These incidents can be particularly difficult for children to disclose because they may fear punishment or embarrassment. Parents should prioritize their child's immediate safety, avoid blaming them, and seek appropriate professional or law enforcement assistance when exploitation or credible threats are involved. When online safety becomes a digital investigation Consider a situation where a teenager begins receiving threatening messages from several anonymous accounts. The family blocks the accounts, but new messages continue appearing. Some refer to personal information that the child believes was never publicly shared. The parents have screenshots, but they do not know whether the messages are connected, whether an account has been compromised, or how the information became accessible. A parental control application is unlikely to resolve those questions. Digital forensics takes a different approach by examining available electronic evidence to establish a clearer understanding of an incident. Depending on the circumstances, a qualified examiner may assess device activity, account security records, original messages, metadata, or other information obtained through authorized access. The objective is to reconstruct relevant events, identify evidence of suspicious activity, and document findings that may support further action. However, digital forensics has limitations. It cannot guarantee the identification of an anonymous individual, recover every deleted message, or access information that a platform does not make available. The value lies in replacing assumptions with a structured examination of the evidence that actually exists. How digital forensics can help families find answers Digital investigations are often associated with criminal cases or corporate cybersecurity incidents. However, individuals and families may also need assistance when serious online problems arise. Professional digital forensics services for individuals can help examine electronic evidence in situations involving suspected account compromise, online harassment, or other digital incidents. Depending on the evidence available and the scope of the investigation, this process may involve several steps. Preserving digital evidence: Original messages, account notifications, device records, and relevant files may contain information that is lost when content is deleted or altered. Establishing a timeline: Investigators may examine available timestamps and records to understand when suspicious activities occurred and how different events relate to one another. Examining signs of unauthorized access: Where relevant records are available, an examination may help identify unusual account activity or potential security issues. Documenting findings: A structured report can explain what was examined, what the evidence supports, and what remains uncertain. For parents, these findings may help inform discussions with schools, attorneys, online platforms, or law enforcement agencies. An important distinction is that legitimate digital investigations rely on lawful access and appropriate authorization. They should not involve secretly breaking into another person's accounts or bypassing privacy protections. What parents should do before seeking professional help When parents discover suspicious online activity, their immediate reaction can influence how effectively the situation is handled. A measured response can help protect both the child and any relevant evidence. 1. Start with an open conversation Ask your child what happened and allow them to explain the situation without interruption. Avoid immediately confiscating devices or assigning blame. Children who fear punishment may be less willing to disclose important details. The priority should be understanding the situation and making sure the child feels safe. 2. Preserve relevant information Save available messages, usernames, dates, profile links, and account notifications. Where possible, retain original records rather than relying exclusively on cropped screenshots. Avoid deleting conversations or modifying files simply because the content is upsetting. If the incident involves suspected exploitation or illegal material, seek guidance from the appropriate authorities on how to report it safely rather than copying or distributing the material. 3. Secure potentially compromised accounts If unauthorized access is suspected, use the platform's official recovery process. Update passwords, enable multifactor authentication, and review active sessions where appropriate. For serious incidents that may require forensic examination, consult a qualified professional about preserving relevant evidence while taking necessary steps to secure the account. 4. Report serious threats Online platforms generally provide mechanisms for reporting impersonation, harassment, and abusive behavior. Schools may also need to become involved when incidents affect students or originate within school communities. Credible threats, extortion, sexual exploitation, or immediate safety concerns should be reported promptly to the appropriate authorities. 5. Know when expert assistance is appropriate Not every suspicious message requires a forensic investigation. However, persistent harassment, disputed electronic evidence, suspected unauthorized access, or incidents with potential legal consequences may justify professional assistance. A qualified examiner should be able to explain what information can be examined, what authorization is required, and what conclusions may realistically be possible. Protecting children without sacrificing their privacy One of the greatest challenges in digital parenting is balancing safety with independence. Children need guidance, but they also need opportunities to develop judgment, confidence, and healthy personal boundaries. Excessive monitoring can sometimes discourage teenagers from discussing uncomfortable online experiences. Rather than treating every private interaction as a potential threat, parents can establish clear expectations about online behavior and explain when intervention may become necessary. For example, families can discuss what to do if someone requests private photographs, threatens to reveal personal information, impersonates a friend, or asks for access to an account. Parents should also review their own digital habits. Public photographs, location tags, travel updates, and information shared about schools or family routines can unintentionally expose details about children. This is especially relevant for families with a significant public presence, although the same risks can affect households regardless of income or social standing. The goal is not to eliminate every digital risk. It is to reduce unnecessary exposure while ensuring children know where to turn when something feels wrong. Building a more complete approach to online safety Parental controls remain useful, but they should not be mistaken for a complete online safety strategy. Strong passwords, multifactor authentication, privacy settings, age-appropriate boundaries, and regular conversations all contribute to a safer digital environment. Equally important is having a plan for responding when preventive measures fail. Parents should understand how to document suspicious activity, recognize situations requiring immediate intervention, and seek appropriate assistance when technical questions cannot be answered through ordinary reporting channels. Digital forensics adds another layer to that approach. It offers a method for examining available evidence when families need to understand a serious incident rather than simply prevent future exposure. Technology will continue to change, and children will discover new platforms and ways to communicate. No single application can anticipate every threat. Ultimately, protecting children online requires more than monitoring their screens. It requires trust, awareness, timely intervention, and the ability to establish the facts when something goes wrong.

Brainz Magazine Exclusive Interview Prof. Dr. Parin Somani has built her work around a belief that achievement carries its greatest value when it creates opportunities for others. Across education, leadership, humanitarian initiatives, and global skills development, her focus remains firmly rooted in contribution and meaningful impact. This conversation explores the thinking behind that mission, from the role of self-belief and purpose-driven leadership to the lessons that come from working across cultures and communities. It also looks ahead, examining how education, human skills, and the London Organisation of Skills Development are responding to a changing world of work and preparing people not simply to succeed but to create lasting impact. Prof. Dr. Parin Somani, CEO of the London Organisation of Skills Development To start, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey? Who is Prof. Dr. Parin beyond the titles? Prof. Dr. Parin Somani is a passionate visionary leader who has chosen to help humanity until her last breath. My journey has been full of challenges, physically, emotionally, and professionally, but each of those moments has shaped who I am today. I began my career in media at a young age, stepping into spaces where I was often underestimated. As a young woman in a male-dominated environment, I had to find my voice before I could use it. That journey of self-belief became the foundation of everything I do today. Having overcome societal stigma, I became an author at the age of 18 and had published 11 books. Later in life, I became a three-time cancer survivor and overcame other health challenges. What truly defines me is not my achievements, but my purpose. I am someone who believes deeply in serving others, in empowering individuals to realise their potential, and in creating opportunities where none seem to exist. My work today as CEO of the London Organisation of Skills Development reflects that purpose. At my core, I am a learner, a serving leader, and someone who believes that every challenge carries a lesson. My journey is still evolving, and I remain committed to growing, learning, and giving back—every single day. Your life bridges academia, pageantry, and humanitarian work. What does “living with purpose” mean to you today? Living with purpose means waking up each day knowing that your actions are contributing to something greater than yourself. For me, purpose is not a destination; it is a way of living. My experiences across academia, pageantry, and humanitarian work are not separate paths; they are interconnected expressions of the same mission. Whether I am speaking at a conference or on the LOSD Skills Live Platform, mentoring a student with their doctoral thesis, writing a book, or contributing to a documentary, I ask myself one question: “How can this create impact?” Purpose became clearer to me during some of the most difficult times in my life, when I faced serious health challenges, including temporary vision loss, life-threatening aggressive cancer, a stroke, and COVID-19. Those moments forced me to reflect deeply on why I am here. From that reflection came my guiding principle and the first motto of my life: “It is my aim to serve humanity until my last breath.” Living with purpose means aligning your skills, your experiences, and your opportunities with service. It means using your voice not just to be heard, but to uplift others. And most importantly, it means understanding another motto of my life, “When we work together, we can create a positive global change.” You’ve turned adversity into inspiration. What mindset has helped you navigate that transformation? The mindset that has guided me is simple, yet powerful: challenges are not meant to stop you, they are meant to shape you. It is through challenges that we grow as individuals, and through that growth we can better help society at large. When I faced life-threatening health conditions, there were moments of fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability. But I realised that I had a choice. I could either allow those experiences to define me, or I could use them as a source of strength. I chose to see adversity as a teacher. Every challenge taught me something, patience, resilience, gratitude, and perspective. It reminded me that life is fragile, but also incredibly meaningful. That shift in mindset changed everything for me. I began to see obstacles not as barriers, but as opportunities for growth. I understood that strength is not about never falling; it is about rising every time you do. Today, when I face challenges, I ask myself: “What is this trying to teach me?” That question transforms difficulty into direction. What continues to drive you to excel across so many different fields? What drives me is not the desire to excel but the desire to make a difference and help global societies through the work I carry out. Each area I am involved in—as a globally recognised academic scholar, humanitarian, CEO of the London Organisation of Skills Development (LOSD), multi-international award-winner, best-selling author, educator, four-time TEDx speaker, and Skills Live Speaker—serves a purpose. They are platforms through which I can reach different audiences and create impact in different ways. I aim to empower communities through education, women's empowerment, and youth development, inspiring people worldwide with resilience, compassion, and purpose-driven leadership. I am deeply motivated by the transformation I see in others. When someone gains confidence, discovers their potential, or takes a step towards their goals, it reinforces why I do what I do. Another key driver is growth. I believe that we are all capable of more than we realise, and I constantly challenge myself to step beyond my comfort zone. Growth does not happen in familiarity; it happens in courage and with a positive mindset. Finally, my mission keeps me focused. When your work is connected to a larger purpose, it becomes less about achievement and more about contribution. That shift keeps me grounded and driven. Is there a mindset shift you believe can truly change everything? Yes, shifting from a mindset of limitation and negativity to a mindset of possibility and positivity. Many people hold themselves back not because they lack ability, but because they doubt their potential. They wait for permission, for validation, or for the “right moment.” But the truth is, growth begins the moment you decide to believe in yourself. When you shift your mindset to positivity, everything changes. You begin to see opportunities where you once saw obstacles. You take action where you once hesitated. You grow where you once stayed still. Another important shift is moving from “What can I gain?” to “What can I contribute?” This changes the way you approach your work, your relationships, and your goals. Mindset is powerful. It shapes your decisions, your actions, and ultimately your outcomes. Having worked in over 129 countries, what’s one lesson that has reshaped the way you see the world? One of the most profound lessons I have learned is that within diversity lies great strength. Despite our differences, we are more alike than we realise. Across cultures, languages, and backgrounds, people share the same fundamental aspirations, to grow, to be valued, and to create a better future. We can share ideas and learn from each other to build bridges. This understanding has reshaped my perspective. It has taught me the importance of empathy, respect, and collaboration. It has shown me that progress happens when we come together, not when we remain divided. It has also reinforced my belief that education and skill development are universal tools for empowerment. When individuals are given the opportunity to learn and grow, they can transform not only their own lives, but also their communities. This global exposure has deepened my commitment to creating inclusive international platforms through LOSD where people from all backgrounds can thrive. How is LOSD preparing learners for the future of work? At LOSD, we recognise that the future of work is constantly evolving. Traditional education alone is no longer enough. Individuals need to be adaptable, skilled, and confident in navigating change. We focus on bringing people together globally in different institutions of excellence to provide a platform to develop both technical and human skills for professional and personal development. These include critical thinking, communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence- skills that remain relevant regardless of industry changes. At the London Organisation of Skills Development (LOSD), we are deeply committed to bridging the gap between knowledge and real-world application by creating transformative global platforms for individuals and organisations. Through pioneering initiatives such as SkillFlex, our dynamic digital learning platform, the LOSD Skill-Up Business & Wellbeing Retreat, Global Research Conferences (GRC), and the Global Research Journal (GRJ), we empower individuals to learn, grow, and share their expertise on an international stage. Our platforms extend further through Skill Cast – the LOSD Podcast, and the LOSD Excellence Awards, which recognise outstanding individuals and organisations across key sectors including Business, Health, Media, Social Impact, and Technology. Those interested in applying are encouraged to contact admin@losd.co.uk. Additionally, LOSD Publishing House provides opportunities for individuals from all walks of life to become co-authors in impactful global publications such as ‘A Book of Love’, ‘27 The World’s Most Inspiring Leaders 2027’, ‘Rising Queens: Icons of 2027’, and ‘Rising Kings: Icons of 2027’. Contributions can be made by contacting publishing@losd.co.uk. Through SKILLS LIVE, we offer individuals a global stage to deliver short, inspiring talks and participate in engaging panel discussions. Our next flagship SKILLS LIVE event will take place at the University of Cambridge from 20th to 23rd August 2027. Those wishing to participate can reach out via skillslive@losd.co.uk. In addition, our innovative SKILLS AI Chatbot is designed to provide accessible, on-demand skill solutions, supporting continuous learning and development. Complementing these initiatives, the LOSD Production House is developing impactful docu-series, including ‘Rising Queens’ and ‘Rising Kings’, set to premiere at a prestigious red carpet event in London Cinema. Through Skills Connect Networking and our Skill Opportunity speaking engagement portal, we ensure that talent is not only nurtured but also globally showcased. With the valued support of our media partners, London Elite Magazine and London TV and others, we continue to amplify voices, connect global communities, and build a future driven by skills, innovation, and purpose. We are particularly focused on accessibility, creating inclusive opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds, ensuring that learning is not limited by geography or circumstance. Our goal is not only to prepare individuals for employment but to equip them for lifelong growth, leadership, and meaningful impact. Individuals and organisations interested in getting involved in any of our initiatives are warmly invited to contact admin@losd.co.uk for further information. If you could give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would it be? I would say to my younger self: believe in yourself sooner. Understand that struggle is not something to fear, it is the very essence of growth and the meaning of life. Cultivate positive thinking, remain steadfast, and never give up. At 18 years old, like many young people, I had dreams, but I also carried doubts. I had fought societal stigma working within the media, and I held a high leadership position within the community and rode a motorbike every day. There were times when I questioned my abilities, my direction, and whether I was truly capable of achieving what I envisioned. Yet, despite these uncertainties, I chose to persist through every challenge I encountered. When I had a motorbike accident and broke my arm, I couldn’t be still, instead I used that time to write my first books. When publishers doubted the potential of my work, I was fortunate to have the unwavering belief of my father, my teacher, and my first publisher. That belief, combined with my determination, kept me going. The very book that faced uncertainty went on to become a great success, translated into numerous languages and published in 11 editions. If I could go back, I would remind myself that self-belief is not something you wait to gain—it is something you consciously choose. And once you choose it, everything begins to change. I would also encourage myself to embrace every opportunity, even when it feels uncomfortable, because true growth happens when you step into the unknown. Most importantly, I would remind myself that challenges are not setbacks; they are stepping stones. Every experience, whether positive or difficult, shapes your journey and strengthens your purpose. Life will not always be easy, but it will always offer opportunities to grow, to learn, and to make a meaningful difference. Trust your path, remain resilient, and never underestimate the impact that you are capable of creating. Follow Prof. Dr. Parin Somani on LinkedIn and Instagram, and visit her website for more insights on leadership, education, skills development, and global impact.