Written by: Maya Zack, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Times are pretty crazy right now. Many biz owners (and people in general, for that matter) I speak to are increasingly stressing out and even flat-out panicking about what’s to come here in the UK, with massive hikes in the cost of living, an energy crisis & a looming recession. If you’re elsewhere in the world, global issues are affecting you too. And this is after we’ve finally come out of COVID! So first, know that you’re not alone in feeling this. And this is whether you’re a small business owner starting out or already established and have achieved success.
Challenges and things out of our control are just part of reality, and particularly as business owners, we need to be able to deal with them and continue with a forward-thinking focus if we want any chance of surviving. And that’s on top of the ‘normal,’ inevitable business challenges we’d face in more peaceful times.
So here are some steps you can take to build resilience & strength and get through these and any difficult times.
1. Take time out
Consuming negative information is overwhelming. So take time out. This doesn’t mean you should completely remove yourself or disconnect from reality. But taking some distance from either consuming all the bad news, other people’s stress on social or from engaging with the negative situation will give you the space you need to reflect on what’s really going on for you and to refocus on your path & creative solutions.
2. Depersonalise the situation
When we feel anxious or overwhelmed, it can be easy to believe that the situation is about us and who we are.
We might think we’re the only ones feeling this way, or that we’re the only ones who can't cope. We might think and feel like this is about us not being good or capable enough.
But it's important to remember that the situation is not about you, it’s not personal and is not about who you are.
Adversity is not a reflection of who you are as a person. It’s simply a part of life. Try to take a step back and depersonalise the situation. Detach your self-worth or self-image from it. See it for what it is, rather than getting wrapped up in your own thoughts and feelings about it. This will help you to get a clearer perspective.
3. Use tools to take charge of emotions
Being able to reduce stress, anxiety and any other unhelpful emotions on demand is key to allowing you to build resilience (well, it’s really key to life as a whole & achieving any of your goals!).
Taking control of how you think & feel is the best thing you can do for yourself. It’s the one thing that allows you to experience life and all that it will throw at you in the most positive way possible. Mindset mastery is truly the biggest asset you can have.
Whether relaxation techniques, meditation, (self) hypnosis or the powerful Sedona Method™ – just do it.
Allow yourself to take time out to focus on this.
4. Practice acceptance
One of the most important things you can do is to build resilience is to practice acceptance of what is. Acceptance doesn’t mean you’re happy about the situation. It just means that you’re willing to surrender to what is. You’re willing to let go of trying to control what you can’t control. You’re willing to dissolve your resistance. When you bring in more acceptance into a situation, the first thing that happens is that as resistance drops, so does some level of suffering and feeling stuck. Sure, you still aim for improvement, but you’re not in a battle against the stream. This allows you to feel a certain relief, a little bit easier & lighter, have more energy (because you’re not fighting), and more easily open up to possibilities. As for the future – there’s also no guarantee things will work out the way you want them to. So prepare for any possibility, be open to whatever happens while focusing on your ability to cope and simply taking one step at a time.
This is the best way to increase the likelihood of things working out for the better as you’re in the best state to handle things and problem-solve with more calm & clarity.
5. Remember everything is in a state of shifting
Everything is impermanent, always in a state of movement. Nothing ever stays the same. This can be difficult, but it’s important to remind yourself that "this too shall pass." And again, rather than resisting a situation, it actually feels better to accept and go with the flow. Remain flexible while focusing on creative options & solutions. The more flexible you are – the less breakable.
6. Reframe beliefs & perception
Identify & let go of unhelpful thoughts and beliefs that tell you things such as ‘can’t’, ‘never’ or other generalisations, projections or ‘rules’ for reality. Be mindful of your self-talk: the things we say to ourselves have a big impact on our mood and resilience levels.
To build resilience, when you catch yourself following negative thinking, replace negative statements with either positive or more neutral ones. Reframe things as challenges you can overcome.
Neutral wording can be easier for your mind to accept and take in if you’re just not feeling at all optimistic, in which case ‘covering up’ negativity might be counterproductive.
Neutral statements are simply open ones and can more easily be phrased as ‘How’ or ‘What’ questions. Be curious – this quality is a powerful force that’ll help you build resilience. Questions send your mind off on a search to find an answer that fits (the mind loves being right).
So allow yourself to bring up creative ideas and to think outside the box. This not only helps you to find solutions and feel a little bit more in control as you focus on things you can influence, but removes your attention from the suffering. It expands your awareness. For example, if your negative thought is about yourself:
Negative: ‘I’m not strong enough, I’m going to fail’ Positive: ‘I’m feeling calm, confident & clear handling this’ Neutral: ‘I wonder how much stronger I’m going to feel after getting through this and what inner resources I’m going to discover within me’
Or
‘I wonder how it feels to have the confidence, focus & determination to succeed’ (the mind is ‘forced’ to immediately create some confidence, focus and determination in order to answer that question)
If your negative belief is about the situation:
Negative: ‘No one will want to buy from me right now’ Positive: ‘Some people are eager to buy from me’ Neutral: ‘I wonder who would be eager to buy from me and how I can reach them’ or ‘I wonder how I can adapt my offer or messaging so that people want to buy’
Taking charge of beliefs moves you from limitation to possibility. Logical challenging of them, affirmations and visualisations do help, but I highly recommend using a Sedona Method™ tool that works effortlessly and can dissolve beliefs in minutes ‒ no matter how long you’ve been holding onto them or how ‘deeply ingrained’ they feel. (You can book a special Bust your Beliefs session with me here for a limited time).
7. Imagine your future self who's already overcome the challenge
Here’s another way to take charge of your self-image and the resources within that are available to you (they are unlimited!).
Imagine your future self who's already made it through. Focus more on your internal state rather than on the external outcome (because we’re less in control of that). Imagine what your future self is thinking, feeling and how you’re behaving.
This exercise allows you to do a few things:
Refocuses your mind on the positive – providing you some instant relief in the moment.
Activates your brain's natural reward system which increases your confidence.
Creates more of the resourceful states you need and want. There’s no difference between real or imagined as far as your mind is concerned. Whatever experience you imagine – is an experience you access.
So whatever positive feelings, thoughts or states you can imagine for yourself – you’ll be in fact already experiencing more and more of, every single time you practice this. You’re as unlimited as your imagination is!
Makes the positive outcome more familiar to your mind and, therefore more likely. Whatever the mind is more familiar with – it accepts more as truth and will create experiences that match up (this is why it’s also a good idea to repeat this exercise often).
For coming up with more solutions, try visualising that future self-offering you advice, giving you a ‘gift’ or telling you how they got to be where they are.
This exercise is best done in a hypnotic state. However, if not, just taking a few minutes to calm your mind as best you can and doing this in a conscious state will still be highly beneficial.
8. Connect to the bigger picture
Find meaning & gratitude in living the story – however, it may unfold.
We’re here to experience. Difficult experiences can often lead us to reassess what’s important in our lives.
The truth that eventually & inevitably we will not survive can help us survive present struggles. Remind yourself that we all face the very same end, so no story is ‘better’ than the other in that sense. They all lead to the same place. What’s important is how you felt along the way.
So although this philosophical perspective may not be easy to adopt, if you resonate with it, it’ll help you feel less attached to any situation or outcomes. You build resilience as you feel stronger and see things more like a challenging adventure and the situation as the temporary phase within the bigger story it really is. If you can find meaning within this expanded perspective and in what you’re going through in terms of your overall human experience, it’ll be easier to get through.
9. Get help
If you’re feeling overwhelmed (and particularly if you feel unsupported by people around you), it might be time to get help from a professional.
This is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength, acknowledging where you need support and actively doing something about it that you know will shift your experience more easily and quickly.
If you really take on board these tips, not only will you build resilience but you’ll be able to achieve more than you ever thought possible.
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Maya Zack, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Maya Zack is an award-winning personal development & mindset coach, peak performance specialist and hypnotherapist.
Based in the UK, she works internationally, mainly with women entrepreneurs as well as with businesses to create high-performance teams that aim to make a positive impact on people’s lives.
She helps business owners, leaders and teams free themselves from mental & emotional habits or blocks that prevent them from experiencing more success or slow it down. She has developed her unique signature 8-week step-by-step mindset makeover programs for aspiring as well as already established entrepreneurs that change thinking & feeling patterns on the deepest, subconscious level, reprogramming their minds for success so that new habits & behaviours quickly become automatic and effortless.
She believes it’s so important to our lives, joy and fulfilment to be doing what we love and daring to go for it regardless of the outcome. So many are held back by fear and she wants to change that. She believes success happens from the inside out alongside mindset mastery, and that as humans with imagination, we have the incredible capacity to become free, powerful creators of ourselves and our lives.
