Written by: Marques Ogden, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. It's that time of year when business owners look back on the past year and think about how to grow their business even more in the coming year. Students and people who don't own a business can also think about the past year (or semester) and make plans for the next quarter or semester. Everyone has goals and dreams, but not everyone works hard enough to reach them. If you do these 5 things, they will help you reach your goals. 1. Having clear goals helps you get exactly what you want If you write down your goals, you won't wake up every morning not knowing what to do. Instead, you can make a daily to-do list with tasks that will help you reach your goal. Don't "fly by the seat of your pants" any more. Instead, stick to your action plan or checklist and focus on important tasks instead of busy work. 2. Keep your focus on your objectives and think about them every day When you see a vision board in your office, it reminds you of your WHY—why you are working so hard. What do you hope to get done? Even if you just write down a few simple goals, put them right next to your desk so you can see them every day. Keeping a list hidden in your desk or in a file somewhere on your desktop doesn't work as well; you'll forget about the list and get off track. 3. Get ready for a few bumps along the way No one has an easy life, especially not in business. Most of the time, these problems come up just when you think you have everything under control. Find a way to fix the problem and get back on track with your goals as soon as possible instead of letting these things ruin your day. Write down the solution to the problem once you've fixed it, in case you run into a similar problem again in the future. It's much less stressful to have a list of possible solutions than to not know what to do. 4. Find a person you can count on Declaring your goals to a partner brings them to life and compels you to do the effort or face the embarrassment of having to tell your partner you didn't reach your goals. A good accountability partner will ask follow-up questions and won't be afraid to hold them accountable at anytime. One way to make this partnership more enjoyable is to come up with a consequence for individuals who don't meet their weekly goals. Whether it's paying for lunch or giving money to a good cause, that raises the bar a bit. 5. Know and understand what your goals are really for This step usually requires delving a little deeper into your life and WHY. Why do you want to make a six-figure salary? To pay for your high schooler's college education so that they can graduate debt-free? So you can relocate your family to your ideal house? So you can make donations to local charities? There are no correct or incorrect answers. Your response will emphasize the significance of these objectives to YOU. So, now ask yourself these difficult questions: What are your current whereabouts? Where would you like to be? What action steps will you need to take to get there? Who will accompany you on your journey? Visit my website for more info! Read more from Marques! Marques Ogden, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Marques Ogden is a leader in leadership, marketing and sales, diversity and inclusion, mindset enhancement and overcoming adversity. After losing everything he owned in a bad business deal in 2013, he filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy, lost his home, his car, and all of his money and ended up taking a job as a janitor for $8.25 an hour working in the graveyard shift. After his "spoiled milk" moment, Marques decided to take accountability and responsibility for his life and he decided to turn his pain into his purpose to become an inspirational keynote speaker. Since April 2016, he has spoken for over 35 fortune 500 companies and he is a coach, a consultant, a best-selling author, a podcast co-host and more.

Written by: Craig Stanland, 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. Don't wait for the bottom to fall out before changing your life. Instead, start today to create an extraordinary tomorrow. These 12 lessons will guide you on your own personal reinvention. My life changed forever on October 1st, 2013. I had just walked into my new job when I received this voicemail, "Mr. Stanland, this is Special Agent McTiernan with the FBI. We are at your residence and have a warrant for your arrest. You will need to call us and come home immediately, or we will issue an APB with the federal marshals for your arrest." It was, without a doubt, one of the most terrifying days of my life so far. For just under a year, I committed fraud against one of the largest tech companies in the world. In that one moment, my life was no longer my own. It belonged to the agents, the faceless people working behind the scenes, and the judge I had yet to meet. I pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and was sentenced to two years of federal prison. I watched helplessly as the life I knew grew smaller and fainter as I descended into the abyss of uncertainty. I watched as the dark cloud of shame enveloped my life and cast everything in its shadow. I watched the bottom fall out every single time I thought I had hit bottom. I watched as I walked down the darkest of paths, planning how I would take my life. And I watched what happened when I chose to step out of the burnt ashes of what was and into a new life. Stepping out of the ashes was another terrifying moment; I was leaving the known, even if it was terrible, for the unknown. But there was something incredible waiting for me when I did. There's a gift when you hit rock bottom and come out the other side. It's the wisdom and perspective that can only come from staring into the eyes of the worst version of yourself and despising what you see. And instead of trying to kill it, you acknowledge its existence, accept its existence, and learn to love its existence. But you don't allow its existence to define you. It's through this often painful process that I completely reinvented my life. I've spent the past decade transforming prison into purpose, and I've found my life's mission, and now I help others do the same. I don't make as much as I did in the corporate world. But I have what I was chasing for all those years, and I was too blind to see I'd never catch. Purpose Meaning Fulfillment Inner Freedom Emotional Peace There have been many lessons learned over the years, and I'll revisit this subject often; for now, these are the top 12 lessons I've learned from reinventing my life after prison. Acceptance is Freedom: I spent my days in prison, wishing I wasn't in prison. I spent my days wishing I didn't make the choices I made that landed me in prison. I wished and dreamed for life to be anything other than it was. I was fighting against a past and circumstance that couldn't be changed. I would never have the freedom to start over and reinvent if I continued to fight for what can't be changed. I had to do what I was so afraid to do. I had to accept reality. I didn't want to. It felt like giving up; it felt passive. Fighting equals progress. But does it? What was I fighting against? As much as I wish there were, there is no such thing as a time machine Delorean. Accepting reality isn't giving up; it isn't passive. It was an act of courage for me to say, "I accept that I betrayed myself and chose to commit a crime. I hit the "enter" button, the single keystroke that started it all. I accept I made the choice to continue in the face of the universe screaming at me to stop. I accept that I am in prison. I accept that I hurt the woman I love, my family, my friends..." A weight lifted off of me when I wrote that. I wasn't trapped in the past. Instead, I felt something I thought was impossible in prison, freedom. It's the freedom that comes when you're no longer locked in the past. And when you're no longer locked in the past, your future is so longer stained by the colors of the past. Self-Trust is a Must: My fraud required thousands of choices to keep it going. Each one of those choices was made in the face of my heart, saying, "Stop, don't do this. This isn't the way." I ignored my heart, violated my voice, and I paid the price. My inner voice disappeared, and I didn't trust myself to make the easiest decisions. What to eat, and what exercises I would do in the gym. I was paralyzed by the torture of self-mistrust. I had to learn to trust myself again, which was one of the most challenging tasks ever. And it all started by making and keeping commitments to myself. The more commitments I made and kept, the more I became the person who did what they said they would do. I reconnected with my inner voice. I Didn't Know Where to Begin, But That Wasn't a Reason Not to Start: I was drawn to give meaning to my circumstance and the suffering I caused. I knew I wanted to share my story, both written and spoken, and I knew I wanted to help others. But I had no idea how the hell to start. Writing a book seemed like an insurmountable goal. Conquering my fear of public speaking did too. I could have easily remained frozen in fear, not knowing where to begin, but I knew I couldn't do that. I lowered the barrier of entry by breaking the massive into the micro. Writing a book begins with one word. Conquering public speaking started with a Google search. I journaled, wrote idea lists, and chipped away piece by piece. I Can't Control the Outcome, Only the Effort I Put In My entire life before prison was predicated on outcomes. Closing a deal, buying the next shiny object, landing a new client. And I'd feel great for a moment when the outcome was achieved. But, quick highs fade quickly. Then it was back to chasing another outcome. By breaking the massive into the micro, I learned to focus on what was in front of me, nothing more. I learned to go all in on that small step, and I learned the journey is the reward, the accomplishment of the goal? The icing on the cake. I Had to Shed My Skin: I was so attached to my former life, which was nothing but a memory. I used to be a Senior Executive Account Manager. I used to be a VIP at some of the best restaurants in town. I used to have a "watch guy" that was also Tom Brady's "watch guy." I used to be many things, but I'm not anymore. I had to practice acceptance and shed my skin. The new would never be able to come in as long as the old stood in its way. I spent a lot of time in limbo, without knowing who I was, but that's the only way I could connect back to who I truly am. Execute My Fears: Fear was a primary driver behind my choice to commit a crime. It was easier to commit fraud and violate my inner voice than to be honest, with myself and my wife at the time. I understood fear landed me in prison and that I could leverage fear to reinvent my life after prison. I made a list of all my fears, and inside my prison cube, I committed to executing them one by one. My 1 fear? Public speaking. It took five years, but I landed on the TEDx stage. This was when I executed that fear. Behind this process were acceptance, self-trust, and breaking the massive into the micro. Extreme Responsibility: I understood if I was going to reinvent my life from scratch, I needed to seize responsibility for my life. That meant accepting responsibility for the choices that landed me in prison. Yes, the prosecutor made false statements at sentencing. Yes, the FBI made mistakes and ignored evidence. Yes, there was unfair media coverage. None of that would have ever happened had I not knocked the 1st domino down. I made the choice to commit the fraud—no one else. The buck stops with me. Everything that happened after falls directly on me and my choices. I seized control over my life when I understood this and stopped pointing the finger at anyone other than myself. I gave myself the gift of freedom inside prison. Gratitude is a Superpower: I was sitting in the prison library with nothing to my name. I lost everything. My marriage, my career, my money, my homes, and my cars. I lost my identity and self-worth. And yet, one crisp early morning, the sunrise was spectacular. I put pen to paper and wrote, "I'm grateful for this morning's sunrise." I found something to be grateful for in my most challenging time. I cannot express how important that truly is. Self-Forgiveness is a Priority: It's not a luxury; it's a necessity. I was carrying so much shame for my actions and the damage I caused. My hate for my choices, through the lens of shame, was actually hate for myself. I couldn't separate my choices from myself; that's what shame does. My choices were made in the past; the person who made those choices doesn't exist anymore, yet I was keeping him alive by not forgiving myself. How could I ever move forward if I remained in the past? Forgiveness is one of the most extraordinary acts of compassion and love we can extend to ourselves. To create and live an extraordinary life, we must forgive ourselves. Forgiveness cultivates self-worth. Vulnerability is The Gateway to Freedom Before prison, I believed being vulnerable was the ultimate expression of weakness. I'm a man, and men bottle everything up. My best friend Sean and I had a joke when too much vulnerability started to enter the conversation: "Let's shove that down as deep inside as we can and just add it to the big black ball of cancer in our chest." Not funny, but it's what we did. I was consumed by shame to the point of planning how I'd take my life. I knew that if I didn't learn to own my story, it would own me for the rest of my life. A life consumed by shame is a life destined for regret. It's merely existing; it's not living. I had to do the thing I had always been afraid to do. I had to express all the feelings I buried inside sincerely, honestly, and transparently. All the fears I had around doing this? Unfounded. What I found instead was freedom. Have a Mission I thought I had a mission before prison. Make as much money as possible and spend it all on fancy things. That wasn't a mission. It was what I thought I should be doing, not what I wanted to do. Only when I started writing my 1st book and pursuing public speaking did I understand what a mission truly is. A mission is something I'm willing to sacrifice all the short-term shots of happiness (drinking, social media, Netflix) in pursuit of long-term purpose, meaning, and fulfillment ‒ with an unknown outcome. A mission is something more significant than myself and serves a greater good outside myself. My desire behind the book and the TEDx? To help one person. That's my mission to this day. Stop Chasing/Start Creating Pre-prison, I chased happiness, purpose, meaning, and fulfillment at the bottom of a bottle and the swipe of my American Express Platinum card. I was on The Golden Treadmill, racing furiously to a finish line I'd never reach. Purpose, meaning, and fulfillment aren't chased; they're created. And when I take the time to focus on what really matters to me and align my actions with that, I create them. And happiness naturally ensues as a result. The funny thing about these lessons is this: They're what I learned from going to prison, losing everything, and reinventing from scratch, but they're universal. They apply to any one of us at any time. We don't need to go to prison to implement these lessons to create the life we want to live. Nor do I suggest you wait for the bottom to fall out before implementing them in your own lives. Start now to create an extraordinary future. If you're ready to invest in 1:1 support so you can connect with your Life’s Calling and create your extraordinary second half, let's talk. Join me for your Free Reinvention Clarity Call. My best-selling book, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison," is available on Amazon. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Craig! Craig Stanland, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Craig Stanland is a Reinvention Architect & Mindset Coach, TEDx & Keynote Speaker, and Best-Selling Author. In 2012, Craig Stanland made a choice that would cost him everything. After exploiting the warranty policy of one of the largest tech companies in the world for almost a year, the FBI finally knocked on his door. He was arrested and sentenced to 2 years of Federal Prison, followed by 3 years of Supervised Release, and ordered to pay $834,307 in restitution. He lost his wife, his home, his cars, his career, and even his identity. He wanted nothing more than to die. A well-timed prison visit from his best friend of over thirty years turned his life around. Craig rebuilt and reinvented his life from rock bottom to a life of meaning and fulfillment. As a Reinvention Architect, Craig leverages his experiences and personal reinvention to work 1:1 with clients so they can re-architect their lives with freedom, passion, purpose, fulfillment, and meaning.Craig's mission is to help people cultivate the courage to pursue their calling so they can live meaningful lives. His book, "Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison" is available on Amazon.

Written by: Lauren Hirsch Williams, 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. Why the Buddy System worked when you were 5 years old and works again as an adult for the benefit of your business. The buddy system is a procedure in which two individuals, the "buddies," operate together as a single unit so that they can monitor and help each other. Sometimes it's hard to recall things our teachers had us do in elementary school. It was their duty and job to help mold and prepare us for the world. Teaching us knowledge, safety, camaraderie, fair play, and teamwork. As well as working with others in a productive manner at the earliest of ages to embed into our psyche the ability to function in school, society, work, and family constructively. Those days may have become distant memories, but it would behoove us to think back from time to time and realize how the lessons apply now in our adult work life. Sometimes, they're even more applicable now than they were then. These early lessons are also the cornerstone of ultimate success in all areas of our life. Yes, the good old buddy system. Did you discard the importance of those critical lessons? Many of us have forgotten the basics of working in the buddy system because so much has changed. Some things seem almost trivial in today's fast-paced world. Connecting simplistic principles in our complex world was not something anyone could fathom back in elementary school (pre-internet days, of course). As I sit back and think of what's working for me now in business and life, I go back to Miss Patterson (one of my favorite teachers) and how she was the catalyst in developing my brain all those years ago. The basics she taught us emanating from the efficient buddy system still resonates in more ways than you could imagine. I can still hear the tone of her voice and remember the gestures she used. But I do wish I had paid more attention to the pure and innocent buddy system that was essential as children. Why? Because, like you, I've experienced many hard-knock lessons of success and failure and, after decades in the workplace, realize one of the best tools for achieving goals is that very point made when I was just five years old ‒ the fundamental simplicity and brilliance of the buddy system. I'm not talking about making friends and going out for fajitas and margaritas at the end of a long day at the office! (Although I did have a lot of those crazy occasions!) The Buddy System transcends cultures and works in all countries. It may have been called by another name or phrase – but the basic principles are vital and valuable no matter the environment. Perhaps our parents, teachers, and school administrators considered it a method for ensuring safety when out on school trips, but the buddy system transcends that as we travel through life. Each child was assigned (or selected) another child to hold hands with. There would be a long line of kids holding hands while waiting to board a bus, cross a street, or enter a museum. Visually, this made it workable for the teachers and chaperones to monitor potential chaos. They had just to make sure there were no single children for any reason. It was easy to spot rows of "pairs," and there was an inherent monitoring system since each child only had to keep an eye (and hand) on just one classmate. Brilliant if you dig deep. As kids, we were told that our 'buddy' was someone to hold onto and look out for. To make sure they didn't get lost or absent-mindedly drift away from the group. Handholding was key because these young, innocent pupils could misinterpret communication skills, simple words, or following instructions. As a professional adult, it's a pleasant journey to return to those memories, lessons, and fundamental significances and pull them forward and replicate them in seeking your business and life goals. It sounds simple… and, perhaps, inconsequential. Oh, but it's not. Au contraire! Our society has focused a lot on independence, maturity, and getting the job done. And getting it done well. We're taught to be competitive to get ahead. To prove our worth. To make sure we stand out – in the office, society, social media, and your duties as a family member. To be in control and capable and a whiz at whatever we do. The pressure to perform perfectly nowadays is suffocating. But it's a reality we must contend with. Yet it's difficult and contrary to good common sense and logic in many ways. You do exactly that when you stand alone in a room and pitch your ideas, concepts, or thoughts. Stand-alone – quite vulnerable and exposed. But think about it. What does that imply, and how Herculean is any one person meant to be? How much can one person do on their own? How many balls can one person juggle at a time… daily? How many balls are piled upon them with the stress and pressure to perform? How many clues and signals can one person see while trying to juggle? How is one person tasked with winning a room if they don't have some help? (if you want to learn more about Winning A Room, you’ll find it in my recent book ONE SENSE AHEAD) We can all juggle. If you're an entrepreneur, an accomplished employee, or a senior executive, you've already proven that. It's the right of passage and a required skill to advance in many forms of business. But at what point does a ball fall to the floor? Perhaps an important one. If you're truthful, you'll admit that it happens all the time. We miss deadlines. We don't achieve our sales agenda. We delay and procrastinate (all with good reason, of course… because, come on, Netflix came out with yet another fantastic docuseries that we simply MUST binge!). We make mistakes and do our best to hide missteps, but that backfires, and we end up dropping another ball. Juggling was always part of the clown act at the circus. And that's where it belongs… not the office, a meeting, or the boardroom. The buddy system of our childhood should be reconsidered as a fundamental or staple of any business venture. Even if you're an artist wanting to focus on your creative products, you still need someone to help sell your work for you or give you another perspective on the journey to perfection. Think about how much more you achieve in a meeting when you have someone on the same side of the table as you (whether in person or not). Do they catch things you missed? Can they help guide you back on course when you get sidetracked by that curveball someone threw at you mid-presentation? Don't they cheer you on when you need it most and speak up with that point you forgot to make when you were nervous? The buddy system is not only a nursery or elementary school system of safety. It's a highly critical method for achievement and one we almost all overlook when building our business or plan our ascent to the top of a corporation. There's a saying, "we all need friends." That's not what the buddy system is about. It's not about finding social friendships and camaraderie (although that's also important in life/work balance) or someone who will slip in a favor or get you in a door. The Buddy System goes so far beyond that, and if you're wise and genuinely focused on achieving greatness, you will add it to the existing list you already created. You know, the list that includes: Secure funding/investment Manufacture a quality product Devise solid strategies to support your vision or mission Solidify partnerships or affiliates Gain education in technology or marketing or sales (or whatever area is needed) Develop powerful interpersonal skills Become a strong leader, presenter, and visionary Fill in the blanks here for your specific industry. But where is the Buddy System on that list? You may call it by another name 20, 30, or 40 years later – such as an affiliate, a joint venture, or a partnership, but it remains the Buddy System. We aren't taught nearly enough about keeping that system in place as we graduate nursery school and face the world to grow and mature in life and business. We need to have the Tim Cook to Steve Jobs, the Paul Allen to Bill Gates, the Michelle Obama to Barack Obama. These are undisputed geniuses… but they didn't do it alone. They had that Buddy System firmly in place (whether they knew it or not), and I'm sure that's a big part of why they had ongoing success. It's time to go back (in your mind) to nursery school and Miss Patterson's wise words, "Don't EVER let go of your buddy's hand." Wise words even now, eh? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Lauren! Lauren Hirsch Williams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Lauren Hirsch Williams is a Business Relevance Strategist, Pitch Stylist, International Bestselling Author, and Award-Winning Screenwriter. With decades of experience, which includes Worldwide Director of Advertising at PepsiCo, Founder of MovieHatch, and Creator of the new MyTurn TV Network for empowering women, she’s been on all sides of the “table”. She teaches others to find their inner strength by using their senses in an uncommon way. Her recent bestseller, ONE SENSE AHEAD, explains the protocol to start that process.

Written by: Maria Papacosta, 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. Labelling, to put it simply, is describing someone in a word or short phrase. For example, the label “consultant" is usually used to describe someone who provides professional or expert advice in a particular field of science or business to organizations or individuals. By labelling someone as a consultant, most of us immediately think of a person who is strictly professional, possibly of higher social status, well-educated, meticulous and not particularly funny. Similarly, by labelling someone as an “artist” we usually think of a person who is creative, inspiring, interesting, free-spirited, but weak in analytical thinking or understanding how organizations work. We’ve grown accustomed to putting labels on people in order to describe their work or even who they are as individuals. Labelling has become a tool to ease communication and in many cases our interaction with each other. However, labelling is a description for just one aspect of our lives rather than something intrinsic and multi-dimensional. Human beings are complex beings, gifted with multiple identities, talents, passions and perceptions regarding the world and themselves. One of the most common concerns I face from my clients when designing their personal brands is exactly that. How to label themselves. “Should I call myself a consultant or a trusted advisor?” “Should I mention that I’m an artist or will that ruin my reputation as a thought leader?” “I play in a rock band, but work as an executive coach, should I hide the rock band from my bio?” “I’m passionate in Shamanic Constellations, but when I mention this to my clients they seem to stop taking me seriously as an expert in my area of work.” As you can imagine the list of concerns is endless and it all has to do with how we want to be perceived by others, in a constant struggle to bury our vibrant multifaceted personality and distress our wellbeing. We live in a world where diversity has finally become a priority. We’re beginning to consolidate that labels are misguiding, let alone offensive. We’ve also started to seek new ways of doing things by bringing to the table different ideas, backgrounds and experiences. Don’t you think it’s about time to reveal to the world your true colors and allow others to benefit from your multiple talents and experiences? When designing your personal brand, the foundation is to understand that it has nothing to do with designing how others are supposed to perceive you. The priority is in designing your ideal self and then presenting your authentic self to the world. Designing our ideal self and embracing our aspirations is critical for our motivation and ongoing development. It’s what boosts intentional change. In the process of designing a better version of ourselves we can’t exclude how we want to be perceived by others – it’s part of our identity. The key here is to not fall into the trap of designing our better self or even reinventing ourselves by solely thinking what others expect from us. Successful transformation only derives when you as an individual know what you expect of yourself. When you know your purpose and are committed to your values, you’ll start embracing and in some cases rejecting the various aspects that constitute who you are. Struggling to identify yourself as others would like to perceive you won’t get you very far. Instead, allow the world to see the amazing diversity you possess and realize that your varied talents, skills and experiences are what make you unique and invaluable to your clients, community and overall society. You’ll still need to label yourself to identify your main profession or expertise, for business purposes, but there is no need to hide your passions. You can be a consultant and an artist. You can be a teacher and a dancer. You can be a lawyer and a philosopher. You can be anything you want. Remember that labelling yourself helps communication in the business world, but it’s not who you are. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Maria! Maria Papacosta, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Maria Papacosta is a leading expert on Presence and Inspired Leadership and an acclaimed personal branding strategist. Her practical, high-energy talks and workshops provide tangible results that help people design a better version of themselves and excel in their work and life. Maria is the co-founder of MSC Marketing Bureau. Her branding strategies have helped some of the leading thinkers of our time to spread their messages and make an impact. Maria's mission is to help people create a better version of themselves.

Written by: Alex Bravo, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. This is my third article of the Mindfulness at the workplace saga. As it was explained on the first article, I’ll be elaborating on the benefits that disciplined meditators ‒ that have participated on “The 8 Week Mindfulness program”, which I facilitate ‒ have reported working on 7 competencies that Gallup has defined to be key for a successful leader. We’ll explore the behaviors, traits and results that leaders that operate on an “auto-pilot” mode have versus the ones that "mindful leaders” have. Throughout the Mindfulness at the Workplace saga, I will consistently recall that meditation is the path to mindfulness. Even when there are very pragmatical mindfulness tools that leaders can use on a daily basis, it is the formal meditation practice that will allow leaders to almost automatically make a pause whenever they are experimenting a stressor or a difficultsituation, take a breath, start recognizing the sensations, emotions, stories and ideas that are arriving to their minds so they can welcome them, accept them, investigate how those sensations, emotions, stories or ideas feel in the body and understand what is really happening in the present moment and finally, identify all the options that they have to proceed, shutting down the auto-pilot mode and its limited vision. It is also important to remember what Mindfulness is: The practice of maintaining a nonjudgemental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, ideas, stories and sensations on a moment-to-moment basis. The competence to be explored on this article is to develop talent. As departure point it is worthy to revise what does develop talent means. Talent development refers to the organizational process of positioning employees for career advancement in a way that aligns with the company’s goals building upon employee’s existing skills while identifying relevant new skills and opportunities. Talent development program activities can range from mentoring and coaching to formal training, leadership development, succession planning, on-the-job learning and more. Talent development should be understood as a win-win situation. It offers advantages to employees while providing value to the organization. Today’s employees are spending more time at work at the same time as they are craving more balance in their lives. Talent development initiatives offer employees an opportunity to learn and expand in their areas of interest. This, in turn, makes them happier and more productive ‒ and more likely to continue in an organization. The “auto-pilot mode” of some leaders can ruin all the efforts of the organization developing talent. These are some of the behaviors that leaders working on an “auto-pilot mode” might experiment developing talent. They might ignore how relevant is to have talent development conversations with their teams. They might expect that someone else or the organizational context defines who should move from one position to another and what training opportunities should be available to someone. They might be targeting always the same group of employees whenever they are managing talent development, ignoring a relevant part of the team or leaving them with very limited opportunities. They do not dedicate significant time to assess the existing skills that their teams have, therefore, they might not be in a good position to identify what are the new skills that should be acquired individually and collectively. They do not match the new skills that should be developed with the organizational goals, having as a result to develop skills that are not relevant to the organization and might not be relevant also to the career advancement of their teams. They can have a very limited approach when they try to develop talent. The effort might be limited to a coaching session, to a random training, to on-the-job training or to a mentoring session. They can focus their effort on delivering talent development based on what they believe is good for the organization and for the team members, without having a conversation in order to understand whether that development is aspirational and relevant to the team members individually. A frequent pitfall is a tendency to over-focus on theoretical approaches at the expense of the practical needs of the business. This might generate that associates being promoted might not be working at expected levels of competence. They might undervalue experience and history. Many companies are likely to hire leadership positions from outside the organization, rather than promoting from within. This may cause talent managers to underrate the value of the experience, context and organizational knowledge that existing employees can bring into a new position. They ignore the upskilling ‒ employees that have already basic skills that you can focus on developing ‒ and reskilling ‒ if there are jobs at risk of becoming obsolete while other roles are emerging ‒ concepts. They are not interested on getting buy-in from company's top executives in order to provide the best talent development strategy. On the other hand, these are the behaviors that leaders that have attended to The 8 Week Mindfulness Program have expressed to practice developing talent: They have thoughtful and meaningful talent development conversations with their team members taking accountability of leading and owning such a relevant process ensuring they match current and future skills with the organizational goals and getting the buy-in of senior management to make it happen. They interview employees to discover hidden talents and interests. They understand that talent development interviews provide an opportunity for employees to reveal existing capabilities, as well as the ones they are interested in developing. They understand the meaning of meritocracy and have transparent communication with the team letting them know that performance, ethics and attitudes matter whenever talent development is managed. They provide different learning options and methods. They understand that talent development isn’t just about formal training. It can also include other methods like on-the-job learning, mentorship programs, coaching, e-learning, self-learning, and more. They involve managers in the process and create directories of learning resources that are readily available to the team members. They embrace continuous learning. They encourage active learning and focus on developing adaptability. They motivate employees to find time to learn every day. Make continuous learning a cultural core value and find ways to instill this mindset into the team. They include leadership development. It’s clear to them how relevant is to start identifying the future leaders of the company and prepare a leadership development plan for them developing a leadership talent pipeline. They put employees in an environment that plays to their strengths. Effective development of leadership talent within a company depends on the careful placement of emerging leaders into positions that suit their functional expertise and leadership strengths. They recognize that not every high-potential employee is suited to every task is necessary in order to place individuals in situations that promote gradual and sustainable improvement, allowing them to develop and expand their areas of specialization without being spread to thin across the spectrum of management competencies. They let their direct reports own their processes. They encourage the development of confidence, judgement and initiate in their employees. They balance new perspectives with experienced employees according to business needs. If the business is making consistent headway against well-understood challenges, a balance in favor of internal promotions might provide a new crop of leaders with a solid concept of the goals of the organization. This is just a sample of a list of behaviors that disciplined meditators practice within the corporate arena when they develop talent. There might be more behaviors that could be included. Meditation benefits arrive to its practitioners in different ways but if there is something in common is the ability they have to shut down the “auto-pilot mode” to find that there’s always a set of options to consider before making a decision. Understanding this fact is a game changer. Stay tuned. We’ll elaborate on leading change in the next article. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Alex! Alex Bravo, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Alex Bravo combines 22 years' experience as Sr Director leading CX, Innovation, Transformation and large Operations teams mainly within the Financial Services Industry with 15 years' experience as Sr Executive Coach and Mindfulness Teacher. Given his struggle with anxiety and depression at some point of his career, his purpose is to instill the importance of assessing mental health in the corporate arena and recall to his colleagues that the way they deal with their inner world defines the way they show to themselves, how they interact with others, how they lead and how they love. He is a Harvard Business School Grad and holds a BSc in industrial and Systems Engineering and a MSc in Quality and Productivity.

Written by: Dan Davis, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Do you struggle to set boundaries? Do you notice people walking all over you? Does it ever feel like people expect too much from you? In this article, you will learn what a boundary is, how to set boundaries, and how to maintain them. Personal boundaries have been defined by Therapist Aid as the limits and rules that we expect within a relationship, healthy boundary setting means that you can say no to others if you feel uncomfortable. Imagine that you have a castle defending your values, standards and expectations of the world but people around you are launching their own agendas over the wall without asking for your permission or even considering you. This is very common for people to do and it can take conscious effort to restore your walls and erect new ones as your interests, values and standards change. As you start to become more aware of your boundaries then you will start noticing the discomfort you feel when someone steps over one of them, it will feel uncomfortable and wrong. You might have been raised by your parents/caregivers to not “step on anyone’s toes” which might have caused your people pleasing tendencies to develop. It can feel uncomfortable to set boundaries and stand up for what you believe in, but if you continue to let people walk over you then you will continue to feel unworthy, unhappy, and unable to make decisions that benefit you. A good starting point is identifying what a boundary is and what different types of boundaries are out there, as you read through this worksheet you might start to notice different moments in your life where someone has walked over your boundaries, you might even be able to identify an emotion that this experience elicited for you. Without shaming yourself, identify how you handled this situation (write it down on a piece of paper), underneath your reaction, write down how you would have liked to handle this situation (channeling your authentic self). Another important aspect of boundary setting is identifying your values, this can help you recognise where you stand in relation to the situation that is presenting itself. You need to remind yourself that setting boundaries is healthy in any relationship and if someone can not respect your boundaries, then that is a breach of your boundaries; you might need to reconsider who you spend your time with. When it comes to setting boundaries, it is important to practice how you are going to communicate your boundaries to people. I would suggest using the setting boundaries resource to practice setting boundaries with someone that you feel comfortable around; reminding yourself that boundary setting is a crucial step towards your happiness. Can you think of someone that you have met that is great at setting boundaries, what do they do? How do people react to their boundary setting? Is there something about their approach that you can model or learn from? It is now time for you to practice boundary setting, start by setting small, manageable boundaries that you can apply to everyone that you interact with, maybe you say yes to everything due to fear of rejection or judgement, try to say no when you don’t want to do something, journal about it, and reflect on what comes up for you. Then you can reflect on how it felt to have the power to say no, and how you were able to do something for yourself instead of trying to please others. If you need support with setting, maintaining, or practicing boundary setting then reach out to Dan from Meta Minds Therapy for confidential, accessible and affordable online and after hours counselling. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dan! Dan Davis, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dan Davis is deeply passionate about helping people master their mindset. He is the host of 2 leading mental health podcasts, Meta Minds and The Power of Showing Up. Dan is also the host of Australia's 1 ranked drone YouTube channel, DansTube.TV. Dan has worked within the mental health and counselling industries for 5+ years, and has been dedicated to empowering clients through his counselling practice, Meta Minds Therapy. Dan has made it his mission to empower people to live the life of their dreams!

Written by: Karalynne Call , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. It’s that time of year again where we get bombarded by New Year’s resolutions and all kinds of restrictive diets and quick fixes, promising to make the new year your healthiest year yet. Well, I can’t promise this will be your healthiest year – that’s up to you – but I can share with you 10 tips for living a healthy life in 2023 . Why Live a Healthy Life? Your health is one of the most precious things you have. It’s the root of everything in your life. It dictates how you show up in the world, how you show up for yourself, for the people you love, for your community. When you don’t feel your best, it’s hard to be the best version of you, whether that’s as a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a friend, and the list goes on. You owe it to yourself to live a healthy, happy life. And, if that’s not the type of motivation that works for you, you owe it to the people who depend on you. So, where to begin? Say Goodbye to New Year’s Resolutions While studies show that New Year’s Resolutions aren’t the best way to achieve your health goals , taking small steps toward living a healthy life is a much more effective route to go. With that in mind, these 10 health tips are meant to serve as small steps to get you started on your health journey. Don’t feel like you need to implement all these changes at once. That’s a surefire way to set yourself up for failure. Instead, try these tactics: Pick 3-5 tips to focus on implementing at first. Once they’ve become part of your daily routine, come back and choose another 3-5 to work on. This will help you build confidence in achieving your goals and keep you progressing in your health journey. Make a plan. That might look like adding more fruits or veggies to your weekly grocery list or waking up an hour earlier to get your workout in before the kids are up. With a plan in place, you’re more likely to add these changes into your daily life. Ask for support. When people are on board with your lifestyle changes, it makes it that much easier to implement them. For example, if you’re eliminating processed foods from your diet, it helps if your family is doing the same so processed foods aren’t even present in your home. Give it time. Studies show it takes about 10 weeks to build a habit . Which means, it’s going to take time. And likely, there’s going to be days that you might mess up. Give yourself a little grace and keep going. In building healthy habits, you don’t have to do it perfectly, you just have to do it consistently. 10 Tips for Living a Healthy Life 1. Eat fruits and veggies daily. Even if it’s just adding some fruit to your breakfast and cooking a veggie with your dinner, incorporating fruits and vegetables into your daily diet comes with countless benefits . As an important piece of a healthy diet, this dynamic duo can help give your body the nutrients and nourishment it needs. 2. Filter your water. Drinking water is one of the best (and easiest) things you can do for yourself, but if you’re not filtering your water, you’re exposing yourself to hundreds of harmful contaminants including BPA, mercury, chlorine, PFAS, pesticides, lead, VOCs, arsenic, pharmaceuticals, and possibly more. EWG even found that flowing water to about 85% of the US contained 316 contaminants . Investing in a quality water filter is a great next step in investing in your long-term health. 3. Cook with non-inflammatory oils. Corn oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil are all high in omega 6s, which contribute to inflammation, a root cause of many common diseases today such as depression, anxiety, hormonal imbalance, migraines, joint pain, chronic fatigue, auto-immune issues, and so much more. Try cooking and baking with non-inflammatory oils like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, or ghee. This will either help your body heal from inflammation or prevent inflammation from occurring later down the line. 4. If buying processed foods, buy ones that are made from whole food ingredients. Heavily processed foods often have unhealthy levels of sugar, sodium, and fat. They lack nutritional value and are full of artificial ingredients, and when consumed long-term, they pose an increased risk for cancer . Look for processed foods that contain whole food ingredients – these will still provide nutritional value and likely have less or no artificial ingredients. A general rule of thumb, the longer the ingredients list, the more processed. The shorter the ingredients list (and full of ingredients you’re familiar with), the more likely it’s made from whole food ingredients. 5. Move your body and prioritize your sleep. Movement is medicine. Exercise is so good for so many different areas of health, including your heart, hormones, immune system, muscles, lymphatic system, blood pressure, energy, stress, sleep quality, and the list goes on and on. There’s a reason the Mayo Clinic recommends aiming for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. While it might be one of the harder steps to implement in your daily life, it will certainly be the most transformative. And the opposite of movement, sleep, is just as important. Sleep gives our bodies a chance to rest and recharge. It’s no secret that we feel our best after a night of good, quality sleep, but that’s often not always achievable. Having a solid nighttime routine can help improve sleep quality: Minimize electronic use before bed. Journal or "brain dump" before trying to fall asleep. Try to go to bed at the same night every night. Don’t eat 3-4 hours before bed. Create a comfortable, cool sleeping space. Reduce daily sugar consumption. 6. Nourish your physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health. While this step is going to look different for everyone, it’s so important to recognize each of these different components to health. A lot of trendy New Year’s resolutions focus on physical health (as do a lot of the items on this list), but that’s only one factor that contributes to your overall health. So, for this step, I challenge you to take the time to reflect on these four components. Take stock of where you are for each and where you’d like to be. Then make a plan to nourish the areas that might need a little more attention. Remember, this is a lifelong part of the journey and will look different for everyone. 7. If you’re battling a health issue, figure out the root cause and address it. We live in a world where there are quick fixes everywhere. Unfortunately, a lot of these quick fixes are only addressing the symptoms of what might be a larger health issue. If you’re battling a health issue, dig to find the root cause. Once you’ve uncovered what the source of the issue is, you can treat it and heal. In my own experience, and countless stories I’ve heard from people I’ve had the privilege of helping, treating the root cause of your health issue often clears up multiple symptoms, sometimes symptoms you didn’t even realize were affecting you. 8. Value your health. Your health is priceless. Nourish your body so that in return, your body can do the best for you. When you start to internalize this belief, it’s easier to opt for water instead of soda, or spend your 30 minutes of free time going for a walk instead of watching TV. If you’re struggling to value your health, try leaving sticky note reminders for yourself around the house, or journal about it before bed. It can also be helpful to talk to a mental health professional to understand what is keeping you from truly valuing your health. 9. Strengthen and support your immune system . Living a healthy lifestyle automatically leads to having a stronger immune system, but it’s important to recognize that you have the power to strengthen and support it. Here are a few things you can do to help strengthen it: Reduce sugar Increase fruits and vegetables Increase fiber Exercise Spend time in the sun Drink filtered water Get quality sleep Reduce stress Improve your gut health Avoid alcohol and tobacco Supplement with zinc, elderberry, and vitamins C and D 10. Love others, love yourself, spread kindness. This one might be a little more aspirational than the other steps, but it’s true. Loving yourself and others helps you feel more connected to the world. And according to a study by Stanford, those that feel more connected to others report lower levels of anxiety and depression . “Social connectedness generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical well-being” the study says. That’s where spreading kindness comes into play. Performing acts of kindness triggers the release of feel-good hormones in our brains, which can help lower levels of depression and anxiety. Your Healthy Journey Keep in mind, some of these are goals to work towards throughout your healthy journey (aka your entire life), not something meant to be achieved overnight. So, be sure to give yourself a lot of grace. Change can be hard, even if it is for the better. Just be sure to stick with it and keep taking those small steps. Wishing you the best of luck on your healthy journey! I’ll be rooting for you. Join me on Instagram @just.ingredients for daily inspiration, tips, and swaps, to help you live your healthiest life yet. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Karalynne! Karalynne Call, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Karalynne Call is the Owner of Just Ingredients, a chart-topping podcast host, Certified Nutritionist, and mom of 6. She began her health journey 15 years ago as she battled severe depression, and has helped many others begin their own health journey. She shares the how-to’s and why’s behind choosing better, whole, clean ingredients in your diet and daily product use. Over 800 thousand people follow her Instagram account @just.ingredients to find helpful advice on how to make small changes in their lives to make a long-term benefit in their own health. In addition to her impact on socials, she launched her own successful product line of clean beauty products, protein powder, pre-workout, and more.

Written by: Dave Sewell, 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. Psychological safety is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes. It is a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Workplace psychological safety has become increasingly important in today's business world as it has been shown to lead to improved performance, increased productivity, and higher employee engagement. These advantages can lead to a more successful and profitable organization. One of the key advantages of psychological safety is improved performance. When team members feel safe to share their ideas, they are more likely to come forward with creative solutions and new ways of thinking. This leads to a more diverse set of ideas and perspectives, which in turn leads to more innovative and effective solutions. Additionally, team members who feel safe to speak up are more likely to share concerns or potential problems early on, which allows teams to address issues before they become major problems. In addition to improved performance, psychological safety leads to increased productivity. When team members feel safe, they are more likely to take ownership of their work and are more motivated to put in extra effort. This leads to a higher level of commitment and a more engaged workforce. Team members who feel safe also tend to be more open to constructive feedback, which allows for faster learning and development. This not only leads to personal growth but also helps organizations in developing their employees which in turn helps the company. Moreover, psychological safety leads to a more positive and satisfying work environment. When team members feel safe to be themselves, they are more likely to enjoy their work and form stronger connections with their colleagues. This leads to increased employee engagement and job satisfaction, which in turn leads to lower turnover rates. Additionally, a positive work environment can lead to improved employee morale, which can have a positive impact on organizational culture. Creating a psychologically safe work environment is not only beneficial for employees but also beneficial for the organization as a whole. When employees feel safe, they are more likely to communicate openly and honestly with their colleagues and managers. This leads to a more transparent and open work culture, which can improve decision-making, reduce conflict, and increase trust. This improves the overall efficiency of the organization. Promoting psychological safety is essential to the success of any team or organization. To do so, companies need to take active steps to promote a culture of safety and respect. This can include: Encouraging open and honest communication Providing training on communication and teamwork Encouraging team-building activities Holding regular team meetings to discuss progress and issues Making managers more approachable and available to team members Recognizing and rewarding open communication and risk-taking Give everyone permission to hold each other accountable for behaviours that don’t make others feel safe. Promoting psychological safety can also involve creating systems to encourage and support open communication. For example, providing anonymous feedback channels and regularly soliciting input from team members can help to create a culture where people feel comfortable speaking up. In conclusion, psychological safety is a key factor in the success of any team or organization. When team members feel safe to share their ideas and concerns, they are more likely to be creative, productive, and engaged. This leads to improved performance, increased productivity, and a more positive work environment. By actively promoting psychological safety, companies can create a more successful and profitable organization. It is important for organizations to understand the need and importance of psychological safety and take steps to promote it. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn or visit my website for more info! Read more from Dave! Dave Sewell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine “Every child deserves a home where they feel safe and loved.” This is what drives Dave Sewell’s research and approach to executive education and facilitation. Sewell’s own life story has led him to question everything he understood about leadership, from the beatings and shame from his own father to the near-complete psychological breakdown at the hands of a ruthless Area Manager in his early twenties. The question burning inside him, “Why do people behave this way?” and “How do we change this?”. Sewell’s research built a deep understanding of human behavior and our need to feel physically and psychologically safe. None of us are at our best when we are under continued levels of stress beyond what we can comfortably cope with. It is when we are in this space that we are often not helpful to others, indeed we can be quite uncivil, causing us to be more aloof, more confrontational, and less tolerant of others. No one wants to be this person in the workplace or this type of parent when we get home, but it is all too common. Having published the learning of his research in his book Safe Leadership – beating stress to drive performance, Sewell is on a mission to make more workplaces psychologically safer so that every worker can go home with enough emotional and mental capacity to spend quality time with their family, creating that psychologically safe space in the home. He does this through a series of leadership workshops, a longitudinal program, and one on one executive coaching.

Written by: Bianca E. Solitaire, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. The closing of a year seems like time is sped up, with hearts set on finishing as much work as possible before taking a well-earned holiday break. But once the New Year confetti settles and we grudgingly ease our way back to work, we are confronted with an abrupt mental shift towards the year ahead. Many start making lofty resolutions with strong expectations that this new year will somehow be different than the last. All too often though, the motivation to carry out those ambitious goals disappears almost as soon as the holiday decorations are taken down and stored. So, why is it so hard to keep our resolutions? Well, a big part of the issue is people tend to make resolutions that are not specific enough or meaningful enough to make one take action on it. Typically, little thought goes into understanding WHY we are creating these resolutions and WHAT we need to do to achieve them. If our goals are unclear, too large, and do not connect to a deeper meaning within us, the process of seeing them through becomes overwhelming and subject to meeting our nemesis, procrastination. Before making resolutions, we must first spend some quiet time away to self-reflect. Self-reflection allows you to reset, find direction, and clarify how you want to move forward. It also helps you pinpoint areas in your life causing stress, which can impact your motivation and follow-through with personal or professional goals. Self-reflection is more than just spending time alone. It makes you check in with yourself about how things are really going in your life and determine what needs to change. In the following sections, I’ll discuss 3 uses for your time of reflection that can help to strengthen your resolutions and set them up for success. Explore Your Personal Values A good place to start is focused thought about your values. Your values are ideals, standards, or beliefs that are important to you in life. Your values help to guide your decisions and actions. A core value is one that holds a high level of meaning to you. When we consider something to be of high value, there is a strong positive feeling attached to it, thus motivating us to seek it out. When we find ourselves doing actions that go against values, we can become extremely uncomfortable and anxious. Knowing what is truly meaningful to you and assessing how much of it you have in your life, helps to gain insight about what needs to be prioritized and why. Identifying your core values is useful when creating personal and professional goals. The more your goals are aligned with your top values, the higher the chance for success with sticking with them. Below is a short list of common values. Social Connection Security Growth Fairness Health Independence Contribution Simplicity Determination Now, let’s consider a situation where values can help to aid a goal. You did some value exploration and determined that you strongly value health, determination, and social connection. You have wanted to lose weight for a while now, but have not yet made time to exercise. With the knowledge of what you value, you decide to invite a couple of friends to try a new exercise class with you at your gym. You find out that your friends also want to try the class and are excited to go with you. In this example, not only are you working on improving your health, but you are also connecting with your friends, which will motivate you to exercise more often. Protip No.1 ‒ Use a Value List and/or complete a Value Assessment! Sometimes naming your values and figuring out which ones are the most important is difficult. Reading a list of common values can help to inspire thoughts about your own. Also, using a values assessment, that ranks your values, takes the guesswork out of choosing which ones to put at the top of your list. If you would like some tools to help with exploring your values, check out this article published by the Berkeley Well-Being Institute. Set Your Intentions Intentions are statements you make about the things you want. They are a way to take the wishes you have and transform them into focal points for you to pursue. Writing down your intentions for the year ahead makes your wants tangible and helps to hold you accountable to seeing them through. There are various types of intentions you may want to set. Your intentions could be based on what you want more of in your life, habits you want to create, or even the type of year you want to have. Setting an intention is like making a commitment to yourself and helps you remain focused while working on achieving your goals. When setting your intentions, write them down so you can continually refer to them throughout the year. Setting aside a few minutes daily to read them to yourself, helps to remember them and carry them in your spirit wherever you go. Whether you intend on taking better care of your health, increasing your income, or traveling more, make sure to phrase your intentions in a way that helps to encourage you. Keep your intentions simple, clear, motivating, and positive. Protip No.2 ‒ Use “I will” or “I can” statements! Telling yourself that you will or can do something helps to make it feel possible and is a powerful way to make a statement about what you want. It implies that the thing or action is going to happen, not that it is just a wish or a hope. Create S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals During your years of working, you may have come across the term S.M.A.R.T goals before. The concept was originally introduced in 1981 by George Duran as an attempt to help managers set business goals and objectives that assume a higher probability of success. Over the years, the concept has evolved and been adapted for outside of the workplace setting to help people with setting targeted goals and lay out a clear action plan to achieve them. The most widely used definition of S.M.A.R.T goals includes these 5 elements: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound A newer version of the S.M.A.R.T. Goal framework adds two more letters ‒ E and R. A S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal involves taking the extra step to EVALUATE your progress at various checkpoints and REVISE the goal if necessary. Protip No.3 ‒ Use a worksheet! I find that using a S.M.A.R.T goals worksheet really helps me dig into my goals on a deeper level, forcing me to visualize myself actually doing it. Thankfully, it is not hard to find a free worksheet these days on-line. The need for self-reflection is often overlooked and making time for this can be seen as a luxury. But the thing with the highest value, your mind, needs regular rest and mental exercise in order for it to be strong. Give yourself a moment to be intentional about the goals you set, so that this year ends up truly being what you hoped it would be. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Bianca! Bianca E. Solitaire, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Bianca E. Solitaire is an innovative leader often sought out for her distinct viewpoints on mental health and well-being. A passionate advocate for self-empowerment, Bianca has counseled many people on overcoming fear and self-doubt in order to transform their circumstances. During her career as a Licensed Therapist, Bianca also spearheaded youth development programs that educated the next generation on life skills, financial literacy, and emotional wellness. She now imparts career resilience skills to millennial and Gen Z professionals via her company, Clear Cut Coaching LLC. She believes that once you become clear about who you are and where you want to go, the universe will align to get you there. References: https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/core-values.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria:~:text=The%20term%20was%20first%20proposed,realistic%20and%20time%2Drelated). Doran, G. T. (1981). "There's a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives", Management Review, Vol. 70, Issue 11, pp. 35-36. https://www.quantumworkplace.com/podcast/how-to-make-your-smart-goals-even-smarter

Written by: Anna Krzysztoszek, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. We tend to think frustration, unpleasant events, and challenging feelings are something mainly undesirable and difficult. However, our mind gives us more than one way to create a learning experience. We can learn by analyzing options and scenarios in our headspace and by having a closer look at frustrating, challenging experiences we face. The work environment is usually one of the most common sources of frustration we face. Here are some inspirations on how we can start to make a change in how we manage unpleasant situations and feelings. 1. Capture the exact source of frustration Our 3 basic reactions to stressful events are fight, flight, and freeze. After the first unpleasant feeling is weakened, it is worth having a closer look a the exact source of our discomfort. During a coaching session work-related stress tends to cumulate into one big, black ball and it can take a while to unwind it and analyze all the pieces of the puzzle. Try to identify as precisely as possible who and what is the biggest source of discomfort. Is it just the supervisor or also the work you are doing and the tight deadlines? Be as specific as possible in realizing the details standing behind the discomfort and write them down on a piece of paper if it helps to make it even more clear. 2. Make a deep dive into the source of frustration After the above-mentioned first point, it is now time for even more specific questions. If the main source of your frustration is the tight deadlines, how in which phase of the project or business process do the deadlines become unrealistic and tight? How the correct process should like? If the main source of frustration is your supervisor, what exactly is unbearable in his or her behavior? Make it as specific as possible. 3. Turn your findings into the opposite In this last stage of creating a learning and growth-triggering experience, define the opposite of whatever was upsetting you in the past. Give it a name. Were some processes in the past not working properly so it led to too tight, stressful deadlines? How about asking in the next job interview about how many sprints exactly are planned in each phase of the project? Was your supervisor disrespectful? How about paying extra attention to signs and expressions of friendliness and empathy in the next job interview? And so on. Unpleasant feelings like frustration carry an important message. To decode it is a skill that can be trained, so the experience is not wasted and does not have to be repeated. Find a healthy balance between accepting frustration or mistakes as a part of life and avoiding repeating the same once too often. As Albert Einstein said: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new” but on the other hand “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results”. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anna! Anna Krzysztoszek, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Anna Krzysztoszek has more than 20 years of international experience in business ‒ from large corporations to start-ups. She is the owner of Green Butterfly ‒ Coaching & Recruiting. The completion of her German and Dutch studies, her pedagogical education, the certificate of a Psychological Advisor and various business degrees, such as Master of Business Administration (MBA), reflect Anna's main focus and passion: combining her economical expertise with the always present interest in people and the art of making the best of our lives. This especially applies to professional matters ‒ after all, we spend a third of our life at our workplace.

Written by: Michelle Schafer, Senior Level Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. This year, I'm committing myself to embrace "slow" more in my life – part of this is more consistently engaging in a short meditation each day (I'm a fan of Jeff Warren's "Daily Trip" on the Calm app). "Shame is a psychological autoimmune disease – the mind trying to eat itself." ‒ Jeff Warren The quote above popped up in yesterday’s meditation. It made me think of my clients who are currently looking for work – especially those clients looking for work because of business decisions made for them – not made by them. I have worked with some clients who have felt such deep shame about the fact they were looking for work – so much so, they wouldn't tell supportive people in their circle. Finding their next job took a long time as a result – the feelings of disappointment and embarrassment were barriers to a large number of job search activities. And the shame ran deep. Shame over having been let go from a job they enjoyed and a company they were loyal to. Shame over applying for jobs and not getting interviews – or getting interviews and not getting the job. Shame over needing to ask for help – from anyone. Shame over not being able to provide for themselves (or their families) in the way they have been accustomed to. If you are looking for work and feeling shame over your job loss, know you are not alone. And now there are lots of supportive resources out there to help. I've experienced two significant career transitions (both due to restructuring) – I remember feeling that same shame myself. You are likely looking for a new job because of a business decision – the harsh reality is business decisions affect humans, sometimes in profound ways. And it sucks. So what can you do? Be kind to yourself – remind yourself you are not alone, and this is not your "forever place". Remind yourself of the things you are doing to find your next job – every step counts. ·Engage with free resources in your community – in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada the Pinecrest-Queensway Employment Services, JHS Community Employment Resource Centre and the Ottawa Employment Hub have excellent resources to consult. You can also meet others who are experiencing a similar situation and can be supportive as they know what it’s like to look for work. Share your struggles with others in your circle – if your friend experienced a job loss, would you hope they would reach out to you and let you know? Chances are the answer to that is "yes". To apply the same thinking to yourself – people want to help. Reach out to professional resources – if you find it consistently hard to get motivated for your job search or take any steps to move forward, seeking professional support can help. Do something each day to feed your soul – something that has nothing to do with your job search. What else would you add to this list? If you are reading this and see yourself, remember you are not alone and there is lots of support around you. And if you know someone who is looking for work and struggling, then please feel free to share this post. Follow me on Facebook, Linkedin, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Michelle! Michelle Schafer, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Michelle Schafer is an International Coaching Federation Certified Coach and Facilitator specializing in career transition and leadership. She is the owner and founder of Michelle Schafer Coaching, empowering people to achieve career fulfillment. Michelle has personally experienced two significant career transitions through restructuring and has reinvented herself for new careers both times. She deeply understands the physical, emotional and mental impact associated with a job search. Michelle is passionate about people and inspired by their progress, working with clients at all levels of an organization and across sectors including federal and municipal government, high tech, not-for-profit and financial services. Michelle offers coaching 1:1 in groups and recently was certified in the foundations of team coaching with the Global Team Coaching Institute.

Written by: Mindy Schrager , 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. At the end of the year, I have a tradition of going through our pantry and closets to find items to donate. While I do this at other times throughout the year, for some reason the year-end clearing feels different. Like I am closing a chapter, letting go of what no longer serves me, and creating space for something new or better to arrive in the new year. What are some ways that you can close the door on what no longer serves you and create the space for something new or better? Habits Are there unhealthy habits that detract from your health and well-being? Examples might include: unhealthy eating avoiding exercise not getting sufficient sleep spending too much time on social media What unhealthy habit can you end, shift, release, or work through? What would be the healthy habits you could start, expand, or allow to flourish? Relationships Are there relationships in your life that drain your energy, joy, and peace of mind? For instance, People who devalue you A person who betrayed you An individual you hold a grudge against Someone who gaslights you or is a narcissist What relationships would you benefit from ending, shifting, releasing, or working through? What new relationships do you want to start and what type of people do you want in your life? Patterns What patterns in your life make you feel like you are going in circles? Behaviors patterns that undermine your success such as self-sabotage Family patterns passed down through the generations Thought patterns and beliefs that have you doubt yourself How might transformational work support you to uncover and shift patterns that no longer serve you? What might open up once you understand and shift those patterns? Depleters What dangling threads seem to hang on and deplete your energy? Projects that have been on your to-do list for years Clutter that fills parts of your house Classes you signed up for but never finished Do all of these depleters need to stay on your list in the new year or are there certain ones that you can release and open up space for higher priorities? After you let go, consider different tools such as vision boards, goal setting, and your one word, among others to support you in clarifying what you want to open the door to. What new hobbies, healthy relationships, habits for well-being, and positive patterns will allow you to feel happier, more balanced, and fulfilled? One such opportunity is a guided exercise I am offering on January 17th called Journey thru the Life Wheel . It includes an introduction to Future-Focused coaching , a 6-week program that will support you to open to a new perspective in moving towards the future you want to create. © 2023, Systems of Change, LLC Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mindy! Mindy Schrager, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Mindy Schrager is an ICF PCC credentialed coach, Systemic Facilitator, Aura-Soma practitioner and founder of Systems of Change, LLC. Mindy’s focus on and passion for transformational work is built on years of experience creating strong, well-balanced teams, combined with a powerful personal discovery journey. Her experience and training have been focused on creating positive change in life and business experiences working with individuals and groups. Mindy loves to shine a light on hidden patterns and the root cause of dysfunction and then help create new pathways to growth.