As the name suggests, an e-bike is powered by electricity or a motor and assisted by pedals. These are faster than a regular bike, and it doesn’t require much physical effort to ride them. Though they are fun to ride, they can be instantaneously dangerous if you’re not careful. However, with great power comes great responsibility. So if you’re planning for a bikepacking adventure soon, here are some safety tips to help you avoid potential accidents. Choose the Right E-bike Depending on where you plan to travel, select an e-bike that best suits your needs. The main thing you want to focus on is the level of comfort when going bike riding on your e-bike. Let’s learn more about these bikes. There are three categories of e-bikes that are available in the market: Class One: These are beginner e-bikes and are great for those learning how to ride. They are easy to ride and slower than other e-bikes, stopping at 20mph. The motor in the e-bike works as you pedal, making pedaling easier, and you get more control. They are considered less dangerous than their counterparts. Class Two: These e-bikes are a bit more advanced but have the same maximum speed of 20mph as the class one bikes. The only addition to these is the throttle-powered mode, where you can power your motor without using the pedals. Class Three: These are the fastest ones in the market. It is also a pedal-assist e-bike, just like class one, but you can reach up to a maximum speed of 28mph, unlike the class one bikes. Read Your E-bike Manual Before hopping on to your new e-bike and going out for a spin, consider reading the manual to understand what needs to be done. Is your e-bike battery-powered? How long do you have to charge it? How to assemble/disassemble parts? Which part goes where? And the list goes on. Knowing your vehicle’s strengths and weaknesses can prepare you for the worst. Equip With Proper Gear Whether a regular bike or a motorized one, it’s highly recommended that you be equipped with appropriate gear before riding your bike. Helmets, elbow and knee pads, and the proper clothing are essential items that keep you safe during an accident. In terms of clothing, sports apparel has become very popular in recent times. These are perfect as they won’t interfere with your bike's chains while you pedal. It is also advised to wear neon or fluorescent-colored clothing, so you are visible to others on the road. Another important gear is wearing appropriate cycling shoes. E-bikes are fast as it is, and if you decide to wear sandals, for instance, it increases the chances of you being toppled over. And we don’t want that! Keep Right Tire Pressure Go through your e-bike manual carefully and keep the tire pressure as suggested in the book. E-bikes are relatively heavier than regular bikes; therefore, keeping the tires at the right pressure will give you better control over your bike. Attach Lights Attach lights to your e-bike, so if you plan to travel during the night, you’ll be able to see the road clearly. Install a white light in the front and a red light at the rear of your e-bike. For additional safety, attach a light to your helmet as well. Install a Bell and a Horn To avoid collisions with the ongoing traffic and people, install a bell and a horn to alert them of your presence. Use the horn to alert cars and use the bell for pedestrians. Follow Traffic Regulations Even though you don’t require a license to ride an e-bike, you still have to follow the traffic regulations. Otherwise, you may suffer from physical injuries or get tangled up in a lawsuit. Avoid Dangerous Roads If you find yourself at the perimeter of a rough and muddy road, it’s best to avoid it if possible. However, if it’s unavoidable, then it is recommended that you ride your e-bike as slowly as possible till you reach a safer area. Taking risks is never a good idea, especially if you're up in mountains or hilly areas. If it’s too much of a risk, consider walking with your bike till you arrive in a place where you’ll feel capable of riding. Do Not Ride During the Night E-bikes tend to be very fast; therefore, it is advisable not to ride one at night. Even with all the lights adorned on your e-bike, unless necessary, it is best to give your e-bike and yourself a night’s rest. During the pandemic, some companies switched to electric vehicles, such as an e-cargo bike for home deliveries. If that is the case, ensure your e-bike is sufficiently-powered and has enough lights to make multiple trips during the night easy. Practice Before Riding Your E-bike After you’re done reading the manual, it’s time to put your knowledge to use. Practice mounting and dismounting, as this will determine your comfort level. Once you’ve got that straightened out, ride slowly and carefully around the neighborhood till you’ve got the hang of it. Once you become more advanced, you can ride your e-bike to your workplace or convenience stores. When you feel capable enough, you can take it out for a spin in wooded and hilly areas to try out the tires and note how it holds up against rough surfaces. Everything comes around to practicing every day to make you more confident. Final Thoughts Riding an e-bike can be intimidating but fun and adventurous. If you plan a bikepacking trip with friends, ensure you understand and follow safety protocols. Wear proper clothing and use appropriate safety gear to avoid serious injuries. Avoid dangerous roads and riding during the night. E-bikes' popularity has increased over the past few years and were a lifesaver during the pandemic for many companies. However, the number of accidents also increased. Therefore, when riding your e-bike, taking safety measures goes a long way.

Written by: Adelina Stefan, 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. Over the last decade, creating an inclusive and diverse working environment has been crucial for global organisations that have invested greatly in providing training and development opportunities to facilitate growth. However, these types of initiatives through solely training didn’t seem to bring a long-term result, as was evidenced in my research on Fostering cross-cultural understanding and skills in global organizations through intercultural training (2019). During the last few years, it has been proved that there is a better way to develop dedicated leaders who would feel empowered to take meaningful actions and ensure that employees are being heard, listened actively, and can thrive in a safe environment. An organisation’s approach towards creating an inclusive culture where employees feel mentally supported and psychologically safe is a vital part of leadership. A coaching approach across to leadership development frames the conversation differently than the traditional training as it’s people-centred and focused on empowering individuals themselves to reconnect to their inner essence, maximize their potential, take charge, and identify their own solutions instead of being told what path they should follow. What is coaching? Coaching is facilitating a system of relationships, empowering people to feel more connected both to each other and their own self. Coaching is extremely powerful no matter what you specialise in. Career Coaching in particular, an area very close to my heart, enables individuals to identify their passion in what they do and allows them to move forward in that direction. The focus and attention individuals get from a Career Coach are very valuable and the process becomes more like a journey to self-discovery with respect to what they want to do for their living and beyond. “My goal is to forge a better workplace and create a coaching culture where individuals feel emotionally and psychologically safe, empowered to deliver excellence and strive for the best. As a passionate advocate of the entrepreneurial spirit, a life-long learner, and an expat myself, I was always interested in learning about other cultures and supporting individuals to deal with the cultural shock while trying to make a seamless career transition, using their unique skills and talent. “ How can you cultivate an inclusive coaching culture? One of the most crucial elements of a productive workplace and a crucial part of developing leadership seems to be feeling trusted. Trust may have an impact on people's communication and thought processes as well as organizational hierarchies and workplace customs, all of which could be significant roadblocks in cross-border cooperation. The value of coaching is inherited and contributes to the creation of highly trustful relationships within organisations, which would have a series of positive outcomes including higher collaboration, higher levels of positivity, higher employee engagement, job satisfaction, and retention, and more effective problem-solving. Building trust is crucial to foster an inclusive diverse environment and as such, it depends on key values such as: respect, active listening, cultural awareness, and sensitivity, as well as different communication and personality types. For a diverse team to be strong, it needs to be inclusive. If hiring a diverse workforce is relatively easy, fostering inclusivity proves to be more challenging. This can be achieved through open communication in which members can express freely how they communicate and how they make decisions; in other words, by talking about diversity openly and finding a creative way through coaching to work effectively together. “I chose to become an Expat Career Coach and transition from training to coaching as I I felt that the impact of creating a positive change for people in transitions through coaching was aligned with my “what truly matters,” to empower professionals and leaders to articulate their value and talent with more impact, gain more clarity on their goals, purpose, and fulfillment in their life, and achieve sustainable career success.” Learn more about our Professional Coaching Mastery Certification for leaders and individuals who aspire to become Certified Professional Coaches ICF accredited Learn more about our Group Expat Coaching for expats ready to depart to build their unique toolbox to navigate the host culture confidently. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram connect with me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Adelina! Adelina Stefan, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Adelina Stefan is a Professional Certified Coach & Intercultural Facilitator specialized in Career Development, with a deep expertise in international HR recruitment and selection and Training and Development. Having worked for 10+ years across cultures, Adelina seeks to catalyze individuals’ potential, helping them create and implement their unique career blueprint and, at the same time, achieve a healthy work-life balance. She specializes in working with expats and mid- to senior-level executives dealing with challenging work environments that can affect both their performance and well-being. She supports organizations in building a corporate coaching culture by highlighting individuals’ maximum potential and engagement so that they become dedicated and highly successful employees. Her practice includes Career, Life, Executive, and Agile Coaching for individuals, as well as developing and implementing corporate Human Resources practices for improving intercultural relations.

Written by: Mariana Macias, 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. What if we were able to recognize and develop people from their future potential and not from their past experiences? It is well known that nowadays, it is quite a challenge to find top talent that suits and matches not only the company culture but the organization's pace and timing, as well as with location. After the lockdown and everyone now getting to see the possibility of working remotely, this has come to change all rules for recruiting and so retention. Like any other big change, this has brought pros and cons, and one of the biggest disadvantages is low engagement and high rotation. Even for the companies, it is more convenient hiring remote positions, which also opens the door for people to just swing from one job to another one, without even caring if they create long-lasting trustful relationships with the companies or neither about their professional growth. Truth to be told is that nowadays, people aren’t focusing on their future, and that is also a reflection of the leadership they are having. The way we have been operating is by judging the talent of the person based on a paper, basically on a resume that anyone can modify or manipulate according to the job description. But, what about if we became more interested in the development part? I’m saying instead of keeping looking for talent outside and keep reading resumes what if we became more aware of the existing ones and start seeing them for what they can become after creating environments for them to thrive and keep performing? It is also a way of saying, let’s trust in our people's abilities before they even believe in themselves! Is like seeing the person before that person even realizes their true potential! Isn’t that beautiful? Just imagine, what could be possible with cultures operating like this? How would their people feel? How would engagement, commitment, and even motivation be increased on so many levels? But mostly in a sustainable and healthy way. Every time we focus on the past-present of a person we are having a limited vision, is basically because of what you’d done and you are today is the place from where I’m taking the decision for your success plan or even considering a possible growth, but if as a leader I choose to rather focus on the future-present my vision will become unlimited. And then, I can lead you through unlimited possibilities and opportunities then, become infinite. Now, it is on the person to create opportunities within the company. Isn’t this empowering and motivating? We should be able to shift this mindset to go up, as a leader and then as an employee committed to his/her growth and thriving within the company knowing that your possibilities and opportunities are unlimited! How exciting is that! The reality is that we get managers in positions of top leadership and not real leaders. The real question as well to be answered would be, do I have the great talent on the right seat? Am I having the correct vision from future-present when I see my employee? Or am I limiting the person to their past-present stalling him from their true potential? If you were told that you have the opportunity as a leader to be a star maker, wouldn’t you take it? Lastly, another good question to be made is, who is coaching your leaders? Easy peasy, I can help you with that. You can always schedule a call and I’ll be happy to set the following steps for creating this shifting culture within your organization. Here’s the link to my calendar. Cheers! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mariana! Mariana Macias, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Mariana Macias is well known for being the coach of HIGH TOP PERFORMERS! She also coaches and trains mostly C suite leaders. She has been serving for more than 5 years +1000 international companies such as Salesforce, The North Face, and Colgate, for mentioning, as well as coaching firms, independent clients, & entrepreneurs. She has been committed to the coaching industry, serving as well by hosting retreats from coast to coast & from Mexico to the States. Her methodology is 100% pure coaching, KPI's, and powerful questions that come with powerful inner breakthroughs that bring her clients to take full commitment and massive action into their lives. She is also certified as a meditation guide. And she's a Book Author ‒ "Tengo Una Historia Que Contarte" Available now on Amazon.

Written by: Adeline Torcol , 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. People often associate the life of a diplomat with a privileged life abroad. In fact, as a diplomat, you have access to the key actors of the political, economic, social, and cultural life of a country. Engaging in diplomatic missions means accepting important responsibilities: representing your country or organization’s foreign policy, and negotiating and implementing ambitious projects in a given country. We often see the tip of the iceberg of this profession, as an exciting and very rich learning experience. However, as with all professions, diplomats are not immune to the global epidemic of burnout. I have not found any specific studies on the risks of burnout for diplomat colleagues. And yet, if we were to invent the well-oiled machine for stress and burnout, the diplomatic profession would be a very good candidate to test it! Indeed, we recruit young people, ambitious, hardworking, committed to strong values with a tendency to perfectionism . Added to this, are long working hours, missions in the country, public events not to be missed, etc. As consequence, the days are longer, the nights shorter, and the weekends full of demands. The boundaries between professional and private life are tenuous. Stress, sleep problems, and difficult balance between professional and personal life are also common features of diplomatic engagement. The diplomat often comes with his/her family and/or partner and the question of their adaptation is essential . In case of difficulties, this could bring additional anxiety and stress for the diplomat colleague who feels responsible for his family’s well-being. In addition, a diplomat coming on his own in a new country faces loneliness which could turn for some into a burden. Accepting a diplomatic job is also being ready to serve your country in difficult conditions and to find yourself on the front line of a conflict , as in Ukraine. You are part of the essential staff staying in the country. This means navigating in the middle of a storm of reports, and meetings with its share of cold blood, stress, and anxiety. Diplomats posted in hardship posting may suffer from stress disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A former diplomat colleague told me that the essential qualities of a good diplomat are strength and resilience. I also think that vulnerability is also a primary quality. It is still difficult in this profession with its smooth image to talk openly about mental health and yet there is much to be gained by expressing one’s vulnerability, one’s emotions, one’s doubts, and one’s moments of stress, helplessness, or suffering. As the well-known researcher and writer, Brené Brown recalls:” To be the person who we long to be, we must be vulnerable. We must take off the armor, put down the weapons, who show up and let ourselves be seen”. I invite diplomats to make space for their vulnerability. Diplomats are not super humans; they are just men and women with heavy responsibilities who tend to forget they are just humans and imperfect humans. “ Vulnerability is the birthplace for a more authentic leadership bringing empathy and creativity in the workplace “ ‒ Brené Brown. While posted a few years ago in Nigeria at the EU embassy, I was convinced I was sufficiently prepared for this experience. I was a passionate worker, a perfectionist, I could no longer set limits, nor did I know how to express my emotions, my moments of overflow, of great stress, of shock following a bomb attack, etc. I observed my colleagues experiencing difficult and tense situations in silence. I felt that talking about our difficulties was taboo. In addition, distance from your Head Quarters reinforces this feeling of isolation or misunderstanding of what you experience in the field. I learned the hard skills for the job of a diplomat but not the soft skills, I didn’t have the tools to express my emotions and manage the stress and the unexpected of this job. I interviewed fellow diplomats for Pacify Your Mind podcast. ¹ I felt inspired listening to their stories, and how they managed stressful situations with their own inner resources such as mindfulness practice or talking to trusted colleagues about their mental health challenges. I committed myself through Pacify Your Mind to breaking mental health taboo in the diplomatic sector , to provide tools for organizations and colleagues to take care of their health and balance before, during their assignments, and upon their return. The stakes are high. Investing in the mental health of diplomatic colleagues means ensuring an alignment between the values of their organization or country and the professionals who embody them abroad. How can you represent the interests of your country, the values of peace and cooperation if you are close to burnout and therefore no longer at peace with yourself? This is a major issue because climate change crises, wars, and conflicts will require more effort and commitment from diplomatic colleagues. International organizations and Ministries of Foreign Affairs need to step up their support to colleagues in the field and help them face these new challenges without compromising their physical and mental health. Current and future diplomacy need healthy and resilient diplomats. How do you go about achieving wellbeing and balance in your diplomatic engagement? What are your main challenges? Do you find times to take care of your physical, mental and emotional health? I would love to hear from you in the comments below! Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , Li nkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Adeline! Adeline Torcol, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Adeline Torcol is helping professionals working to make the world better to put their well-being first. She is a former diplomat who worked for peace abroad including in hardship locations. She developed chronic stress symptoms and had no proper tools to deal with stress. She decided to learn about resilience and stress management methods like mindfulness. She believes that if you work for a peace project you need to develop your inner peace. She created Pacify Your Mind. She proposes coaching sessions to professionals engaged abroad who feel the need to reconnect with themselves and training to organizations who want to support their staff's well-being in the field and at Headquarters. Reference: https://podcast.ausha.co/pacify-your-min d

Written by: Anna London, 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. Were you aware that out of the 3.6M students that graduated from high school in last year in the US, only 24% scored at or proficient in math and reading comprehension? That is a delta of 76% of students that are affected, and those numbers have remained pretty much the same since 2005. These skills are needed to close the diversity gap in STEM/STEAM-related careers which are science, technology, engineering, math, and cyber security in which out-of-the-box thinking and problem-solving skills are vital. Let's face it, struggling students are being left behind and teachers do not have the tools necessary at the level needed to identify those students and provide the support needed. This is where Chrysallis.AI Metaversity comes in as it provides a personalized learning experience tailored to each student's learning pace and gives the teachers the tools, they need to assist these students through real-time laser-focused analytics What Is Chrysallis.AI Metaversity? Chrysallis.AI Metaversity is a secure SaaS AI learning platform with built-in machine learning capability tailored to each student's learning pace, provides laser-focused fluid real-time metrics to teachers as well as integration with AR/VR and other interactive ecosystems. It is scientifically proven that providing fun interactive learning aids improves the average student curriculum content retention rate from 20-40% to 80-90%. Chrysallis.AI Metaversity revolutionizes the way students learn in the classroom as well as provides the tools necessary for teachers to identify struggling students early through providing real-time learning analytics that pinpoints where specifically in the content students are struggling so the right resources can be provided. Chrysallis.AI LMS provides a personalized learning experience tailored to each student's learning needs. Chrysallis.AI Metaversity can be used in the classroom, in hybrid and/or distance learning education environments. What Is Learning Analytics? Learning analytics is a tool used to collect, measure, analyze, and report data for learners and their contexts. Trainers use learning analytics to understand and optimize learning and the environments in which it occurs. To accomplish your business goals, you must encourage your employees to embrace a culture of continuous learning. The best way to make this a reality is for organizations to invest in a learning management system (LMS) that hosts in-person, hybrid and/or eLearning courses and schedules. This software can also help you generate reports and track online training programs. LMS platforms are powerful tools. They provide training managers with the opportunity to implement effective learning analytics for a variety of organizations and provide a personalized experience for students. Most importantly, an LMS with analytic capabilities offers insight to improve compliance and learning. At the same time, an LMS helps you improve performance and mitigate risks by focusing on a personalized training program to meet individuals’ needs. Our platform has the ability to adjust and adapt the curriculum to each student’s pace through real-time advanced behavior analytics. Chrysallis.AI Metaversity has a built-in IDE, Labs, Assessment Tools and Dashboards, Auto grading and Laser-Focused Real-Time Insights for Teachers, Students, Parents and Organizations. Come learn with us! Contact us today for more information about our Chrysallis Metaversity behavior analytics software. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Anna London, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Anna London is an US Army Veteran, Colon Cancer Survivor, Educator, Cyber Security Expert, Entrepreneur.

Written by: Shona Hirons, 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. Prior to that all important holiday, you’re working extra hard to get all those important tasks done, so you can try and enjoy your time off. You’re in full-on work mode and it can be hard to shut off. Then you get to your destination and you hit the pool bar, have the greatest of intentions of going for a run on the beach every morning, or hit the hotel gym, but three days in you still haven’t unpacked your trainers. Instead, you’re eating different food, which you wouldn’t indulge in every day back home, you spend most of the day lying down with your feet up, which isn’t the norm for you, you’re drinking a lot more than usual and you’re sleeping a lot more. You may also be experiencing jet lag depending on where you’ve travelled to, so your body clock is out of sync. There’s nothing wrong with any of this. You are allowed to have fun, but then you return and you just can’t get back into your regular routine, you feel even more tired than you did before you went away, yet you’ve got an inbox full of emails and don’t know where to start. Do you feel ready for another holiday within days of returning? Check out my 5 tips on how to avoid this. 1. Buddy Up Before You Go on Holiday Hold team meetings to plan a handover before you go away to ensure you’re not coming back to piles of work. You don’t want to work yourself to the bone before you leave, worry about work when you’re away, and dread returning to the office on your return. 2. Give Yourself Time to Recover Not all holidays are relaxing. Some are exhausting, especially if you have young children who want constant entertaining all day and night. Don’t plan lots of activities for your return. It can take one day per hour of time difference to get your sleeping pattern back on track. 3. Get Active You may feel sluggish on your return. Think about it, you may have over-indulged by eating and drinking more during your holiday, so plan to eat a little healthier and get your body moving. You may not feel like you have the energy, but sitting around can make you even more tired. 4. Plan Your Next Trip Someone recently described their return from holiday as “post-holiday misery”. Coming home can feel depressing, so why not plan your next trip? It doesn’t matter if it’s not until next year, but this can give you something to look forward to and take the edge off returning. 5. Choose The Right Holiday If you’ve been full on for a long time, choose a holiday that allows you to rest and recover properly. Disney Land may seem like a good idea, but you’ll be on the go constantly and there will be little time for rest. Why not choose a resort with plenty of optional activities and maybe a day at a water park? Find time to do the things you want to do too. Here’s another useful article to help you manage the post-holiday blues. If you’re suffering from post-holiday fatigue, follow these tips, or get in touch to talk it through and to never have to feel like this again. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Shona! Shona Hirons, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Shona Hirons is an award-winning global Resilience and Burnout Coach. A breakdown from work-related stress, which led to a life-changing accident, requiring major facial reconstructive surgery and brain damage, gave her a big wake-up call. During her recovery, she went on a journey of self-discovery to rebuild her resilience, consider her values and achieve all the things she was told she couldn't do. Shona has developed strategies to boost her resilience, and now helps others to do the same. She is the CEO of Mindset in Motion, and a leader in corporate wellbeing, working with corporate clients in over 195 countries. Her mission: To improve the well-being of people and businesses throughout the world.

Written by: Ben Warnes, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. How to grow your mindset and reach your peak state? Feel like you’ve hit a plateau where you’re stuck in a never-ending cycle of negativity? Or, perhaps, you're in a dark place where you need some inspiration to achieve your goals. Changing your mindset in situations like these can be one of the best things you can do. It can transform everything from your career to your relationships and even your entire life. Learning how to change and grow your mindset can be a complete game changer, especially once you realise how it can offer a gateway to success. What is a mindset? When we talk about mindset over the mind with context to creating a positive mindset, we should understand what a mindset. A mindset is your own set of values along with a beliefs and attitude system through which you identify yourself and the world around you. It’s like a huge reference library and the way you experience the world around you or react to it is directly related to your mindset. If you can grasp the ‘mindset over mind’ concept, you can exercise much better control over your life rather than succumb to your destiny. Believe me, any kind of mindset (based on past experiences) can be altered by concentrating on the ‘looking forward’ aspect of life, in other words, positive psychology or positive beliefs about what lies ahead. Shifting or changing your mindset Is that even possible? Absolutely – 100%! Want to know about the common thread that binds all successful people? It’s their ability to have the desire to shift their mindsets! This is the one crucial contributor to what has helped them accomplish their goals. In fact, shifting or changing your mindset can help you drastically improve your quality of life. From emotional weakness to emotional control Everseen how negative experiences or events outside people’s control can affect their state of mind? Well, don’t let it! You have to understand that limiting yourself to a set of beliefs creates the boundaries of your world. Since you are always in control of those beliefs, you are quite literally in charge of your emotions, mindset and life too. Exercise the power of positive thinking and positive belief Positive psychology has demonstrated time and time again that a positive mindset results in a greater sense of happiness and contentment, with lower levels of anxiety and an overall improved sense of well-being as well as general health. These are all crucial to achieving your success goals. When faced with a challenge, always try to look past the challenge and instead visualise the success. For example,if you learn to smile, you automatically become more likeable and approachable, which leads to building better rapport, growing your network and ultimately, reaching your goals. Harness a growth mindset You need to go from “I’m stuck where I am right now” to “If I work hard, push myself, and learn, I will eventually get the prize”. A growth mindset is fundamental to acquiring new skills and building powerful relationships. So, with a growth mindset, challenges will look like opportunities – in fact, those ‘obstacles’ will pave the way for your success. Become more present in the moment Changing your mindset doesn’t always have to be an ‘all or nothing’ situation because more often than not, it’s done by making a number of small increments. Be present in the moment – significant changes are successfully made from a tiny shift in how you see the world or yourself. At LMA Coaching, one of the most important facets of our transformational coaching approach involves actively working with clients to change and align their minds with their goals and actions. This positive alignment is what helps them achieve a growth mindset. 5 WAYS TO GROW YOUR MINDSET 1. Challenge Your Limiting Beliefs Limiting beliefs prevent us from achieving our goals and dreams. We need to change from clinging on to these limiting beliefs to challenging and overcoming them. Replace the limiting beliefs and negative thoughts with empowering beliefs, as this will effectively enable you to seize opportunities head-on and not be lulled back into the same limiting thought patterns. You deserve success, so we need to build new positive habits in order to remove the limiting beliefs entirely. 2. Face Your Fears Fear leads to a never-ending cycle of destructive emotions and negative perceptions. Whenever you try to achieve a positive flow state, fear interrupts it. Don’t accept this kind of thing! Overcome your fear and don’t allow yourself to see obstacles in a state of fear. We need to change our perception so that we realise that fear is just another obstacle disguised as a hiding opportunity. 3. Shift Your Perspective Self-reflection leads to small shifts in self-perception, which in turn, lead to a new direction. Small, nimble steps is the way forward. That’s how progress is made. Learn to challenge your mindset and treat obstacles as opportunities – every small shift you make is a stepping stone to success. 4. Change Your Self-Talk Negative thoughts will be a hindrance to your change, and when it comes to meeting positive goals, you have to change your inner language. Plant the seed of positivity in your mind. As you run through your day, use self-talk containing positive words– repeat that mantra throughout your day to energise yourself with a positive mindset as it will help in creating positive boundaries too. Learn to cultivate acceptance – acceptance in your mind that things will change and even if some things cannot be changed, at least you tried. With every positive step, you will build positive core values, and whenever life gets challenging, always remind yourself why you are making these changes and create positive boundaries and habits. 5. Get Support – Work with a Transformational Coach Any kind of change in life can be daunting. We’ve all been there. But since you are willing to get help, then you need to get the right level of support. Success looks like different things to different people – if you’re not sure where to start, look into LMA coaching or transformational coaching. You may likely need only a few sessions with a life coach to start your journey on the right foot. So, don’t delay that journey – a year from now, you may regret not starting it sooner! Developing your mindset; mindset over mind; creating a positive mindset; growth mindset; shifting mindset; changing your mindset; life coach; personal philosophy; positive psychology; life coaching; personal growth; transformational coach; transformational coaching; LMA coaching; coach; coaching; high performance; high-level goals goal; goals; high-level goals; listening; active listening; developing new skills appreciation; actions; action Grow your mindset and reach your peak state; motivation; positive belief; meet positive goals; become more present; self-motivation; values; core values; perception; self-perception; success; empower; flourish; flow state; north star; creating positive boundaries; habits. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ben! Ben Warnes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Ben Warnes is a Transformational Leadership and Life Coach. He employs his signature LMA Coaching Framework with his clients to help them understand where they are and partners with them on their journey to where they want to be. He has an MBA in Leadership and Management and is a certified ICF and EMCC Transformational Coach. An advocate of Flow, Mindfulness and Positive Psychology he is dedicated to helping others find their Meaningfulness. He is the founder of the Listening Mindset Action (LMA) Framework, developing it to coach remarkable people to achieve incredible goals. He believes no goal is too small and no dream is too big. Having started his first business at the age of 14, he has worked for blue chip companies and started multiple successful businesses in London and New York. He still runs Westongate a successful high-end property development company in Surrey England. Ben knows from experience the path to success is littered with obstacles and believes the obstacle often is the way. He is currently working “Find your meaningfulness,” a framework for maximising potential life satisfaction and fulfilment.

Written by: Harri Pereira, 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. You're failing because you're not consistent. You're not consistent because you're trying to do too much, you're doing what everyone else is doing and you don't really know why you're doing the things you're doing... STOP. Just show up. Here are 12 ways you can utilise TODAY to start to create more consistency in your life, especially around your health & lifestyle goals. Make it easy The simplest trick of them all... MAKE IT SO EASY YOU LITERALLY CAN'T NOT DO IT! What does this look like? X "I'm going to the gym 5 times this week for an hour" "I'm going to do 10 push-ups today" Yes, 5 gym sessions will have a better impact on your health, strength & fitness, but how long will that last? If you complete 10 push-ups today, do 10 again tomorrow, then again the next day. Then the following week, do 20 each day, and the next, do 30 and add some squats in. Do you see how easy that is to build? Progress over Perfection. Habit Stack This one was taken from James Clears Atomic Habits (highly recommend reading it) Simple formula: After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]. Couple this formula with an EASY habit that you've started to make marginal gains with, and you'll be off to a flyer. Make it Enjoyable This is my favourite because of the simplicity and eye-opening perspective of shifting or reframing the thing you're trying to do. If it's exercise, think of SOMETHING active that you actually enjoy, there will be at least 1 thing. Even if you don't think it's classed as exercise, if it gets your Heart Rate up, it's doing your brain, your body & your future life a whole lot of good. ABC Method A: The BEST scenario. The stars are aligned, and I'm able to execute all my powerful habits and stick to my routine perfectly. It's going to be a GREAT day. B = The 2nd Best scenario. The stars aren't so aligned today as I had to unexpectedly pick my son up from school at the time when I scheduled my gym session. So I can't train today, but I can...[PLACE ANY OTHER HABIT OR BEHAVIOUR HERE] eat healthily, do my steps, go for a run tonight, get all my emails done before I leave work, buy my partner some flowers on the way home... C = The 3rd Best Scenario. Life happens! I had to grab my son from school which meant I missed my training session, and then I got scheduled into a last-minute work call from home that overran by 1 hour so I've not managed to sit at the dinner table with my family. But I can still watch a Netflix series with my partner and shut off from work, and do 5 minutes of meditation and write down my daily goals for tomorrow once I've put the kids to bed. You see how there's always something you can do to maintain focus on the path. Write down your WHY Why do you want to be healthy? Because i want to live a long pain-free life. Why do you want to live a long, pain-free life? Because I want to be around to play with my grandkids when I'm 70,80+ Why do you want to be around & active for your grandkids? Because I want to be a role model for them. Why do you want to be a role model? Because I value my children and my grandchildren’s health & happiness more than anything else. Do you see how you have a deeper reason as to why you need or want to be healthy? This will make it MUCH harder for you to quit when you have the thought of letting your children down. Fear Set "What happens if you don't do XYZ" ‒ DRAMATISE the situation. Inducing a little bit of pain into motivating you is okay sometimes because if we know that the path we're on right now isn't serving us any longer, then getting off that path and onto the right one is vital. My client who recently did this found it game-changing in his mindset because the 3 things he wrote down included his partner, whom he didn't want to let down, his business, and his future life. We finished the conversation and he said, well before they were habits and new behaviours that I was trying to instil in myself, but now they are literally non-negotiable. Scheduling Nothing ground-breaking with this hack, but learning to schedule a time, or day into your calendar will dramatically increase the chances of you sticking to it and showing up. Get Accountability Friend, Coach, Partner, Colleague, Social Media... There are many forms of accountability, if you've not made the changes already and are being consistent with them, then you yourself are not going to work as your accountability strategy initially. A coach is the best way to stay accountable but I promise I'm not biased… Recognise The Win Recognise where you have improved, perhaps it's your thought process, your mindset or your actual behaviour that has just shifted slightly. Write the win down and reward yourself for it if necessary. This is super important because usually, we have very large goals which can seem overwhelming, so ensuring you celebrate each little win and understand that if we get so many of these wins, they'll accumulate to a big achievement very soon. Gradual Development Just like the push-ups, gradually develop the things you're doing well. Not too quickly because you may fall off the wagon. Make sure you're challenging yourself though because we liked to be challenged (without stepping too far out of comfortable) to keep it interesting & fun. Accept Fluctuations Accept the fact that not every day is going to be smooth (implement ABC method). Realise that you're going to have better days where you just FEEL good, and motivated and others where you just don't feel 'yourself'. That's OKAY. Create Triggers Creating a trigger before a habit is a similar process to habit stacking but this could be in the form of a reminder, a certain time, or an external trigger from someone else that means you have to do X, it can be anything you find useful. Even having your phone wallpaper as a trigger because we spend so much time on those damn things! Ultimately, consistency is all about fitting the stuff that WORKS in regards to your goals, into your lifestyle. How you do that is through trial and error ‒ not everything will work the first time, but combining deeper habit & behaviour change coaching with the implementation of these techniques will change your life sustainably. It's time to design the life you want to live and start reaching your goals with simple habits. If you'd like to know more about how I can help you click my website below to find out more. Follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Harri! Harri Pereira, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine I Help Ambitious CEOs & Founders Change Their Mindset, Habits & Behaviours To Live & Perform With A Positive State of Mind, More Energy & Fitness and More Purpose.

Written by: Tania Caza, 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. If you’re a business leader or CEO, why should you care about workplace culture? Like many business leaders, you may think that investing time and money into your company culture is a waste. Some cynics might say that certainly focusing on profit and revenue-generating activities while managing expenses is the smarter way to a bigger bottom line. Actually, the research is telling us otherwise; investing in engaging workplace culture is good for business, especially in this day of quiet quitting. By the way, in no way am I saying to ignore profit and managing expenses but more, in addition to that also focusing on culture is good for your bottom line. The Great Place to Work organization annually produces a simulated portfolio comparison of the publicly traded Fortune 100 Best Companies (from their annual list) against the benchmark Russel 3000 and Russel 1000 indices. The results show that up to 2020 there is a cumulative return that is more than 3 times the Russel 3000 and Russell 1000 indices. When you consider 2020 by itself as a uniquely challenging year for businesses given the global pandemic, we still see the Fortune 100 Best Companies outperform the market by 16.5%. So, under circumstances of great uncertainty, the focus on company culture is providing downside protection. Secondly, assuming you employ more than just yourself, attracting and retaining employees in this market is absolutely necessary. Employees want to know more about the organization they are going to work for than ever. Questions such as: Does this organization actually operate in line with a values system that is aligned with my own? Is the leadership team clear on the direction to drive the organization? Are they consistent in their approach? How does the organization support the community and give back in a socially responsible manner? What is my direct leader’s style? What is the feedback from current team members? What are the workplace perks, benefits, policies? And, are they implemented in a fair manner? How does the leadership team communicate with the employees and obtain feedback? Are employees proud to work at this organization? Organizations that can measure positive results on these elements and report in a transparent manner, will have a leg up on the competition. In a time when finding great talent is challenging, focusing on workplace culture to attract and retain is a required strategy for any business to be successful. If you want to learn more about how to build an Intentional Workplace Culture, check out my previous article here. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tania! Tania Caza, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine With years of being an executive in HR, Tania Caza is a leader in business coaching helping executives and leaders shift into high performers. With an MBA and certified with the NeuroLeadership Institute in the Brain Based Coaching program she has the background and expertise needed to guide leaders through the challenges and tough decisions faced at the executive table and the strategies required for a business to be successful. Tania is the Founder and Executive Coach of TanGo Business Coaching where the belief is that people are the true differentiator in every organization and investing in leaders through coaching will only lead to escalated business success.

Written by: Erin Ekman, 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. Our world and our lives are changing at a rate that we have never seen before. Many of you are experiencing unease, anxiety, and overwhelm during these times of change, uncertainty, and challenging events. The thing is, life is inherently uncertain and it’s when we attach our sense of security and our happiness to our ability to control and predict life that we suffer. As you have heard before, “THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE. " As a coach, I work with clients on how to navigate this truth each day to live in the unknown and ambiguous while remaining centered, calm and fulfilled. We have one of two options as I see it; Try to control every detail of our lives to create security or See change and uncertainty for its potential to create something new and beautiful. It is in the second option that Hope lives. “Fear and Hope cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.” ‒ Maya Angelou It is those who have a strong sense of self, a belief in their ability to adapt to change and who choose to “invite hope to stay” that navigate change and uncertainty with grace and strength. You can move from feeling overwhelmed to steady by embracing hope. Hope is your source of power and strength. When paired with action, hope has the power to transform you and those around you. It will give you control over how each day unfolds. Being to cultivate hope by following these prompts: 1. Find Proof of Resiliency Ask yourself, “What challenging and uncertain events have I navigated before?”. Write down these examples ‒ big and small to remind yourself that you have the ability to navigate this too. Remember who you were in those difficult times and the strength you found to carry you through. 2. Create a Vision for the Future Reflect on, “What was I hopeful for in those moments?”. Vision is a powerful tool – focusing on what you want to create and surrounding yourself with people who also have an optimistic mindset will strengthen your sense of hope. 3. Lastly, reflect on, “What do I know for sure in THIS moment?” Bring yourself back to the NOW because this is the only moment you have control over. My family loves me My home is safe I have enough to eat My children are safe and well There are good people working hard to make a difference If you are navigating change and feeling uncertain about what the future holds, I encourage you to take 10 minutes today to reflect on these questions. Capture your thoughts so you can reference them again and find your sense of hope. Life will continue to change, and so will you. If you have any questions, contact me here, send us an email at info@centrivity.ca or connect with me on LinkedIn. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Erin! Erin Ekman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Erin is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF), and the principal facilitator and leadership consultant with Centrivity Inc. She has worked in coaching and leadership development since 2009 and holds a Professional Co-Active Coach Certification (CPCC) from the Coaches Training Institute. Erin is passionate about developing people and teams as they actively move towards their personal and professional goals, and partnering with organizations that recognize that their people are their greatest asset and pathway to long-term success.

Written by: Wendy Crabbe, 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. Have you ever thought about what gives you pleasure? I want to define the term pleasure principle taken from Google: A tendency for individual behavior to be directed toward immediate satisfaction of instinctual drives and an immediate relief from pain or discomfort. Pleasure is defined by Google: A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment. During the pandemic, we needed immediate relief from the discomfort and fear of the unknown. For many people, seeking pleasure from food, social media, TV or streaming, and alcoholic beverages became excessive during the pandemic. There were unwanted consequences such as weight gain, carb, sugar, or alcohol dependence, and an environment where everyone was on their devices. It is normal to want immediate relief from pain and discomfort; it's our primal instinct. The problem is that our brains are conditioned towards immediate satisfaction even though we are not experiencing as much pain, fear, and discomfort. What is the solution to overconsuming and breaking these habits? It starts with awareness of the behavior and that it is coming from a primal need. There is no need for self-judgment or criticism. Next is deciding if you want to make a change. What are you willing to do realistically? The logical step is to choose one behavior you want to change. An example is to decrease night-time snacking to 1 serving of your favorite chips three times a week. One way to do this is to decide which days of the week you will snack, portion out one serving into a bowl, and put the chip bag back in the pantry. Expect to want more. Let the urge be there, sit with it and remind yourself of your goal. Repeat this practice as often as needed. Even if you get up to get more chips, it will take more effort to get the chips, and you may decide it's not worth the trouble. Once you decrease the number of chips you have and the frequency, with time, the cravings will be less. It also helps to have a list of things that give you pleasure besides food, alcohol, or social media. Connect with Wendy on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit her website for more information on obesity, gut health, mindset and hormones. Read more from Wendy! Wendy Crabbe, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Wendy Crabbe, an oncology nurse practitioner and now expert in helping health professionals and women over 50 lose weight, struggled all her life with her weight. She wondered if she was so smart, why couldn’t she lose weight? The causes of obesity are about more than excess food intake and not enough movement. It’s also related to altered hormones and alterations in the gut microbiome. She was finally able to lose the weight with mindset coaching and adopting a science-based approach that she uses with her clients today. She is now on a mission to help hundreds and thousands of women over 50 get healthier; because when women get healthier, their families get healthier.

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. In speaking with a friend recently, we started a conversation about changing how we view things. It reminded me of my love of kaleidoscopes which with a slight shift create new shapes and colors, giving you an entirely new view. What if we were to use a conceptual kaleidoscope and change our perspective? Consider these 4 approaches to shifting your viewpoint. 1. Find a different meaning There is a saying that we are meaning-making machines. When we have an experience, we make it mean something about us and the world around us. Oftentimes, the meaning we create is negative or disempowering. However, we can create many different meanings in any given circumstance. Consider a situation where a parent tells a child they did something incorrectly in front of others. The child could make it mean ‒ “there’s something wrong with me,” “I’m stupid” or “my parent is mean.” Or they could create a more empowering meaning like – “my parent wants me to learn,” “I can do better next time,” or “feedback can be helpful.” 2. Step into someone else’s shoes Sometimes, we get stuck in our viewpoint ‒ the meaning we have assigned to an incident ‒ and cannot see any possibility for something different. In such a situation, think about working with the concept of “walking in someone else’s shoes.” If you had an interaction with someone and cannot understand how they responded in the way that they did, step outside of yourself and become an objective observer. What would someone not personally involved see in the situation? Then step into the place of the person you were interacting with. What new insights did you see and what did it shift for you? 3. Look for the good, the gold, the gift If you have difficulty looking at something from another person’s point of view, then step back and consider looking at the good or lesson that comes from that situation. While sometimes it can be challenging to see the good in what you see as a negative situation, consider what you gained. For instance, a situation in which you were belittled or bullied might have taught you to be more resilient or more courageous. It may take time so be patient with yourself. It took years for me to recognize that the gift in being bullied in school turned into a love of collaboration and teamwork, of valuing diversity of cultures and people, and a focus on bringing groups of people together both in my personal and professional life. 4. Change the energy When you are triggered or stuck in a perspective, and cannot find anything good about it, find a way to shift the energy. This could be as simple as taking a step back, either physically or in your mind’s eye. Enhance the step back, by also taking a breath to create a multi-sensory shift. You could use your breath and breathe out what no longer serves you, and breathe in something better than that. For instance, you could breathe out fear or frustration, and breathe in peace. Other options include going for a walk, talking to someone neutral, or using an approach that has worked to change your energy or emotional state before. How else might a turn of a kaleidoscope help you change your perspective? © 2022 Systems of Change, LLC Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! 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.