Woman’s Guide speaks to Aditi Vijay Chandanani – Travel & Tourism Entrepreneur & NLP Master Practioner, Mindfulness Coach and Life Coach to talk about mindful practices for entrepreneurs in 2021.
I began my journey in the corporate travel industry 10 years ago and took a leap of faith to become an entrepreneur 6 years ago. This life-decision, however exciting, came with it’s own mix-bag of emotions namely fear, self-doubt, anxiety and stress. Once I began to decode these emotions, I realized that the simplest things in life were the hardest tasks for me. Sleeping, sitting & doing nothing – the activities that nurture us most – became really difficult & seemed impossible. And so began this journey of mindfulness.
As an entrepreneur, you somehow don’t know when to stop at times. You’re working all the time, some projects are showing a little more failures than they are successes, and the world just can’t seem to stop saying no to you. Of course, the entrepreneur in you wants to “keep going” and not let anything stop you.
You sometimes feel like you’re in an endless loop of failures as you face all this “newness”. At least that’s how it felt for me! While a mindset of “keep going” and “don’t let anything stop you” may be good for your business, it could be completely detrimental to your mental health.
Here are some quick n’ easy mindful practices that can add value to your entrepreneurial journey and maintain your sanity.
Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is when you focus all your sensories and feelings on one thought and focus on just one decision without any judgments preconceived notions. This is done with breathwork & occasionally with guided tracks. I personally found this to be hard but also the most effective, once you don’t give up. Mindfully meditating every morning on the reason why you’ve started your business is the key, this helps us stay on track & not lose focus on the core belief of the business.
Goal Setting
Practicing mindfulness is all about being in the moment and being aware of the Whats, Whys & Hows. However stressful this statement sounds, it’s the most empowering feeling to have. Being self-aware isn’t a gift, it’s a skill that we all need to practice. Being aware of your resources at the moment can allow you to plan better for the future. Short-term goals are essential especially with the kind of uncertainty life has these days. Short-term goals could be 3-6 month goals along with a plan B. That’s one way to get from the present state to the desired state, by reviewing the resources & skills you have to support your business.
Gut instinct
You must have heard when people communicate words account only for 7%, tone of voice for 38%, and body language for 55% we have been mastering these for the longest time. What we neglect, however, is the gut instinct. Communicating with colleagues, employees & clients has a lot to do with the trust factor. Trust can be formed in various ways including gut instincts. We all have that instincts weather we believe it or not. Being one with our inner voice is something that needs a comeback.
Mindful Boredum
Where a wandering mind is considered a distraction, it’s also been one of the reasons we have had AHA moments & revolutionary ideas. Mindful boredom is a new age term that’s catching along, and helps us come up with new ideas and concepts for our personal & professional spaces. Mindful boredom needs to have a dedicated slot on our week, it’s the best form of de-stressing.
Limited Multi-tasking
Multitasking has its pros and cons, it is essential for an entrepreneur to multitask in a work space. It keeps the brain engaged & active, however limiting multitasking is the key. It takes us years of mindlessness to eventually reach that sweet spot. In meditation we use breath work to bring back our drifting thoughts, this is a great technique to use while multitasking in our works space as well.
Time-boxing
The initial mistake we make is compromising our personal life for work. We have allowed it to consume our entire time till we are mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. This unhealthy cycle needs better planning, a to-do lists helps but turning that into time-boxing is the game changer. The advantages include prioritizing tasks, decrease in procrastination, better communication & time for your personal life.
Self care
We are constantly in a fight & flight mode which hijacks our brains and keeps us in stress state continuously. One of the solution to this is selfcare & me-time which is non-negotiable. Recharging with therapeutic activities shapes our identity, be it a hobby, traveling, skin care, massages or work outs. This dedicated time helps us overcome failures & setbacks we have in our work & personal life. Mindfully realizing the pressure we put ourselves through & making the appropriate change is one step closer to success
Living mindfully is remaining in a consistent state of conscious & awareness in which we are accurately aware of the context and content of the information perceived. The above pointers will help direct you to a more mindful approach. Every change takes 4-6 weeks to activate, so hang in there & be aware.
You can find Aditi on Instagram by @decodingquirks and take one on one sessions virtually and personally.
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