Supporting a Resilient Mindset into 2023

‘Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.’ Nelson Mandela.?

It is a great quote for these times after three years of upheaval and uncertainty that all of us have been pivoting, getting back up again, recalibrating our expectations, and managing both our own mental health but also supporting those that we support, whether that is our families or our team?As a small business owner, the last three years have been a rollercoaster of changing goalposts. ‘Permacrisis’ is the word of 2022 and this is now the third year of a once-in-a-generation upheaval that no one could have predicted. Now more than ever, we need resilience to continue to get up in the morning, focus on our goals and get on with living our lives.?

Fortunately, I spent two days last week in the company of 299?small business owners from all sectors who have graduated from the 高盛 10,000 Small Business Programme at some point in the last 10 years.?We were attending a brilliantly timed and aptly named ‘Resilience in Business Conference’?actually in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at Said Business school which brought together a range of experts in data, forecasting, and business transformation as well as successful names in the industry who could give insight into how they have thrived in times of uncertainty.?We all spoke openly about our struggles and supported each other with ideas and learnings we had made as well as a simple nod of agreement and empathy that fast-tracked our human connections and re-energised my fire to keep going and continue to grow a business in uncertain times. I found it re-energised me to step into the final throes of 2022 with renewed focus that The Opportunity Group will survive and thrive in 2023, that we will continue to change people’s lives for the better, and support our team in continuing to grow.?But how do you create and support a resilient mindset and why would you even try??

Entrepreneurs are optimistic by nature, which I believe is the key trait to having a resilient mindset. Believing the world will get better and having hope that any difficult situation will be temporary is a great start to enduring?challenging times. We don’t need to create false optimism, fake happiness is exhausting and ultimately more damaging but focusing on steps to move forward every day in a positive way will help to build a resilience mindset. But everyone, whatever your situation can benefit from improving your emotional resilience, feeling in control in a world where there is so much uncertainty will enable you to achieve more in your work and home life as well as give you more energy and positivity to get excited about Christmas or support others less fortunate than yourself.?You are less likely to get sick if your emotional resilience is higher and avoid a spiral of negativity and depression.?

Gratitude is incredibly important to build?emotional resilience. Helping us to see the positive things in life. Fighting the negative ruminations and rebuilding pessimistic thoughts with optimistic ones has been proved by neuroscientists to be key to surviving difficult times and focusing on the future is more positive when we are thankful for what we have today, however small or simple.?Just thinking of 5 things to be thankful for before you go to sleep will calm your thoughts and help to focus on the positives, thus pushing out negative thoughts and concerns.?

Spending time in nature is proven to support resilience, a walk outside where you can see trees and greenery will raise the spirits and improve your mood. Even though the weather is turning to winter, try and walk outside for at least 10 minutes each day. Getting the blood flowing and your eyes looking at something other than a screen, will release stress and anxiety and refresh your mind before you start work again making you more efficient and focused.?

Breathing sounds simple but many of us are not breathing fully. Even when I write the word breathing it makes me take a deep breath and I really feel the difference in my lungs. This leads to a more mindful approach but starting with a few deep breaths helps to clear the mind to focus on what can actually be done today, so much of our anxiety is being overwhelmed with the to-do list, particularly as a mother at this time of year with school, home, family and work seasonal activities and preparations piling up.?

Simple things we can all focus on to make sure we are as resilient as we can be to face 2023 which may well not be any easier than the last three years but we all know that we can’t control what happens around us, only how we manage ourselves.?

If you think that you or your team could benefit from support in building resilience then The Opportunity Group has designed a short programme that can be delivered as self-study modules or with additional coaching and facilitated sessions?

If you would like to find out more or have a conversation about co-designing a one-day resilience reset for your team, then please email [email protected] and we can share some ideas with you.?

?#10ksbuk #resilience #gratitude #breathing #nature #entrepreneur