Do you have difficulty falling asleep? Do you feel drowsy and tired during the day? Do you have disturbed sleep very often?
Then you might have sleep issue or insomnia. Watch this video for 6 secrets to get better sleep shared by yoga expert Archana Amlapure, founder of Ojas Yoga and Wellness in Singapore.
Womenlines welcomes Anji Hallewell as an Influencer of Positive Mindset on the Womenlines panel. Anji is a Natural Strengths Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hidden Lava. In her sharing for this month, Anji is guiding how to make goals for 2019-
The energy of a new year often turns our attention to what goals for 2019 we want to accomplish. So, as the year ends it naturally makes us reflect on the year gone by and what we have achieved. For some of us, we didn’t set any goals and that’s ok too. You can still appraise how you have progressed this year. There will be things that you have learnt and there will be things to let go of too! You’re not at work, so no one is going to sit down and have an evaluation with you. So, you need to do that with yourself!
The subconscious mind does not know the time, so you need to tell it when something is over. Just like an artist will sign their painting to signify that it is now complete, we too need to do the same with events in our life – like the end of a year.
Here is something simple that you can do to reflect on the year and bring it to a close. Take yourself off somewhere where you can reflect. Perhaps that is the park, your balcony or your favourite coffee shop. Take a pen and paper or your tablet and block out 30 mins of quiet time for you to take yourself through the below process.
Step 1 – Put your phone on flight mode and turn off wifi. You don’t want to get sidetracked by Whatsapp messages, especially if you’re using your phone to take notes!
Step 2 – Start by bringing your attention to the present moment. With your eyes open, start to notice what you see in the environment around you. Also, do the same for your other senses, as we do have 4 more! What can you hear, feel through your sense of touch, smell and taste? All of which will naturally bring your attention to the present. Next, follow your breathing for a few cycles and when you feel calm you may begin.
Step 3 – Ask yourself the following questions. There is no need to rush through them. Take some time to mindfully think about your answers and jot down everything that comes to mind.
- What good things have I achieved?
- What things didn’t turn out the way that I wanted them to?
- What lessons have I learnt and how have I grown?
- What am I ready to leave behind me?
Step 4 – Review your answers and add anything else that feels right to add.
Step 5 – Turn your attention to the future and set yourself a positive intention for next year. Don’t go too crazy, go with one or two main things that are important for you to progress in life.
This is something personal for you to experience. It’s not necessary to share it with anyone else. In taking yourself through this, it will help you recalibrate your thoughts and intentions because when those two are in sync that is where the magic begins.
Happy end of 2018!
Coach, Trainer & Founder
+65 8408 5042
Sindu Sreebhavan is the founder of As Many Minds Pte. Ltd. Singapore. She is also the mastermind behind Asia’s premium edutainment magazine The Kidz Parade and chairperson of International Youth Leadership and Innovation forum (IYLIF). As an influencer for innovation and growth mindset at Womenlines panel, her sharing is about how to make your children future ready in the present scenario when so much is being discussed about artificial intelligence. Do read her insightful article-
Are you empathetic? Ready to assist AI?
Over lunch, my friend was talking about her daughter Evelyn. Evelyn studies in a high profile secondary school that focuses on hardcore science and technology. They are at a stage where the daughter has to start considering the choices for her university education. To the dismay of the family, the daughter announced that she wants to major in psychology in her undergraduate degree.
Before jumping into conclusions, let me state this. The parents are both doing great as technology leaders in their careers and they want to give freedom to their daughter to make her own decisions about her future. Yet, they are in a dilemma. They want to want to make sure that Evelyn is taking the right decision. They are also not sure whether studying psychology will give her enough job opportunities in the future.
Here is my take: Psychology graduates will have a bright future.
There are three aspects that we need to consider when we think about the future.
- Artificial Intelligence and the job landscape
Artificial intelligence has already started disrupting many traditional job roles. The impact of the new disruptive forces in the global economy is massive. This impact is estimated to be 3,000 times larger compared to the impact from the industrial revolution in 18th and 19th centuries (as stated in the book No Ordinary Disruption.) So, are our children future ready?
- What are the new job opportunities emanating from the widespread use of AI?
Accenture’s global study of 1,000 companies that are already using/planning to use AI has identified three new categories of jobs that would emerge as AI gets sophisticated. Surprisingly, these are not jobs that require deep technological knowledge. These are jobs that will require humans as intermediaries to include, review or correct empathy and emotions in the machine-learning algorithms.
- What are the driving factors for these new jobs?
A major hurdle in the progress of AI taking over a large part of our lives is one factor – our emotion. Human emotion is the final frontier for AI. Effective ways to read and replicate human emotions are yet to be invented.
I believe that the way we see psychology will change in the future. We will certainly see dramatic changes in the role of psychologists in the workplace. This means that we need to consider that when we talk about future readiness of today’s children.
Should Evelyn pursue psychology?
Today’s and tomorrow’s job market and requirements are very different from yesterday’s. Any field that will provide more insight into human emotions and consciousness will be of demand. So, I think she should. What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
You can find other versions of this article As Many Minds and here.
Have you read Sindu Sreebhavan’s latest book Infinite Possibilities? You can find it here.
Webinar ‘Be the CEO of your life’ by John Mattone, ex-coach to late Steve Jobs on 14 December 2018. Attend from anywhere from the world by just connecting to phone or laptop!!
When you know yourself you are empowered, and all geared up to situate yourself in this chaotic world. Being self-aware is not an absence of mistakes, but the ability and willingness to learn from them, sometimes even unlearn or relearn, evolving and growing each time.
Your growth journey as a person and a leader requires a coach who can show you the way. The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you truly are and what your purpose is!
As the great philosopher, Aristotle says, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom:”
The fast-paced world of business, leadership and life is turbulent and disruptive, making it essential that you have a skilled mentor and coach who can help you navigate this complexity but, also, who can and will help you unlock and unleash your greatest potential so you become all that you can be.
Grab this opportunity to be CEO of your life and unlock and unleash your greatest potential, so you become all that you can be!!
Register now!! Email contact@www.womenlines.com!!
Charu Mehrotra
Founder Womenlines!
“Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.”- Lou Holtz
I have loved this quote many times, I understood the real meaning when I took a big decision of running a Software Startup Company ‘Earngo’ a few years back when my Technology Partners proposed the idea of Earngo to me. (I am and will be full of gratitude to them forever in my life!!)
I am an entrepreneur by heart and so grateful to Singapore set up of an ecosystem which really supports entrepreneurs amazingly. After taking up few full time jobs, co-running clothing business ‘NC Styles’ (marketing and distributing beautiful Indian hand embroidered clothes to shops at Tanglin Mall and Orchard Road in Singapore) and an events and Networking company ‘Udaan’, I said Yes to trying my hand running a Software company ‘Earngo’ to develop a technology to do data transcription through mobile channels and that too without having any background of technical education (I am a PG in Mass Communications with a Diploma Certificate in Computers Application). LoL, I really laughed at my dare that time. But at the back of my mind, some voice was there saying…’Girl…just go for it!!’:)
- The biggest change was that I became more solution oriented. Any challenge was no more a challenge for me. In the beginning, it was not easy. The whole journey is full of ups and downs, some sweet moments, and some bitter one. But yes, as I moved on through my entrepreneurial journey I learnt that you get through every problem by focusing and taking actions only!
- Credit goes to my technology partners for coming up with the idea for the startup. My role was in the field of HR, marketing, testing, managing finance (we got iJAM funding from Singapore Govt and we incubated the technology at SMU), sales and many more leaving the coding part. This way I improved upon my multitasking ability and also learnt how to keep my mind open to pick up a new skill. I will not say that I have achieved perfection in all the roles I played, but yes I moulded myself to fit the role and delivered the work.
- I got an abundance of confidence and amazing network of inspiring people around me, who are working hard having faith in their ideas and keep pushing their limits. I started believing that people love to help and support each other
- I understood real meanings of these words and started applying in my lifetime management, mindfulness, productivity, growth and positive mindset, innovation.
- I learned that the digital world can be used positively if used to acquire new skills. The learning which I have received through reading at LinkedIn, Medium, following Youtube, doing online courses is just incredible. Online learning opportunities have proved awesome to people who want to learn specific skills. It is all about being open-minded to learn in life at any stage in life.
Charu Mehrotra
Founder Womenlines,
Promoting Excellence in Women!
Womenlines is delighted to welcome Jenn Villalobos, VP & Head of Digital Business @ NTUC Income as a Guest Influencer for Corporate tips section in Womenlines. In this article, Jenn is sharing smart energy management hacks for women who are always on for work –
I clearly remember my first burn out. It came out of nowhere and when I least expected it.
I was walking down my work’s emergency stairs (you know, the ones you take instead of the lift to hit that 12,000 daily steps Fitbit goal) when my phone flew out of my hands and in a clumsy attempt to save it, I lunged forward – in heels – to try to catch it. Instead. I came crashing down bruising my elbows and scraping my knees. I also injured my right wrist. But because I was running late for a meeting, I quickly dusted myself off and proceeded to my business. Somehow the stress-induced adrenaline kept me going. After the meeting ended, I tried to stand up but my legs wouldn’t respond. Everyone had left except a college who turned around and sarcastically said: “Come on Jenn, aren’t you going to race me to the next meeting?”
I looked up at her and started shaking uncontrollably. No tears. No words. Just responding to a freezing sensation like I was sinking to the bottom of the Arctic Sea. My colleague hugged me, really hard for about 10 minutes until I stopped shaking. She then snatched my laptop away and held my hands: “‘look at your palms, Jenn: they are bruised”! She called a cab and sent me home. That day, I lied in bed all day scaring the living daylights out of my husband and children because they have never seen mommy sick and silent.
But here is the thing: I love being “Always On”. I want to keep parenting intensely, working passionately and leading bravely; so slowing down is not my fabric setting. I had to consciously figure out a way to manage my energy and presence without burning out. As a wise mentor once told me: “It’s all about achieving predictable sustainable growth”.
Therefore, I started studying and researching Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – this was the temporary diagnosis the doctor gave me – and started following online, individuals who have successfully learned to manage their disease naturally. I then proceeded to use myself as a test subject to some of their advice. Though CFS is a serious disease that paralyzes about 24 million people globally (*) many have successfully overcome their suffering by changing how they do things in life.
Based on my research and self-experimentation, here are my modified Top 6 Energy Management Hacks for Women who like to be “Always On”.
1. – Be Mindful of your Full Circle: Waking up and falling to sleep happens to be the most impactful moments of our daily lives. But more than often, we let biology and caffeine do the heavy lifting. Moreover, once we become parents we become utterly aware of the importance of keeping a healthy sleep routine for our children but we perversely forget we need sleep and wake up routines too. I have found that taking control of my wake-up and sleep routines, allows me to come ‘full circle”.
Set up an Intent for the day: If you set an intention for the day before you get out of bed, you will have a higher likelihood of becoming more productive throughout. For example, if your intent is to finish a task that you have procrastinated over such as: “Today I will finish that white paper”; that verbalized thought will accompany you as a priority. Chances are, you will be closer to finishing your task, stress-free and without the time constraints you are used to as a “last-minute”
Reflect before you close our eyes: Don’t let your phone screen be the last thing you see before you close your eyes. Instead, find a point in the ceiling and ask yourself: “Why did I or did not finish that white paper?”’. Most likely, you will find insights about your behaviour that will help you consciously inform a better decision for the next day. For example, perhaps you realized that you need to set better boundaries when accepting meeting requests and giving too much of your time or that turning off email when writing works wonders.
2. – Swap the Coffee for Matcha: If you need your cup of coffee in the morning to function, try Matcha instead. No sugar, no milk. Matcha has a better caffeine kick than coffee because it releases slowly throughout the day giving you sustained focus and alertness. No more caffeine sugar crashes that make you have to go for coffee break mid-morning or midafternoon. Not to mention, the art of preparing Matcha is quite beautiful. It forces you to be mindful and perhaps it’s a good time to set out your intentions for the day,
3. – Stretch and release muscle tension for 5 minutes every day: I’m not asking you to become a pretzel or a Yoga instructor but to build out the daily habit of releasing your muscles and their tightness. Now, everybody is different but you know exactly which muscle group is a ‘’high tension spot”. Don’t ignore it. I tend to feel tightness in my lower body at night time. So I now keep a cheap yoga mat next to my bed. Before I hop in, I stretch my lower back, calves. etc. You can use a tennis ball to do pressure point on specific areas or you can invest in one of those fancy roller releasers. Whatever it is, don’t get into bed or start your day without stretching.
4. – Minimize your communication apps/channels: The truth is we have more apps than what they need. If you are finding yourself in this fragmented communication maze of chat apps, social apps, professional apps, personal email, work emails, calendars and you are constantly opening and closing screens; then you are most likely to create unnecessary tasks, waste time, miss appointments, forget birthdays and create stress. Managing your time will become a living hell. The best way to simplify is to see the app usage on your phone. Delete the ones that have little usage. (I also use File Go to clean up my phone regularly) If you find that your social media apps are taking all the space and time then de-couple work from personal communications and set different times of the day to engage. For example, I stick to no more than 2 forms of communications throughout my workday. I only use WhatsApp and work email. I will mute all personal related contacts and don’t open LinkedIn Twitter. Facebook and or personal Gmail until after working hours.
Insight Tip: you don’t need to be on every social media platform to be digitally savvy and you should not feel guilty for not posting a story on Instagram every day. The people who matter will get hold of you one way or the other.
5. – Forego the perfect mommy role and play: I know this one is hard. We want to be great mothers, so you want to be best for your kid. Here is the thing: your kid may or may not appreciate the freshly baked batch of Halloween cupcakes you made for the school overnight, but they will always appreciate the quality attention you give them. The best gift you can give a child is your time. And time is not picking up dropping off at school, helping them with homework, putting them to sleep. Time is actual hangout time. Playtime. This means that other priorities will take the hit. So instead of arriving home and getting into your routine of making sure food is ready, house clean and uniform set; once in a while just let go and sit cross-legged in your work clothes with your kid to build that Lego, play the video game, play hide and seek, put on makeup on the doll. Whatever your kid is into just playing with your child and enjoy being one too once in a while. You will both the grateful for it.
Insight Tip: Don’t ask your kid about their day. Especially if their teenagers and you don’t want to get the over the top eye roll. Ask them something different about their interest at the moment. Ignite their curiosity by being curious about their hopes and fears. They will feel valued and listened to. Not just bossed around or feeling judged.
6. – Practice Mindfulness: According to its “creator” Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness is an awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It’s a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. What is great is that mindfulness has been scientifically proven to enhance performance and bring a much more responsive sense to one’s lives. The practice of mindfulness has nothing to do with sitting still trying to achieve Nirvana but the ability to understand how one’s thoughts, emotions and sensations can distort the moment. It’s been incorporated into many corporate leadership programs as well as schools and even preschools. Why? Because its practice works. It reduces reactivity and stress; it increases the overall sense of wellbeing and it gives people clarity of mind. Sadly, it’s not digested in a pill and the only way to see its benefit is by practising it. I did MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) 8-week course twice with a great company called Life Steps and I have never looked back. However, It requires time and discipline. If you feel you are not sure how to get started, I would recommend you download Calm or Headspace. These apps have many aided support to get you started. I personally love the deep sleep guided meditation that uses a body scan to snug you to bed.
These small hacks have changed how I approach stress and I may still be my usual busy body but I have stopped ignoring my the pre-emptive signals my body gives me to say: “Hey, slow down” before it’s too late,
Thank you
Jenn
(*) According to the CDC, there are currently more than one million people in the U.S. with ME/CFS. Worldwide, there may be as many as 17 – 24 million
Jenn Villalobos
VP & Head of Digital Business @ NTUC Income
Jenn is passionate about helping incumbents become disruption-ready. She loves to inspire both founders and marketing leaders to make bolder innovation bets to achieve positive business impact. During her 12 year tenure at Google Jenn helped Brands like Singapore Airlines, P&G, IHG, Sony, LG, Lazada, LÓreal and Starwood develop their marketing’s tactical capacity to drive exceptional business results in digital marketing. In her current role, Jenn enables Income’s Innovation arm to assess the commercial viability of New Businesses Models through strategic partnerships.
Global Goodwill Ambassador platform chaired by MS. SUCHI in Singapore interviewing Charu Mehrotra, founder of online magazine Womenlines!!
Charu Mehrotra was awarded Global Goodwill Ambassador title in October 2018 for her Humanitarian work for promoting women entrepreneurs through her online magazine Womenlines.
Diabetes affects 1 out of 11 people in the world. Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism — the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Following a healthy diet and lifestyle helps to prevent diabetes.
Yoga has proven very effective to manage diabetes. There are certain poses of yoga for diabetes cure and management. Watch this video by http://ojasyog.com/ to see how Yoga helps in the prevention and management of Diabetes.
Womenlines as an online media supporter takes pleasure to share about the upcoming Live Webinar by Global leading coaching and leadership guru John Mattone ( Former Executive Coach to the late Steve Jobs).
This Dec grab this amazing opportunity to embrace ‘Personal Leadership’ within you and take charge of your life, discovering your self and your purpose.
Incredible opportunity to reinvent the leader within your friends as we all are leaders and need to lead our lives!!
This webinar is brought by Leadership Demystified teaming with Human Capital. This webinar is open to all students, professionals, parents who desire to excel and bring in abundance in their lives in all spheres. This coaching can help you to identify thought patterns to lead your lives and isolate strengths and gifts that need to be leveraged within you as well as your gaps that need to be addressed. The investment is only 38 USD, which is approx 1.20 USD per day. Nothing should stop you from making an investment in your growth journey!
It is 90 mins webinar is scheduled on 14th Dec 9.30 am EST. Participants will get-
1, Personal online link to the MLEI assessment (Mattone Leadership Enneagram Inventory assessment, is a powerful assessment of your inner core (i.e Self-concept, values, thinking patterns and emotion make up) strengths and gaps.
2. Personalised soft copy of the MLEI report
3. Opportunity to be in a close knitted group committed to growth and enhancing personal leadership
4. Debriefing on MLEI in group webinar
5. Opportunity for you to directly address your questions to John Mattone and understand the leadership tenants briefly ( the questions would be collected by us before the webinars)
6. An E-book from John’s Library written by him
7. A recorded version of the webinar (for you to revisit, we are working on it )
E-mail contact@www.womenlines.com to know more details!
Womenlines welcomes Anji Hallewell as an Influencer of Positive Mindset on the Womenlines panel. Anji is a Natural Strengths Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hidden Lava. In her sharing for this month, Anji is telling tips about how to shift yourself into a positive state of mind-
We all know that we are at our best when we are feeling positive, but it isn’t always so easy to shift ourselves when we aren’t feeling so upbeat. There is a side of us that likes to wallow, but there is also another side of us that is aware that we are feeling sorry for ourselves. It is this side that can muster up the energy to push you out of feeling low, down or negative. Here are some simple tips on how you can shift yourself into a positive state of mind-
Focus on what is going right
Often when things are going according to plan we naturally focus on all the things that have gone or are going wrong. However, this is only one side of the coin. I’ve witnessed remarkable things come out of terrible situations, such as family feuds extinguished on the back of great sadness. This shows not only good can come out of bad, but that both can co-exist. This is good news everybody, as it also means that there will be good things present when you only see the bad. So, before you press abort on a project or label yourself as a failure, ask yourself “what is going right?”, because there will be something. It is at the core of positive psychology to focus your attention on what is going right because it will spur you on to keep going and keep trying. This is at the heart of motivation and it will fuel you with the will to carry on and push through the bumpy times to reach your desired goal.
Change of environment
Whether you are at home or in the office, you need to get out! It’s time to temporarily change your environment so you can feed off a different kind of energy. Your environment will directly impact how you feel, period. When you are in a dull and low energy environment your mood will be equally as uninspiring, but when it is vibrant you feel nourished and invigorated. It could be as simple as going for a walk in the park or a stroll down a busy street soaking up the collective energy to perk you back up and inject a little bit of zest.
Be grateful
Just like focusing on what is going right with something, when you identify what you are grateful for in your life it creates positive feelings. There are many things that are already present in our lives that we take for granted – our health, relationships, liberty etc. There is always someone worse off than you, so recognise and acknowledge what you have, with gratitude. Studies have shown that people who practice gratitude on a regular basis are happier, have fewer problems and more positive in their outlook. Just saying!
Laugh
Emotions, moods and energy are infectious and so is laughter. There was a recent Coca Cola advert that went viral. It was a man on the underground who was watching something on his hand-held device and was continuously laughing out loud. Completely in his own world, he let out a big belly laugh that was incredibly difficult not to laugh along with. Within minutes, it spread throughout the carriage like laughter gas. A laugh or a smile will release chemicals in your brain that make you feel good. Humour can make light of any situation, no matter how serious, for some needed light relief. So, watch a comedy clip or have a conversation with someone you have fun with and it will raise your spirits.
Music
Music is good for the soul. It can give you hope, lift your spirits and fire up your courage. When we listen to our favourite songs it activates the euphoric reward responses which we experience when doing things like, having sex and eating good food. Listening to pleasurable music is good for you. It can shift you, within a few minutes, into a more advantageous and happier place. So, create your playlist with all the tracks that will get you in the right frame of mind when you need it. It can be your on-demand mind shift.
So, the next time you are moping around, and you’d like to shift yourself into a better state of mind one or a combination of the above will only stir up positive energy for you to do so, shifting yourself into a better and happier place.
Coach, Trainer & Founder
+65 8408 5042