Tag: mindset

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The lazy entrepreneur 

Aime Ayrehart from Ninja HR writes about being a lazy entrepreneur

The title is a little cheeky.  My reaction to people telling me I could make so much more money if I worked more hours.

I nodded, then ignored them. If I can live a fabulous life and only work 16 hours a week, what more can money buy me? 

I’m writing this sitting on the beach in Scarborough.  The air is warm and calm and feels like spring.  The sound of the waves crashing is gentle, and I can hear the birds singing contentedly. 

Yesterday was an entirely different experience. There was wind, rain, and even hail. It was exhilarating and exhausting.

Life as a solepreneur

I have to be in the right head space to be creative.  Calm, playful, relaxed.  And being a solepreneur requires a huge amount of creativity.  Partly because my speciality as the employment genie is to solve impossible work-based problems, which each require an entirely novel approach, but also because running a business requires us to design products and endless social media and networking.

But life, emotions and the journey of a solepreneur are more like the sea than a motorway.  Endless opportunities but at times exhausting and scary.

Embracing creativity

In an attempt to fit into a man’s world, most women have tried to even everything out to be consistent and professional.  To always be able to deliver the same thing and to control our environment rather than live in harmony with it.

But ignoring the seasons and the ebb and flow of our emotions has led to increasing levels of conflict at work, at home and in the world generally. Not to mention it’s created global warming.

Noticing the ebbs and flows

Few people who know me would doubt I can be strong and confident, do maths and law and lead – typically masculine attributes.  And I’m glad I have these skills as part of my arsenal.

But my real breakthroughs in both business and my personal life are where I have begun to notice the ebbs and flows and more gently acknowledge them in myself and others.

When people ask me how I am, and I reply, “Fabulous,” they seem somewhat shocked – and of course, I have bad days.  But it’s true I’m in a good place.

Mmm now I’ve written this blog, I might go and make myself a hot chocolate and read for a bit.  Such a terrible life indeed 😊

Aime Ayrehart being a lazy entrepreneur after writing a guest blog

About Aime

Aime Ayrehart is a bestselling author, founder of a trade union, and offers HR crisis management through Ninja HR.  But her real passion is supporting female business owners to flourish.  She started a female-run collaborative that has launched the Entrepreneurs Mindset Development Tool to help identify strengths and areas for development in a kind way, and through the Sasspreneur Club, we offer unique, cost-effective and accessible support to help you flourish – however that looks for you. 

Ninja HR

Entrepreneurs Mindset Development Tool

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5 ways to maintain some Christmas Calm

Vicky Haig Hypnotherapy guest blog with 5 tips to find some Christmas calm

As we head quickly into Christmas, it’s easy to become swept up in the need to provide a perfect Christmas for those around us. We are bombarded with images of elaborate elf antics, picture-perfect Santa visits, magazine-worthy Christmas trees, matching pjs, the best presents and a list of Christmas traditions to enact.

While there is nothing wrong with finding joy in any of these activities and moments, they can easily add to our stress levels and impact our well-being in the run-up to Christmas. Here’s 5 ways to help maintain some calm and find the joy again.

1. Recognise when you are in comparison mode.

Naturally, we are interested in what’s going on around us and what others are doing. It’s in our nature to feel the need to fit in so we can feel more drawn to following what others are doing. However, we are often looking at ‘the best bits’ snippets of people’s lives and trying to recreate them, then when we bump into the normal struggles of life, we can be left feeling like we don’t quite match up. So take a moment to recognise when you are comparing your every day to someone’s best moment, then switch your focus to the best moment for you that day.

2. Take time out.

It can feel counter-intuitive to take time out when we are busy, but we need breaks. Our brains need downtime; however, the brain isn’t actually resting in downtime. When we allow our brain time to wander its actually really busy organising, sorting and often connecting the dots, it needs time to do this without us consciously giving it more tasks. So go for a walk, take a shower, have a cuppa, read a few pages of a book, find the things you can do even if it’s just for a few minutes to give your brain a break.

3. Write a list.

Every time something pops into your head that needs to be done write it down on a list. When it’s wrote down it’s easier to organise and prioritise it. When we are trying to hold everything in our brains, we struggle to prioritise and decide on its importance – everything starts to feel ‘most important’. So, write it down and then pick the thing that needs to be done first.

4. Move your body.

We are designed to move, but modern living often takes away natural opportunities to move our bodies (online shopping, electrical appliances, cars). So we have to be intentional in making sure we are moving and exercising our bodies everyday. Find the ways that work for you and try to build them in everyday, until it becomes a habit like brushing our teeth.

5. Sleep.

It’s easy for our sleep to be impacted in the run up to Christmas, but try to keep the boundaries around it. Build in good sleep habits like winding down for bed (devices off, warm baths, cool rooms etc). Its particularly important in the winter to try to get out in the daylight as soon as you can in a morning. It helps set our natural rhythms and sleep patterns.

Remember to bring it back to what you and those around you need. We are all so different and it’s ok to focus on what works best for us, I hope these tips allow you to find some calm in this period and if you’d like an extra boost head over to: https://www.vickyhaig.co.uk/try-relaxation/ where you can listen to my relaxation track for free, just make sure you are in a quiet calm place where you’re not having to do anything else, but relax.