Entrepreneurship and Challenges

Resiliance

Resilience is an important part of  entrepreneurship. We have been challenged more than ever during this pandemic. Sometimes I hear people complaining about not being able to take that vacation abroad and instead vacationing in their own country. I think of all the business owners that will not even get a vacation this year. If they are lucky they might manage to save their company

The pandemic has become a test for people to become more resilient and resourceful. We need to think of new ways to operate our business and maybe even change the direction. Many might even ponder on what they want out of life and end up doing something completely different.

Business Came to a Halt

So when business comes to a halt, what to do? Well in my business meeting people face to face has been the most important thing. I do counseling, speaking, body treatments and give qigong/mindfulness/meditations classes. I really had to rethink and pivot my mindset

In mid-March everything stopped and the same week I started doing my qigong classes online over Zoom. I could not even have imagined doing that even a few weeks earlier. Instead I found out that it worked pretty well and my students were happy to have an alternative.

What surprised me was that the stress management counseling I offer had no demand and I wondered why when people need support more than ever. I can only speculate why that is. I think many people ended up in the typical stress reaction fight, flight or freeze. It is very hard to fight something that is invisible so instead you either pull back into your shell or you freeze.

Freeze

When you end up in the freeze mode you don’t take any action or spend any type of money as we want to make sure that we have the physical foundation covered first. But I have noticed another thing as well. Spending money on your mental health is what comes second or even third or fourth down the line. As if that didn’t matter as much as the physical attributes of getting your hair or nails done, or another tattoo etc. Now they can also be one way to feel better about yourself but that is usually temporary. The only way to really feel good about yourself comes from the inside and not from the outside.

What to Do

So what to do when you find that your work due to COVID-19 has been cancelled? I had my whole book tour cancelled that was supposed to have taken place in the States in the month of July. Well, I decided to look upon it as a challenge.  I started to look into how I could switch my whole business to online. It doesn’t mean that I can’t do things in real life as well as I had done before but I wanted to be prepared for the fall. I have also studied more than ever. Learnt things I never thought I would sink my teeth into. Especially when it comes to technical stuff, setting up studio and marketing funnels etc.

No Vacation or Vacation Every Day

So even though there has been no vacation for me this summer I have to say that I go on vacation a few times a day. It is all in the mindset and with that mindset in place you don’t need long periods of recreation. You can create the feeling of deep relaxation whenever you want and it is a lot easier than you think. By setting up a sustainable habit when it comes to reflection, meditation and being mindful you can start your own practice.  Start with 5 minutes a couple of times a day. I have free meditations you can get inspired by and you find them on my youtube channel so start by trying out some of them.

Physical and Mental Training in One

For the past 32 years I have been practicing qigong as it is a both a physical and mental training. But whatever gets your body moving is great. And if you can do that in conjunction with mental training that’s even better. Also get out to walk at least 30 minutes a day even on grey and cold days is good for your general wellbeing.

This fall I am starting up Stress to Strength qigong studio online where I offer both physical and mental training and meditation. The online course starts on August 18 and runs all the way through to November. I offer four classes a week to choose from and you can do one or all four. This will help you to create a sustainable habit. You can do this at your own comfort in your home or even at work as I offer two lunch practices as well.

Self-sabotaging Patterns

If you want to dig deeper and have a look at resistance and self-sabotaging patterns I have an upcoming Stress to Strength program starting September 2. I will take a group of 12 people and lead them through the steps on how to go from stress to strength in five steps.

We all start new habits and probably quit just as many. This is a program where you will be part of a group. You will have someone to be accountable to and every week we will be speaking over zoom. As a bonus for all participants in this program you get access to the qigong studio online for free the whole term. This is so you really get the full effect of being able to go from strength to strength.

My Passion

The reason why I’m so passionate about stress management is that I’ve been working with it for the past 30 years and I see what it has done in my life. It has helped me to be able to cope with difficulties in my life including losing colleagues, dear friends and my husband to cancer.  The book Reflections that came out this year is the story of my husbands’ last months. It deals with hope, healing, facing fears and finding purpose.

Ready for a Change

If you need a change in your life and if you are ready to change on a deeper level then you can be one of the 12 people I will guide this fall. Already on August 4^th you can join my free webinar where I talk about facing challenges. You find more info in this link Free Webinar Facing Challenges

 

All the best

Fia Hobbs

www.fiahobbs.com

www.stresstostrength.se