Moving With More Meaning

Whereas status optimises for society, authenticity optimises for you. As we emerge from the disruption and reflection instigated by the pandemic, we explore how to move forwards with more meaning, by uncovering an authentic set of reasons ‘why’ and how. Searching for fulfilment through a job you love, high self-esteem, greater purpose and community? At spaces like X+Why, support is provided for purpose-driven start-ups on a mission to positively rebuild the economy on the other side. They collaborate with organisations such as B Corporation to accelerate business growth, whilst ensuring adherence to ethical and environmental standards, effectively marrying people and planet with profit – which is needed now more than ever.

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When starting a business, it’s important to think about your motivations: what are the business goals and aims, what are the values behind the brand that will determine its culture and ethos, and what are your own lifestyle ideals when it comes to personal and financial satisfaction? Growth is not necessarily a byproduct of success, and sometimes the focus may be around becoming ‘better’ instead of ‘bigger’.

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As businesses pivot in an attempt to adapt and adjust to the current climate, many founders will be reviewing the need for existential flexibility. Given the large number of both personal and environmental variables, there is no clear cut roadmap for entering into enterprise. It’s therefore worth thinking about different models of funding, growth and operations, even when they may deviate slightly from the ‘norm’. Innovation is after all, at the heart of the entrepreneurial journey.

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In the start-up landscape, there is very much a ‘go big or go home’ mentality. Yet many founders will be quick to admit that signing deals with a VC for almost immediate mass expansion, can be akin to ‘making a deal with the devil’. The typical business model centres around scaling up. When a business does well, it assumes that the only way to go is up, in order to get ‘more.’ However an increasing number of companies are moving laterally in order to stay nimble, flexible and adaptable.

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Start With What You’ve Got

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The new year is a symbolic time for drawing up new lists of goals, targets and tasks. However it may be more fruitful to direct the focus from grasping at what you do not have yet, towards what is more immediately achievable and within your control. For example, when it comes to up-skilling, instead of finding yourself down endless tunnels of videos, information and courses, it could be more helpful to take action and start by implementing what you already know. Over time, the rest will naturally fall into place, and you will naturally break up the information into more digestible and actionable chunks. Communities such as x+why foster an environment of experimentation and learning by facilitating knowledge sharing and network - there is no better teacher than experience.

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Remind Yourself Why

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Reminding yourself why you started reignites the flames of motivation, which is especially important for resilience in an environment of increasing disruption and uncertainty. This requires redefining what success really means to you, and to consistently get back on the horse by appreciating failure. Our motivations may change throughout our lifetimes, making it important to stop, reflect, and question our actions, motives and desires intermittently. Knowing your true values is a great place to start, as these will be at the core of what you want versus what you think you should want. Only values that are authentic are truly sustainable amidst changing circumstances.

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Be Kinder To Yourself

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Cultivating effective discipline in children requires 3 components: a supportive, positive and loving relationship, the use of positive reinforcement strategies to reward positive behaviours, and removing reinforcement to reduce undesired patterns. Part of the process of maturation and self-actualisation is learning how to parent ourselves, which means fostering a more supportive and positive relationship with yourself. This requires building habits and routines that re-enforce effective strategies, and cultivating the self-awareness necessary to remove the reinforcement of negative ones.

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Enjoy The Process

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Creating goals and targets is useful for tracking and measuring progress, as well as making a note of what may or may not be working, however it is important not to become blinded by these or to let them become the be-all and end-all, especially as the result is often not as within our control as we may like to think. Acknowledging that the outcome can be predicted but is not guaranteed shifts the focus onto the process, which is one of life’s great paradoxes in that sometimes in order to regain control - we have to learn to let go.

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Work On Wellbeing

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In order to perform at our best, we need to adopt healthier habits that encourage us to feel better. The majority of us spend most of our lives at work, which is why an increasing number of spaces such as x+why are purposefully designed with wellbeing in mind. This means that form and function are considered in equal measure, with form being a function in and of itself. Gone are the days of battery hen cubicles and fluorescent lighting - an increasing number of employers are seeing the returns on investing in a holistically experiential environment that understands the longevity and importance in features such as natural lighting, healthier food options, outdoor spaces and access to wellbeing services.

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When it comes to personal decisions around sleep, diet, exercise and downtime, studies have shown that diets high in sugars and processed foods are more likely to negatively impact our moods and output. Employing strategies such as the 80-20 rule by eating healthier at least 80% of the time could be one of the simple changes you make for balancing clean fuel for the fire and tasty food for the soul, ensuring greater longer time returns. Even just 7 minutes of exercise a day can boost our endorphins and focus, so when you feel as though you don’t have time, try a quick HIIT session, brisk walk around the block or a circuit with short breaks. Similarly, small changes to sleep hygiene such as adopting the rule of no technology at least an hour before bed could be a simple swap with large returns.

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Activating Awareness

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One of the ways in which techniques such as meditation help us to elevate our levels of awareness, is by detaching from the automatic narratives in our heads. This helps to create some distance from the autonomic reactions and feelings that manifest as a result, allowing us to be less reactive and more reflective. Contrary to popular belief, meditating does not have to mean sitting down and ‘doing nothing’ for set periods of the day, it is something that can be done any time and any place, making it a habit that can be practiced on the go. It is simply about bringing yourself out of your head in order to better engage with your senses and become more present in the moment.

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Cultivate Healthy Coping Strategies

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We all have different ways of coping with the stresses and strains of life, and some of these strategies are healthier than others. Whilst studies suggest that there are biological elements to innate resilience, it’s not always about what cards you’ve been dealt – but how you play them. Anything can become a coping strategy, and these may centre around quick-fix approaches such as distraction and escapism. The difference between a healthy and an unhealthy coping mechanism, is that unhealthy strategies have the propensity to become addictive, or offer mostly negative trade-offs mentally, financially or emotionally in the long run.

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Some examples of healthy coping strategies could be reading some fiction as a healthy form of escapism, going for a run to de-stress, socialising and hugging to boost oxytocin, or getting out into healing nature. We also need to adopt methods and techniques to better manage negative emotions like fear and sadness, which can be overwhelming. One such technique is flooding, whereby you allow the emotion to flood your body instead of resisting and suppressing it. Becoming acutely aware of how it feels, where it manifests most strongly and how this affects your thoughts and narrative. Other popular techniques include tapping, EMDR and breath-work meditation.

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Strengthen Self-Esteem

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Having good motivation, self-discipline and focus starts with believing that you can do it, that you are enough and that you will get there. Redefining your narrative is a choice, and it’s ok to need to begin again with each new moment, of each new day. The advent of social media has made it easier and more subliminal than ever to constantly be comparing ourselves to the highlight reel of society at large.

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Progress is often non-linear, and resilience is determined by how quickly and effectively you are able to bounce back from inevitable setbacks. This is easiest when you compete with yourself, instead of constantly glancing sideways. Life is not a race or a competition, we are all going at our own pace, in our own way, in order to develop our own selves, and slowly become better, wiser versions of the fallible humans we were yesterday.

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Positive Productivity Hacks

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Technology has delivered many benefits to the workplace environment, including greater flexibility, choice, adaptability, innovation and communication. However, used in the wrong way it is also a detriment to productivity and focus, with will power alone often not being enough to pull our dopamine laden nervous systems out of its grasp.

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Productivity hacks such as the Pomodoro Technique are a great way of improving focus by breaking tasks up into 20, 30 or 60 minute stints or sprints and allowing for 10-20 minute breaks in-between. This prevents us from endlessly scrolling or perfectionist procrastination which ultimately leads to losing both steam and self-esteem.Signing up to work in this way using a physical or virtual group can also be a great way of making sure that the distinct work and pause windows are respected, allowing for socialising, discussion and feedback in-between.

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The best we can do, is to decide what to do with the time that is given to us, in the moment that we find ourselves in. And when the only way forward is through, it is retaining that sense of optimism, purpose and hope in times of adversity or uncertainty that will keep us moving forwards together.

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