“I really thought 2020 was going to be my year after working on the book since 2017,” she says of ‘Fear Detox’, a two-week self discovery programme that she made available online, for free, earlier this week.
The original plan was to go to London Book Fair, meet with potential agents and publishing houses like Simon & Schuster or Hay House and turn her dream of being a published author into reality.
“As we know, the world changed overnight and I had a decision to make; to either be strategic and think about business and my dream of becoming an author, or release the book online for free where people around the world could use it in a time like the present to deal with changes and give them the tools to thrive in adversity,” she says.
For creative entrepreneurs, design business and brands, and public at large, here Roberts shares tips to take care of their mind, body, soul an careers.
FOCUS ON YOUR HABITS
As we adjust to the “new normal” of being at home 24/7, our daily habits are amplified because they are highly dependent upon context. For many of us, our environment will drive our behaviour even more than our personality. You might be struggling to stick to a healthy eating plan because you’re surrounded by bad options at home, not because you were born with too little willpower.
Researchers call this the difference between having a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Your identity and beliefs play a role in your habits and if you’re looking to create a new identity, you have to actively choose that new identity. There are plenty of strategies you can adopt now to control your environment like reducing access to unhealthy food, turning off unhealthy digital notifications or physically rearranging your space.
BUILD YOUR RESILIENCE
By building resilience, we can help each other deal with stress while minimising the impact on our emotional, mental and physical well-being. Being resilient does not mean being impervious to stress, but it does mean adapting to and coping with stressful situations. Research has shown that resiliency is pretty common. People tend to demonstrate resilience more often than you think. One way to do this is identify a time when you were able to overcome or handle a major challenge in your life. Ask yourself, what did you learn about yourself?
INDULGE IN YOUR SENSES
Human experiences come from all the senses, and we are most effective, creative and engaged when our senses are stimulated. That could be moving your desk to look out a different window and gain a new perspective on the day. Cooking aromatic food or lighting a candle. Changing into work clothes to start the day and again when you finish to physically indicate a state change or listening to ambient sounds of nature or office noises while you work.
EYE CONTACT
We all want to be seen, heard and understood. While we are adopting social distancing, many have overlooked the fact that physical touch has been eliminated from society almost overnight. A normal hug, embrace or hand shake is now frowned upon. So, how do we communicate and connect with loved ones? Eye contact. That Zoom call with colleagues and family. The delivery person at your door. The attendant at the supermarket. Recognise and acknowledge them.
BE PRESENT
With the privilege we have to be in self isolation with a roof over our heads and access to food and health care amid a global pandemic, it’s a key time to recognise that there are many around the world fighting the virus or indirectly affected by it. Take this time to understand how you got to where you are today. Think about the place you grew up. How did it shape you? Who were the people who left a positive impact in your life? What did the streets look like? What places do you remember? A period of self discovery and self reflection can help to give our lives more meaning in times of chaos and to heal to move forward stronger.
To find out more about the Fear Detox and how it can help you, follow her on Instagram @imannaroberts
