Retreat to Discover the "Mind, Body, Business" Method

Article by Noleen Mariappen

No one could escape it—a forced ‘moment’ of pause—a time for rest. What did it mean?

In 2020, all of humanity was led to pause and rest due to something microscopic hat caused big changes. Individual lives were re-evaluated, just as entire businesses had to step back from regular operations. Many owners, managers, employees, and entrepreneurs took solace from the pause and drew on the positivity of large and small opportunities such as for planet Earth and all of nature to ‘reset’ and revive, to learn new skills, or do things there was not time to do before.

No matter the role you happen to play at any given time, advocate an approach to living life that is responsive to your individuality. To be utilized correctly, any era of a pause can be made right for you. Use the Mind, Body, and Business (MBB) method to emerge strong after any kind of “time out.”

A common phrase I’ve seen shared on social media hundreds of times over the last few weeks is, “I’m losing my mind!” When considering the circumstances of a forced halt to everyday way of life, coupled with great uncertain- ties about health, distant loved ones, livelihood, panic regarding commodities and in-vestments—and even survival—it is no surprise that people don’t enjoy chaos. There are valid reasons to be concerned, but one can only do so much about it. The present moment of now is always the best time to take care of your psychological wellbeing.

We’ve gotten past the initial shock of the pause offered by pandemic, but so much has changed. Have you felt boredom set in, or that you must do something productive every day? Do you have a sense that you’ve lost purpose? Has working from home, schooling from home, exercising from home added new levels of juggling, strain, and stress about getting every thing done?

The MBB says the only thing you have to do is to take care of the things you can, and to do the best things possible in the situation. Allow yourself to find time to take a breath, maintain a positive perspective, and figure out what is best in the context. Be gentle with yourself as you use time when you’d normally work to reflect, to learn or do something new, to plan and lay the ground -work for what come, or to do nothing. Decide what is important for your mind and spirit. It is more than browsing news and social media feeds to determine how you should be spending your time based on what others are doing. Only you have the power to decide what’s the best and most meaningful way to spend your private time.

Did you listen to your body and what it said during this time of change?

Many people all over the world felt vulnerable and afraid for their physical wellbeing. The ‘stay-indoors’ lifestyle does act against having good long-term health. Too many only meetings, getting too used to the unchanging landscape of home, easy-to-do visits to the kitchen or pantry, sitting too long while watching streaming shows, talking on phones for hours, and general lack of mobility affects your fitness level and your psychological well-being.

What kinds of workarounds for these new and not-so-healthy habits did you find?

Individual strategies for coping during a quarantine are similar to the ones for businesses. In my recent consulting work with companies I’ve encouraged adopting a holistic approach to slowing down in addition to assessing opportunities. After spending time to do a thorough review of the business owners and managers can see what works, and what needs to change.

Drafting action plans and dependencies follows, and if the business doesn’t already have a remote working and online trading offer or angle, create them, even if it is in partnership with other companies. This historic pause has given permission to genuinely engage with potential collaborators, supporters, clients, and partners. When the new vision is clear, bring everything together and build a firm foundation on which the business can move forward. It might be wise to link with an accountability partner to help keep the management of this project on track.

The phrase “new normal” is being used frequently. There is no “new normal!”

Everyone needs time to adjust to changes—and “normal” is another way to say “routine.” Until different practices and patterns settle down, make the most of this forced reset by taking time to assess what would best for you and your business. While practicing social distancing you must find other ways to connect and reconnect with yourself, your business, and the potentials present in both. By remembering and using the MBB method, you can move beyond liking, commenting on, and sharing posts, and instead have meaningful conversations, do some reflection on what you know and trust, as well as brainstorming about what may surprise you.

Plan accordingly during your times of pause. Use MBB! It is the way to ensure the actions you take will nurture yours and all minds, bodies and businesses

Noleen Mariappen is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, strategy and operations consultant with www.saffaglobal.com.