Unlock the MYNDs full creative potential

Today marks exactly one year since leaving the corporate world to become a Meditation teacher. Ten years after entering it, bright eyes and full of optimism.

Where did it all begin? A question I feel we should each regularly ask ourselves if we become disillusioned of our path.

For me it begun when I was 10 years old: stemming from a feeling of enchantment and awe after laying hands on my the first issue of art attack magazine. As I write this I can still feel the flutter of magic when I realised it was the day my subscription landed, I would run home from school and up to the post office to pick up my copy — which would keep me engrossed for days. I would wait excitedly for the next moths to roll around to run up to the post office and collect the next issue.

It was that exact feeling of awe and excitement which drove me determined towards Hello Magazine for my very first ‘big lights’ job. I wanted to understand everything I could about magazines and how they delivered their impact.

Little did I know this was the start of a 10 year journey as I strove to capture the share that same feeling of awe and magic in others. My corporate decade had begun.

The highs and lows of my Corporate Decade.

My early years begun in magazine publishing, entering into the industry at a point where it was in downturn, growing popularity of online platforms meant magazines were losing their grasp in peoples hands and lives.

When the iPhone then launched, content distribution was being focussed directly at mobile, still using the fingers just in a different way. I transitioned into mobile publishing, working with titles much more aligned to my values and Lifestage: Elle, Marie Claire, Harpers Bizarre and Telegraph. I liken this role to my teenage years of my corporate decade.

It’s only when you look back on reflection you can see how paths unravel — and I am amazed to see how the essence and power of media had on me and the influence on my career.

As I matured in my approach to work and understood my superpowers, it became clear my ability lay in helping brands unlocked potential through deeply understanding their customers wants and needs.

This was when I took my 3rd big leap, entering into my corporate maturity where my ability, impact and opportunities grew alongside my awareness . I moved to Nectar, moving quickly through the ranks to become the in- house Strategy, Development and Innovation manager — leveraging my creative mind to unlock potential + deliver innovation for Nectar and the partners we worked with.

These five years at Nectar were both challenging and opportunistic, delivering an abundance of growth in my creative, strategic and organisational ways of thinking. I landed projects which worked move the programme into the digital age delivering impact to it’s 19m strong database. I didn’t care how much energy I was devoting to the business, as long as I continued to feel an impact I was finding meaning.

Ten years on, as I look back fondly on my corporate decade I asked myself the question: What guided me to the point of exiting corporatism all together? And is this tied to the three moves I’d made before that?

Upon asking myself these questions, I discovered my answer.

My moves were all made at a point when the company was experiencing a period of change, transformation or uncertainty.

Tuning back into the feeling during these times, as we can all relate to, there as a constant air of anxiety, stress and worry over safety of jobs or unknowingness of future. Being a person of high sensitivity, I would pick up on these heightened feelings of my colleagues, resulting in my own mental deterioration and feeling of low wellbeing. Each time I would seek my next opportunity where I was sure not feel that same way.

Turns out I always would. No company remains on an upward trajectory for any given amount of time.

I begun establishing my own coping mechanisms to manage the stress, not wanting to make known to any of my team or colleague in fear it would impact at the time my flourishing career. I begun working from home at any given opportunity, and dashing off to yoga classes or river runs on my lunch break to reclaim my sense of well-being.

Then my worst nightmare happened. The loss of two major clients put the whole company into consultation overnight — a period which lasted almost 3 months. During this time I lost my focus, creativity and sense of purpose, and on top of that, was absorbing the anxiety of the workplace — which sent my mental health was in turmoil. I begun experiencing extreme insomnia, too embarrassed to share with my team, I would call in sick when in fact I had been awake the whole night over worrying about needing to perform the next day.

The above seems extreme, but anyone who has experienced insomnia would know that it stems from one tiny seed in the mind — which once planted, creates a placebo of worry so profound that it keeps you up the whole night. I wanted to appear like a strong and graceful swan to everyone at the office, yet below water I was kicking ferociously about to sink.

The ongoing insomnia and loss of purpose during the restructure was the wake up call I needed to take matters in my own hands and shift my life around. During the consultation period I was spending a lot of time out of the office restoring my own wellbeing — largely taking shape on the yoga mat.

Each time I left with a clear and uplifted mind, full of creativity for the day ahead. In just an hours session I was unlocking almost my full working day, sending me bounding to the office to deliver the creativity and proactively suggest ideas for new projects.

At the time I had no idea what was happening, but it felts like magic. Now I know what I know, I know the office environment was so toxic that it was only when I shifted focus out of the conscious mind, to find stillness, could my creative potential flow freely.

And turns out I am not alone in this.

A recent Adobe report found that only 1 in 4 employees believe they are delivering their full creative potential at work.

And this was the spark which has sent me on my year long journey to where I am now — with a much richer understanding of the mind and how best to unlock creative potential.

The technology paradox — accelerating and impeding growth.

Upon leaving the corporate world a year ago, I always knew it was going to play a role in my future. Having experienced the creative unlocking as profoundly as I did, It was clear there is a growing need for it in the workplace, I just wanted quite sure how this was going to unravel.

Months of listening, understanding and feeling the shifts in corporate wellbeing, I have learnt

Technology is transforming the ways in which we do business and offering accelerated innovation.

In the corporate world the landscape is changing in terms of the way we work.

• AI & Job automation is continuing to reduce company size — 1 in 5, or 3.6 million, British jobs will be ‘displaced’ by 2030 due to automation (Forbes 2018)
• Products and platforms offering cost and time savings— 3.5 less spent in time and money on cloud technology than on IT (BI report 2017)
• We have no idea of the jobs of the future — predicted to be less ‘specialist’ based and more created around the individual’s talents

As businesses increase the use of technology to standardise operational roles, it roles of creativity and innovation which are accelerating in importance — neither can be learnt or programmes by a machine, platform or AI. True Creativity and Innovation stems from a clear human mind, connecting dots in a manner based on their experience and interpretation of the world.

And this is where the paradox lies. Technology is putting more emphasis on the growing need for creativity from the human mind, but at the same time impeding our ability and capacity to deliver true creativity.

Our minds are becoming increasingly cluttered and congested as a consequence of technology. We are connected to the online world from the moment we rise to the moment we fall asleep at night, bombarded with stimuli which is triggering our fight or flight response throughout the day. We wonder why we are so stressed… it’s not our fault. Rather than the danger be a lion on the Savannah, the danger is now the constant emails, messages & social media we have incoming in a stream throughout our day. Technology has evolved quicker than our brains have, meaning we are self built stress machines, triggering our stress response at the flick of a switch.

According to the National Mental Health Association, our minds our lost in unproductive through 47% of the time.

And the stats support this, the average dwell time on a mobile is 5hours per day — 135 minutes of which is being spent on social media.

No wonder we don’t feel at our fullest potential

A new paradigm to workplace wellbeing in an evolving landscape.

During my year of listening and absorbing to both the signals of the corporate and wellbeing industries — I developed a framework for optimum workplace wellbeing — extending far beyond managing workplace stress and anxiety, towards balancing employee energy and unlocking creative potential.

To be integrative and holistic in your wellbeing approach, you should be thinking about wellbeing in 4 areas: Physical, Mental, Emotional Spiritual Wellbeing.

1. Physical wellbeing — A balance of spending and renewing energy

We can all acknowledge that looking after the body has a profound impact on sense of well-being. Companies have therefore historically up-weighted strategic efforts to cater to physical wellbeing needs, as it is now expected for companies to offer a corporate gym membership, cycle to work scheme and perhaps lunchtime classes.

All of the above driving employees to ‘spend’ more of their physical energy outside of the workplace.

In order to maintain an energetic physical balance, employees must focus on ‘renewing + replenishing’ their energy to the same proportion to which they are spending it. If you don’t find this balance, overtime the body may start to express signs of burnout and fatigue.

Education on Self Care, Sleep and Nutrition will provide harmony to an employees physical wellbeing.

2. Mental Wellbeing — unlocking the minds infinite creative potential

A clear mind not only has impact on employee absenteeism, but also sharpens the logical side of our brain and enhances our creativity — allowing us to be more innovative and impactful in our work. When we are delivering greater impact we find more fulfilment and enjoyment in our work.

As previously mentioned, we are transitioning through a period of rampant job automation and multitasking + screening — which isn’t conducive to prolonged productivity or creative thinking.

Historically companies have catered for mental wellbeing through counselling or mindfulness courses — This is great to see the shifts into considering mental wellbeing, however like my experience, we are still hesitant to openly show signs of mental strain or workplace stress.

The younger generations are more open with their feelings, but they are also more demanding in their workplace needs for wellbeing. Mental wellbeing needs to be more integrated into everyday life as a longer term preventative measure, rather than a reaction to a downturn. When it is switched from reactive to preventative, you can turn it into a pleasurable activity which clears the minds and unlocks creativity — in turn delivering company growth through human potential.

3. Emotional Wellbeing — Turning emotions into power, creativity and relationships

Despite our lack of awareness and understanding in the field of emotions, my experience is teaching me that emotions govern our daily approach and productivity to work and life. The quicker we understand that the quicker we begin to transform the way we work.

Emotions, if used correctly, can be a sign of power. To be vulnerable in business is a sign of authenticity. And authenticity is what leads us to a place of improved communication and working relationships. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.

Understanding and navigating emotions is one of the most important elements to effective business. Yet so often goes unnoticed. When you can learn to share emotions intelligently you can build better team dynamics and unlock creativity. The most effective and balanced emotional state in the workplace is Confidence & Humility — which when cultivated, can shift working practices all together.

4. Spiritual Wellbeing — Understanding individual purpose and crafting roles based on this.

Spiritual wellbeing is a term increasingly discussed at the top of the hierarchy— tapping into intuition and own spiritual guidance when making tough decisions. At a broader level, spirituality is considered in the offer of charitable projects and CSR strategies, giving the organisation and employees and overall sense of purpose beyond just making profit.

A MYND collective we like to use spirituality in the context of offering each employee the ability to uncover their purpose and craft their role based on this. As we learnt, roles are being created less specific for tasks and more centred around the individual and what they can offer creatively.

Acknowledging an individuals purpose, and playing to this as opposed to away from is more conducive to long term employee retention — as well as delivering more fluid creativity and change.

Unlocking the infinite creative potential -The MYND Collective

I left the corporate world exactly a year ago today.

It has taken one year to navigate my way to The MYND Collective. The MYND Collective is built on the underlying belief that business growth stems from a clear human MYND.

We are proving that when businesses really begin to really care for the wellbeing needs of their employees, they are rewarded with infinite amounts of innovation, creativity and change.

You’ll see this shift already happening in businesses like Google, Apple and Unilever, moving away from ‘bigger, better faster’ strategies towards ‘ human potential’ — investing heavily in integrative wellbeing to not just attract and retain the best talent, but to breed creativity and achieve advantage.

The MYND collective understands the need and hesitancy of the corporate — and is built on a truly remarkable network practitioners, each offering a unique way of clearing the mind and unlock the creativity which lays within us all. We collaborate with the best in industry practitioners to make their offerings more widely accessible to the corporate world.

It’s taken a year to balance my wellbeing and transition my lifestyle into the wellbeing sector as a Meditation teacher and coach. I’ve been hesitant to come public with The MYND Collective in the fear that launching back into the business world will once again see my wellbeing shift off balance.

But today, being one year on from my corporate decade, I felt compelled to share amongst my network in the hope it inspires positive moves into wellbeing.

I now see that this is not only my opportunity to have a much wider impact in my longstanding purpose to Unlock Potential, but also presents a much wider opportunity to do business differently. In a way not to build wealth or reputation, but to really make a difference to individuals & organisations in the corporate world.

At the core of the MYND Collective is to raise the bar of wellbeing in the workplace, shifting strategies away from reaction towards prevention — making wellbeing integrated and also colourful and fun.

The MYND Collective is simple, transparent and honest in business practice and revenue — delivering value to three areas:

1. For businesses & their employees: Unlock the infinite creative potential which lays within the minds of their employees in innovative and creative ways — offering strategic thinking in wellbeing and a network of creative wellbeing practitioners.
2. For the Collective: Providing a platform for practitioners to broaden their reach and share their talents
3. Wellbeing industry: To invest back into projects who are tasing the bar on consciousness and wellbeing.

If you are interested in discussing wellbeing or would like to hear more about our offer, please visit us at https://www.lauraannechappell.com/myndcollective