Coffee Table Coach New Beginnings Mindset Reset By Hannah Bouwmeester
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oing into 2020, I was on a high. My business was finally picking up momentum in areas I had been working so hard to push that boulder over the crest of the mountain. My team was excited and ready to make 2020 “the year of GATHER!” We were getting brand recognition and knew 2020’s focus would be making GATHER a household name. As you know, 2020 has been the year of momentum stoppers, game-changers, relationship crushers, and mindset devastators. All the envisioning I did failed to predict this wrench life has thrown at all of us!! My mantra went from “the year of GATHER” to “now what?” This question leads me to the critical exercise I have to continue to practice throughout the year. It has kept GATHER afloat, helped me to innovate, and placed me in the same mindset I was 12 months ago; on a high, super
10 – GATHER Veterans
excited about the future of GATHER and my life personally, and looking expectantly to 2021 as the year of GATHER. What is that practice? ASKING QUESTIONS. You see, most people were traveling along the road of life just like I was, and the Mack truck of COVID, shutdowns, and election chaos barrelled down on them as well. But instead of continuing to ask questions once they recovered from being run over by life, they sat dazed and confused. Life’s momentum didn’t just slow down; it came to a screeching halt. They stopped asking questions and just let life happen to them. The result was suicide rates went up, alcohol consumption went up, drug abuse, family abuse, businesses closing, and the list goes on ad nauseam. Why are questions so important? They are the springboard to new ideas. They switch your focus from
the problem to the answer. They stimulate your creative juices, and you shift from the emotional to the rational. Questions have been a constant as I have navigated this year and continue to be as my team and I prep for 2021. One key question that has helped manage my mindset is, “What am I grateful for?” Gratitude is an appreciation that has finally struck the heart and caused a visceral reaction to the things that have happened in life that bring you positive emotions. How do you cultivate gratitude when your mind freezes in fear, anxiety, or defeat? You simply notice those things in your life that bring a smile to your face or introduce positivity. Then you reflect on them, and soon attention becomes appreciation. You begin to feel thankful. You sense your blessings that those things out there—your job, your child, your lover, that kind person’s gesture—those are blessings. But noticing is not enough.