It’s 5.30pm on a Sunday evening and my flight is delayed. We’ve boarded but we are not moving. This means I’ve enjoyed the best part of the last hour reading through the inspiring articles sprinkled throughout The Collective Hub, a magazine that takes a fresh perspective on the issues across business, design, tech, social change, fashion and travel.

I’ve read somewhere that new ideas come from reading a cross section of sources from a wide variety of interest types. I’d hoped that reading The Collective Hub would play that role for me, and I was not disappointed. While I am digitally savvy and train individuals and organisations across Australia on how to leverage LinkedIn, I am old school at heart. This means I am a fan of writing down my thoughts and mind mapping ideas when I feel inspired. Along with my journal, I’d packed colour textas just for this purpose! Needless to say, the A4 notebook I bought at WH Smith when we were at the airport (just in case I felt inspired to write) got a work out. I captured my thoughts and ideas as we waited out the delay, which was caused by a baggage count indicating we had some random bags on the plane which needed to be accounted for. Safety first.

With many inspiring homegrown success stories, I enjoyed making my way through most of the articles. I had a choice. Fume about the delay and the impact this would have on our arrival in Cairns, or use the extra time to do something else.

The Difference Between a Disaster and an Adventure is Your Attitude

In Discovering I am an Ambivert, I explore how your beliefs are connected to success and the importance of your self talk and attitude. They say that the difference between a disaster and an adventure is your attitude. You’ll rarely hear me say ‘that was a disaster’ as I am a glass half full kind of person and believe you choose how you respond to things. Let’s be clear though – I experience the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with running your own business, being a parent and watching my dear Mum fade away with dementia. I laugh, I cry, I get angry and frustrated, but mostly I pause and think before I speak or react. It’s a skill I have learnt to develop over time. It does not come naturally to respond in this way and the voice in my head often swears when things don’t go as planned, but I’m learning to quiet my mind and choose how I respond, because I have a choice! I am better at this when with clients and probably less self disciplined when amongst family.

I could have felt angry about the fact that my holiday was delayed.

I believe how you choose to respond to the situations you confront each day will define you. I’ve heard this put another way, by Charles Swindoll,  who said ‘Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react’. I agree!

While I do like being in control, I know that I am not. I believe that if you open yourself up to the possibilities and lessons that life offers, this is where the fun and adventure really starts. I believe there is a plan for our lives, but we must be listening and curious and able to tune in to these messages. This is not always an easy thing to do, particularly when you want to be somewhere, are on a schedule or have people relying on you.

It’s also hard to be open to new ideas when you spend too much time watching the journey of others (via social media). I encourage you to be really careful about comparing yourself to others and letting this get inside your head. This is your life and your adventure. Put a line in the sand and decide what you want. Create opportunities to feed your creativity, detox from technology and be open to new ideas and opportunities.

Why Holidays & Breaks From Technology Are Essential

With a number of ventures keeping me busy (or ‘active’ as one of my clients likes to call it), you will begin to understand why I plan regular holidays. This is essential time to recharge, think and reflect. In Why I want you to book annual leave, I explore why holidays are good for your business, career and health. Taking time away from the ‘old routine’, as my dear Mum would call it, is also a chance to reduce my consumption of social media. This is a key tool for my business, but it is critical that I switch off and have a technology detox sometimes. I have at least half – one day a week (normally on the weekend) where I do not have my phone with me and am immersed in my natural surrounds. If this sounds appealing, I encourage you to build it into your weekly schedule too.

I chose to turn off my phone once I at down on my seat in the plane. I put my reading glasses on (actually, no, I started reading and then remembered I needed to put my reading glasses on!) and got lost in The Collective Hub’s June issue. With our flight delayed for nearly 2 hours, I made the most of the opportunity to read a number of diverse stories on topics ranging from virtual reality as a pain relief alternative to App development tackling the global issue of 6000 daily deaths in the workplace.

What are the Ideas That Were Sparked?

Lots! And I’ve enjoyed sharing some of these insights with you in recent blog posts and LinkedIn Articles.

It was Jamie Oliver’s article that solidified the ideas I developed at a recent session with a branding strategist and trusted colleague I regularly collaborate with. I asked to brainstorm some ideas with him, to help plant some seeds in my mind to map the overall landscape of the key initiatives I lead and am part of. 

By taking the time to reflect, the writing process provides an opportunity for me to process and reconcile my thoughts and, in this case, my goal is to encourage you to think about how you respond, and to realise you have a choice. Thank you for indulging me in sharing this thinking process with you.