HELP YOURSELF | Pocketmags.com

COPIED
3 mins

HELP YOURSELF

As we make plans for a positive 2022, Hellen Ward shares 10 life lessons to get you and your business off to the right start

So here we are in January. Most people will be glad to see the back of 2021, I’m sure. In fact, I remember saying that this time last year – 2020 was everybody’s annus horribilis and we all thought that 2021 was going to be the beginning of the end, when in fact, it was the end of the beginning, pandemic-wise. What is now abundantly clear is that Covid-19 is going nowhere, and we are all going to have to live with it. And live with it we will because life must, indeed, go on.

Despite my well-documented hatred of Christmas, I’m a big lover of New Year as I always see it as a chance to look forward, not back, and encouraging an optimistic mindset in these uncertain times can’t be a bad thing. I also devour inspirational books and I think January is a good time to feel inspired by some of the messages that can radiate through the gloom and create positivity. Here are my favourites...

1. Don’t trip over what is behind you

We can let our past disappointments loom large over our future or we can choose to learn from them and move on, as hard as that can be, so learning to look forward and not back is a skill we should all cultivate. Whatever we are feeling, the only certainty is that it won’t last forever.

2. We have two options; learn and grow or repeat

Our brain is hardwired to play detective, always looking for the evidence it needs to confirm its perspective. It will go on a hunt to prove you and your worst fears right, but awareness breaks the cycle.

Therefore, the most powerful question to ask yourself is what evidence it’s looking for and why? Otherwise, we are stuck on an endless cycle of repeat.

3. Endings often spark new beginnings

When one door shuts, another one opens. We might not see it at the time, but it always does.

4. Hurt people hurt people

Whether personally or in our work relationships, we can choose to surround ourselves with a tough exterior and ignore the red flags until we start to familiarise them or choose to be vulnerable and trust our intuition when it comes to other people. Knowing that people hurt others because they are hurt themselves is a powerful lesson.

5. They weren’t sorry when you didn’t know – remember that

This one hurts … but, it’s very true. Being honest with ourselves and others is the key to all our trust-based relationships, including those with our staff. I watched a video recently where an 80-year-old woman wanted to divorce her 83-year-old husband after 60 years of marriage because she’d found out that he’d cheated on her with her best friend when they were in their 30s.

“Why are you doing this? I made a mistake”, he said. She replied, “You didn’t make a mistake, you made a decision.

And your choice is why I don’t want to be married to you anymore”. Ouch!

6. You are enough

One of the most life-changing mantras to repeat to yourself is: “I am enough. I have always been enough. I always will be enough”.

7. Tough times don’t last. Tough people do

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, as they say. Being resilient is a choice.

Strength goes hand in hand with the best leadership qualities.

8. The best way to predict the future is to create it

We can all sit back and let life happen, and it will happen to us – “life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”, as John Lennon said. But we can equally choose to shape our lives into a different path. Sometimes it’s not brave to stay, it’s cowardly.

9. Negativity cannot survive without your participation and permission

People treat us the way we allow them to. Nobody can intimidate us without our consent.

10. Nothing changes if nothing changes

That includes us and our mindsets. Change is positive. Staying stuck isn’t. Living with uncertainty is well documented as being one of the biggest challenges to mental health, which is perhaps why most people have found the pandemic such a challenge.

Just knowing that decisions that affect our personal plans are out of our control is very hard to cope with. We are having to adjust to being at the mercy of something bigger and, potentially, more deadly than all of us. But adjust we must, so perhaps some of these pearls of wisdom can help us do just that.

Hellen Ward is managing director of Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa in London and a beauty ambassador for the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF).

This article appears in January 2022

Go to Page View
This article appears in...
January 2022
Go to Page View
EDITOR’S COMMENT
The New Year is always a time to
NEWS
Sustainability, waterless products and landscape nail art top
PROFESSIONALBEAUTY.CO.UK
We take a look inside PB’s digital world
GETTING IT RIGHT FOR GOOGLE
As Google’s algorithm changes to favour questions, Kat Rodway explains how to adapt your content to make sure you are seen by customers
INSIDER BEAUTY
Our exclusive monthly benchmarking stats for each sector of the market
INSIDER SPA
PRETTY LITTLE THING With customers now focusing more
INSIDER NAILS
PHOEBE This month, the focus has been on
HELP YOURSELF
As we make plans for a positive 2022, Hellen Ward shares 10 life lessons to get you and your business off to the right start
T LEVELS EXPLAINED
T Level industry placements will shape the talent of tomorrow and address the entry-level skills shortage. NCFE & VTCT explain how
ASK THE EXPERTS
Our beauty experts answer your questions about every aspect of running a salon or spa business
WHAT’S NEW FROM FRESHA?
The world’s best salon software keeps getting better. Here’s what’s new and coming up
TALKING TO… GEMMA HOLT
The owner of PB Awardwinning Lily’s Beauty Salon tells Amanda Pauley how she carved out a career against all odds, the benefits of specialising in holistic therapy, and how she’s generating retail sales on a par with treatment revenue
HOW SELF TAN BECAME SELF-CARE
After a turbulent 18 months, tanning has become so much more than a way for clients to get their glow on. Melanie Macleod speaks to the experts about why tanning is more vital than ever on your treatment menu and the 2022 trends to look out for
THE 2022 TANNING KIT
These are the new tanning innovations to add to your kit this season so you can give clients a flawless faux glow
SPOTLIGHT ON...VITAMIN A
It’s the skincare industry’s wonder ingredient for anti-ageing, but do you know why vitamin A has such a stellar reputation? Amanda Pauley outlines everything you need to know…
6 WAYS TO GROW AVERAGE CLIENT SPEND
With most salons still looking to recoup losses incurred during last year’s closures, Liz McKeon offers up some tried-and-tested methods to increase average spend
COLLABORATION IS KEY
As more collaborative workspaces open across the country, self-employed therapists are being offered a new way of working. Lollie Hancock finds out how these spaces are benefitting professionals
RISE OF THE MACHINE
This month’s treatment launches offer advanced technologies to treat both face and body
BOTANICAL BLENDS
This month’s launches include smart skin, nail and waxing systems powered by potent plant-based formulations
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Strictly Come Dancing and celebrity make-up artist Lisa Armstrong shares her top tips for breaking into the make-up industry and the importance of keeping hygienic
Looking for back issues?
Browse the Archive >

Previous Article Next Article