Personal Branding - The Ultimate Form of Self-Care
Turn Off the “Noise” and Tap into your Inner Confidence.
Furloughs, layoffs, semesters on hold, the uncertainty of the job market is fierce right now. As a national brand strategy instructor with General Assembly, the leading global source for training, staffing, and career transitions, I hear job market concerns first hand from my students around the world, in every workshop.
Now more than ever before, it’s essential to tap into your personal brand story to stand out. Telling the story of “who I am” (not just “what I do”) requires inner confidence that can be difficult to find in the job market we currently face. To find this inner stillness, every Lofti workshop integrates mindfulness techniques. Using guided meditation prompts, we help our students turn off the noise (the questions, worry, stress in their head, and within their network) to focus on their unique message about their approach to life and work. We help them unlock their vision and the humans they want to engage with their career story.
To get started on your own, try this three-step mindfulness technique:
Find a comfortable space, free of distraction as possible, and bring your attention to your breath. Notice the sounds around you as you close your eyes and begin to actively let go of any worry or stress that is present.
Starting at the top of your head, working your way down your body to your feet, gently “check-in” with each part of your body. Notice what is present and take a few moments to continually let go of anything that isn’t serving you to hold onto.
As you open up to a more relaxed headspace, invite in the question, “one year from today, what would I be most proud to have accomplished?” Be open to whatever answer emerges and gently ease yourself back out of the moment of mindfulness - capture what came up in this exercise in a journal.
Use your answer to help guide the purpose behind your next professional goal. This can help inform the why in your vision.
To learn more about the Lofti professional well-being approach, check out this Instagram Live conversation with General Assembly’s Caroline Schiff and Lofti founder, Karianne Michelle. [Forward to 10:40 to hear Karianne’s overview of why mindfulness is essential in professional development workshops].
About the author: Karianne Michelle is a Chicago-based brand strategist, entrepreneur, and health advocate. After a 15-year advertising career spent crafting strategies for global companies, Karianne made the leap in 2017 to chart her own path as a creative entrepreneur. Transitioning from high-pressure, high-performance professional to business owner naturally led her to integrating a more mindful approach to health. Her company Lofti, hosts professional branding workshops that integrate meditation and grounding techniques to help attendees achieve their next level of greatness, in either their career or business, without losing their sense of self and purpose in the process. Combining her classical training as a vocalist with methods learned during her 20-year yoga practice, Karianne leverages the elements of movement, breath, and sound to cultivate a deeper connection within—helping individuals discover new, untapped ways to relieve stress.
NEED HELP WITH MINDFULNESS FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR TEAM? EMAIL ME: KARIANNE@GETLOFTI.COM
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