Hi Reader,

I hope you are doing well and in high spirits. It still boggles my mind that another month has passed. Even though it feels like I’m riding on life’s bullet train I find myself in constant gratitude for the experiences, lessons, and perspectives this year has given me. One of those experiences was when we visited Bali in June.

In my last newsletter, I mentioned visiting my family in Australia and our side trip to Bali, where we experienced a new culture and gained new perspectives, especially on hardship and happiness. I want to focus on that in today’s Maven Memo.

Notice I didn’t say hardship ‘vs’ happiness, I used the word ‘and’. I point that out because it’s not a this or that situation. It’s a life lesson where we learn to find the balance between what we find difficult and how that translates into what makes us happy.

For me, it starts with control. Understanding that during hardships there are aspects we can control and others we simply cannot. It’s about being able to sit with that understanding and accept it for what it is. Accepting what we can and cannot control is the first step to finding your balance.

When we were in Bali, we noticed many businesses had closed down, this unfortunately was due to the 2020 pandemic. Bali’s economy relies heavily on tourism and since the world had shut down, so did their businesses. But even through the economic uncertainties, the Balinese showed great perseverance and found other ways to pivot while continuing to stay happy.

As we traveled through Bali we started to learn more about their culture. It’s a culture rooted in collectivism vice individualism where community, family, and societal harmony are highly valued. Their culture places so much importance on building relationships and networks, where everyone supports each other as a collective.

This perspective on the Balinese culture really hit home for me as I have always had the community over competition mentality, it really strengthens my values on the importance of relationship-building and the impact that has when you’re trying to find the balance between hardship and happiness.

When it comes to hardship our society views it as a challenge and a problem to solve. The interesting part of the Balinese culture is they don’t focus on hardship being a problem to solve or even a challenge. They see hardship as cyclical, a natural part of everyday life. For me, this is such a great perspective, rather than focusing on a problem or challenge, we’re simply focused on living and finding ways to navigate through life by discovering new opportunities, holding onto perseverance, and doing so by supporting each other.

If we can use that perspective in our personal, professional, and business lives the balance we’d experience between hardship and happiness would be so powerful. There is no linear path toward being successful, however, the effort we put in during the ‘downs’ of our cycle is when transformation happens and stories grow.

I hope this resonated with some of you and gives you a new way of balancing hardships and happiness. If you value community building and are looking to develop your business alongside other like-minded people, we have a community we’re building called “The Intentional Introverts Collective”. This is a community that values builds, and supports introverted women entrepreneurs. I’d love for you to join us in the collective. If it is something that interests you I’ve left a link below so you can learn more about it.

Have a great weekend!
Mary
​Your Introvert Brand Strategist

Visit Our Site: www.intrinsicmaven.com​
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Here are some photos from our trip to Bali

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