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5 Essential Tips for Dealing With Uncertainty

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Change is hard. Some of us are devoted creatures of habit, adhering to routines and avoiding anything that feels uncomfortable. On the opposite end are adventure enthusiasts, always seeking a new challenge. But, no matter where you fall on that spectrum, everyone has a limit when change is forced upon them.

We’re currently finding our way through a season of forced change. We’re dealing with the fallout of a deadly virus, and many of us have felt completely unprepared at one time or another. Human lives are in jeopardy, unemployment rates have skyrocketed, and on top of it all, we are still separated from our friends and loved ones.

It’s understandable to feel helpless and heartbroken at the devastating effects that the coronavirus pandemic is having on much of the world. We did not want or ask for this kind of change, and yet, we need to find a way to move forward.

So how do we deal with something so unexpected? How do we manage change during such troubled times? The following five tips will help guide you through this process and provide applicable ways to stay positive and make the most of this uncertain time.

1. Be Honest and Allow Yourself Time to Grieve

The coronavirus has impacted each of us in different ways. It’s important to give yourself the space to feel all the emotions that come along with this kind of unexpected change. Be honest and give yourself the space to explore what you’re feeling; you’re human, after all. It may be anger, sadness, frustration, confusion, or some combination of all of the above.

You don’t have to pretend that you have it all together. Whether you’ve lost loved ones, your job, or are feeling weighed down by uncertainty, you need time to process and grieve. It’s important to address your emotions head-on. If you bottle them up or ignore the problem, they’re more likely to manifest in unhealthy or harmful ways.

There’s no easy fix or cure-all, but by honestly acknowledging pain, you can start the healing process. It won’t be easy, but you’ll be one step closer to finding a solution and moving forward.

“Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most exciting moments in life take us completely by surprise.” – Lori Deschene

2. Practice Gratitude

Your life has been disrupted. Daily routines, future plans, and social circles have been tossed out the window. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when all you can see is the negativity in your life. That said, the best way to fight negativity is to focus on the positive.

Find small things to be grateful for every day. You might struggle with this at first, but try to shift your perspective. Try keeping a gratitude journal and jot down a few things you are thankful for every day. If writing isn’t your thing, you can share what you are grateful for with a spouse, family member, or friend.

If you are intentional about focusing on the positive, no matter the situation, it will soon become a habit. It’s a challenging time for everyone, but by choosing gratitude, there will be small moments of light, joy, and laughter that might make the weight of change easier to bear.

3. Find a Rhythm to the New Normal

It takes time to adjust whenever you encounter change. This is especially true when it’s an unwanted change for which you didn’t ask.

To ease this process, try to add structure to your day. Find order amidst the chaos; if you’re newly unemployed, for example, be intentional about setting an alarm and getting up at a regular time. It might seem silly, but by going through the motions of daily life, you can help jumpstart your motivation and free yourself from a negative mindset.

In contrast, if you’re working remotely for the first time, try following a strict schedule to help you stay productive and focused. When most of the things in your life feel out of control, it’s helpful to focus on what you can control. It’s possible to find a rhythm to the new normal, and to add consistency and stability to your day.

4. Surround Yourself With Support

When going through unexpected change, it’s important to surround yourself with a strong support system. The coronavirus pandemic has made this especially hard, though; most of the population is still separated, and normal social engagement just isn’t as simple as it once was.

Although it’s going to take more effort and creativity, it’s still possible to stay in touch with friends and family. There are countless virtual communication platforms such as Skype, Zoom, Facetime, and Facebook Messenger.

We all need to feel heard and understood during times of hardship. If you’re struggling with feelings of loneliness and anxiety, reach out to a friend or loved one. It’s critical to remember that, even when you’re physically isolated, you are never alone.

5. Invest in Yourself

You might suddenly find yourself with a lot more time on your hands than before. Rather than giving in to boredom, though, you can leverage this as an opportunity to expand your knowledge and skill set.

Use this time to do some of the things you wanted to try, but never had a minute to spare. This could be learning a new language, trying out a new recipe, picking up a new instrument, reading a book, or simply spending more time with your children.

It’s okay to take time for yourself. You might feel like your world is falling apart, and that’s understandable. Invest in yourself. Setting aside time for yourself and participating in activities or hobbies that you love will help ease the pain and fear of navigating this uncertain time.

“Fear is often our immediate response to uncertainty. There’s nothing wrong with experiencing fear. The key is not to get stuck in it.” – Gabrielle Bernstein

Keep Moving Forward

During a time of worldwide unrest, self-isolation, and economic upheaval, it’s hard not to feel helpless. The urge to give up and spend your day binging Netflix is all too appealing. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give yourself the space to unwind and do nothing; in fact, that’s going to be necessary to help you recharge from time to time.

I encourage you to keep moving forward, though. Keep setting goals and continue planning for the future. We won’t be in this situation forever, and hope can be found in the act of movement and of reaching towards something.

The unexpected change brought about by the coronavirus outbreak affects people across the globe and from all walks of life. It’s possible, though, to process and deal with this change in a healthy way. We will get through this. It won’t always be easy, but you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to try.

Monica Eaton-Cardone is an author, speaker and entrepreneur. She currently serves executive roles at three different companies, all of which she’s founded in the last five years. Her internationally-recognized risk mitigation and chargeback management firm, Chargebacks911, manages more than 200 million transactions each month and helps some of the biggest brands in eCommerce. In addition to being a friendly fraud expert, Monica also shares her expertise regarding eCommerce stability, threat metric analysis, and much more. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Entrepreneurs

The Brutal Truth About Entrepreneurship with ADHD (And Why Most Advice Is Making It Worse)

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Image Credit: Joel Brown - Addicted2success

You’re not lazy. You’re not undisciplined… and you’re definitely not broken.

You’re an entrepreneur with ADHD, and right now you’re probably sitting on 19 unfinished projects, 47 open tabs, and a brain that feels like it’s running on 12 different radio stations at once.

You’ve read the books. You’ve tried the planners, the Pomodoro timers, the accountability groups. You’ve even hired coaches who promised to “fix” your focus. Yet here you are — brilliant ideas, massive potential, and a business that still feels like it’s one step away from collapsing under the weight of your own mind.

Here’s what almost nobody in the entrepreneurial space will admit:

The real struggle isn’t your ADHD. It’s that you’ve been trying to run a neurodivergent brain inside a neurotypical business model — and then beating yourself up when it doesn’t work.

Most advice for entrepreneurs was written by people whose brains work differently. They preach consistency, routines, long-term planning, and steady execution like those things are universal truths. For the ADHD entrepreneur, those “truths” feel like trying to swim upstream in cement. You can force it for a while (and you have), but eventually your brain rebels, the burnout hits, and you’re left feeling like a failure who just needs to “try harder.”

That cycle is quietly destroying more talented founders than cash flow problems or bad hires ever could.

The deeper layer most people never reach is this: your ADHD isn’t a bug in the system. It’s a different operating system entirely. And when you stop trying to install Windows on a Mac and start building everything around macOS, the game changes completely.

The Hidden Addiction That Keeps ADHD Entrepreneurs Stuck

You already know the surface symptoms — time blindness, rejection sensitivity, starting strong and fading fast, shiny object syndrome.

But the real trap is more insidious.

It’s the addiction to chaos and novelty.

Your brain is wired for dopamine. New ideas, big visions, last-minute sprints, high-stakes pressure — these things light you up like nothing else. The boring, repetitive, systems-building work that actually scales a business? It feels like torture.

So unconsciously, you keep your business in a state of controlled chaos. You say yes to too many things. You chase the next exciting opportunity. You avoid building the boring infrastructure because “I work better under pressure anyway.”

And every time the pressure gets too high, you crash, swear you’ll get organized next quarter, and repeat the cycle.

Meanwhile, the neurotypical advice keeps telling you to “just build better habits.” As if your brain is a poorly trained dog that needs more discipline instead of a high-performance race car that needs the right fuel and track.

This isn’t a character flaw. It’s neurology.

And until you stop treating your wiring as something to overcome and start treating it as your greatest strategic advantage, you’ll stay stuck in the same exhausting loop.

The Identity Shift That Changes Everything

The entrepreneurs with ADHD who finally break through don’t “fix” their brains.

They redesign their entire business to work with their brains.

They stop trying to become the consistent, routine-loving founder the gurus talk about. Instead, they become the architect of a system that leverages their natural strengths — hyperfocus, pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, relentless drive under pressure — while outsourcing or automating everything that drains them.

This is the layer most ADHD entrepreneurs never reach because it requires something terrifying: accepting that you are never going to be “normal” at entrepreneurship… and that’s exactly why you can win bigger than most.

Your ability to see connections others miss. Your tolerance for uncertainty. Your capacity to go all-in when something lights you up. These aren’t liabilities. They’re unfair advantages in a world that rewards speed, creativity, and bold moves.

The shift is simple but brutal:

Stop trying to manage your ADHD. Start designing your business around it.

How to Actually Build a Business That Works With Your Brain

  1. Stop fighting your energy cycles — weaponize them. Most ADHD entrepreneurs try to force 8-hour focused days. That’s insane. Instead, track when your brain actually works best (for many it’s 10pm-2am or random 4-hour hyperfocus bursts). Build your schedule around those windows. Protect them like gold. Do the deep, high-leverage work then. Use the low-energy periods for admin, calls, or recovery.
  2. Build “chaos containers,” not rigid systems. Traditional project management tools feel like cages. Create loose but effective structures that give your brain freedom. Use tools like Notion with massive flexibility, or body-doubling (working alongside someone virtually), or even hiring a “chaos wrangler” — an assistant who thrives on turning your scattered ideas into executable plans.
  3. Turn your rejection sensitivity into rocket fuel. That intense fear of letting people down or looking stupid? Channel it into creating ridiculously high standards for your customer experience or product quality. Use it as fuel instead of letting it paralyze you.
  4. Outsource the parts that make you want to die. The execution, follow-through, and maintenance phases are where most ADHD entrepreneurs lose. Hire or partner with people who love the details. Your job is vision, strategy, and big swings. Let someone else own the spreadsheets.
  5. Create external pressure on your own terms. Deadlines and public commitments work wonders for the ADHD brain. Use them strategically — announce launches, create beta groups, or work with coaches who understand neurodivergence instead of fighting it.

The entrepreneurs with ADHD who are quietly crushing it right now aren’t the ones who finally became “disciplined.” They’re the ones who stopped apologizing for how their brain works and started building empires that are specifically engineered for it.

They have teams that handle the boring stuff. They have systems that flex with their energy instead of fighting it. They’ve turned their “flaws” into the exact reasons their businesses stand out.

Your ADHD brain is not the enemy. The enemy was trying to play the game by rules that were never designed for you.

The moment you accept that and start designing everything… your calendar, your team, your offers, your processes — around how you actually operate, the struggle doesn’t disappear… but it becomes manageable, even exhilarating.

You were never meant to fit the mold. You were meant to break it and build something better.

The world doesn’t need another cookie-cutter entrepreneur. It needs the chaotic, brilliant, all-in, slightly unhinged visionaries who can only operate at full power when the game is built for them.

That’s you.

Stop trying to fix yourself. Start building the business that was always meant to be run by a mind like yours.

Your next breakthrough isn’t going to come from working harder or being more consistent. It’s going to come from finally giving yourself permission to work differently.

And when you do that? Watch what happens.

The same brain that once felt like a curse becomes the exact reason your business becomes unstoppable.

You’ve got this. Not despite the ADHD. Because of it.

If you want to learn more from me or send me a personal message I’ll respond to you on Instagram at https://instagram.com/iamjoelbrown speak soon!

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Health & Fitness

The Health Planning Habits That Support Long-Term Success

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Image Credit: Joel Brown - Addicted2success

Most people think about health planning only when something forces them to.

A medical bill arrives unexpectedly. An insurance issue appears during treatment. A diagnosis changes how future care needs are viewed. Suddenly health planning becomes urgent instead of preventative.

The problem is that long-term health stability is usually shaped by smaller habits built quietly over time, not just by major decisions during emergencies.

That includes physical health habits, of course, but it also includes how people approach insurance coverage, preventative care, financial preparation, and long-term healthcare planning before problems become immediate.

The families who navigate healthcare stress most effectively are often not the ones avoiding every issue entirely. More often, they’re the ones who built systems early enough to make difficult situations feel more manageable later.

Consistency Matters More Than Perfection

A lot of health advice still revolves around extreme change.

Perfect diets. Aggressive routines. Complete lifestyle overhauls.

In reality, most long-term health success comes from consistency people can realistically maintain for years instead of months. Small preventative habits tend to matter more than dramatic short-term efforts that collapse under pressure.

That principle applies financially too.

People often spend more time researching investment strategies than understanding their healthcare coverage or preparing for future medical costs. But healthcare instability can disrupt long-term financial plans surprisingly quickly when households are unprepared for how expensive even routine care can become over time.

The practical side of health planning is becoming harder to separate from overall financial planning now than it used to be.

Preventative Planning Reduces More Stress Than People Realize

One overlooked benefit of health planning is emotional stability.

People who understand their coverage, maintain preventative care routines, and think ahead about healthcare decisions often describe feeling less overwhelmed when unexpected situations happen. The goal is not eliminating uncertainty entirely. That’s unrealistic.

The goal is reducing how chaotic healthcare decisions feel under pressure.

That’s one reason broader conversations tied to healthcare and health insurance have expanded significantly over the last several years. Rising costs, changing coverage structures, and increasing healthcare complexity have made long-term planning more important for average households than many people expected.

Healthcare is no longer something most families can comfortably approach reactively forever.

People Underestimate How Quickly Healthcare Costs Compound

One reason health planning habits matter so much is that healthcare costs rarely arrive in one dramatic moment alone.

More often, they build gradually:

  • recurring prescriptions
  • specialist visits
  • ongoing treatment plans
  • insurance deductible increases
  • long-term care considerations
  • unexpected procedures layered on top of existing expenses

Families often absorb these costs incrementally until they realize how much financial pressure accumulated over time.

That gradual buildup is part of what makes proactive planning valuable. People who think ahead about coverage structures, emergency savings, provider networks, and preventative care tend to adapt more smoothly when healthcare needs eventually increase later in life.

The difficult part is that many households delay these conversations because they feel healthy right now.

Healthcare Decisions Have Become More Complicated

Another challenge is that healthcare systems themselves continue evolving quickly.

Insurance structures change. Telehealth expands. Employer-sponsored benefits shift. Prescription pricing fluctuates. Patients now carry more responsibility for understanding deductibles, provider networks, and out-of-pocket exposure than previous generations often did.

That complexity creates decision fatigue.

Even relatively organized households sometimes feel uncertain about whether they’re making good healthcare choices because the systems themselves are difficult to navigate confidently. A lot of current health insurance trends discussions reflect this larger issue, healthcare planning is becoming less about isolated medical events and more about long-term sustainability across entire households.

People want predictability, but healthcare systems increasingly feel harder to predict.

The Most Effective Health Habits Usually Feel Boring

One thing people rarely admit is that good long-term planning habits are often not particularly exciting.

Scheduling preventative appointments. Reviewing insurance annually. Building emergency savings slowly. Staying physically active consistently. Maintaining realistic routines instead of dramatic cycles of burnout and reset.

None of those habits feel dramatic at the moment.

But over long periods, they create stability that becomes incredibly valuable once life gets complicated. The people who navigate healthcare stress most effectively are often the ones who built ordinary systems early instead of waiting for perfect motivation later.

That applies financially and physically at the same time.

Why Long-Term Success Depends on Adaptability

Health planning is ultimately difficult because people’s lives keep changing.

Careers shift. Families grow. Aging parents require support. Medical needs evolve. Financial priorities change over decades in ways nobody predicts perfectly in advance.

That’s why the strongest long-term health planning habits are usually flexible rather than rigid.

The goal is not building a flawless plan that never changes. It’s creating enough structure, awareness, and preparation that future adjustments become manageable instead of overwhelming.

Most people cannot control every future health outcome. They can, however, build habits that make uncertainty easier to navigate when it eventually arrives.

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Life

Why Moving to a New City Can Change Your Mindset

Discover how moving to a new city boosts neuroplasticity, builds resilience, and reshapes your mindset

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How relocation changes your mindset

Relocation is always a challenge. Rebuilding and restarting your life requires you to step outside of your comfort zone. (more…)

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Change Your Mindset

The Hidden Reason You Can’t Stay Consistent

If motivation keeps failing you, the real issue isn’t discipline. It’s the identity shaping your habits and long-term success.

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Identity-based habits

Success often looks like a time-management problem. You buy a planner, set reminders, and hope that next week will be different. For a few days, it works. Then stress hits, motivation drops, and old patterns return. (more…)

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