At Brilliant Read Media, we always strive to bring you meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community of investors, management students and aspiring entrepreneurs. This week we invited Meghna Singh for an interview with us. Meghna is a Leader, Entrepreneur, Mentor, Coach, Trainer, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, and Co-Owner of Peaceofmind Counselling Services. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, her way forward and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Meghna:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a coach/counsellor, please;
I come from a family of mostly engineers and teachers and motivators in the true sense. If someone needs motivation or strength they should meet my mother, my uncles and if possible my late grandparents. Whatever life skills and values I have picked up all have been learned through my growing years spent around them.
I too studied to be an engineer but had to satisfy myself with a Masters degree in Electronics. Landed up my first IT job through campus in 2001. Continued working in multiple MNCs on various projects and varied roles. I was gradually climbing the ladder of success in my career but as destined took a break post my second pregnancy.
On a lot of self-exploration, soul searching I think I found my calling to work as an Enabler a solution provider for individuals, families, children going through life challenges and or maybe suffering mental distress. Hence these last 5 yrs I have been eating sleeping and breathing only Counselling (Psychology) and its associated realms.”
It is my mission to reach out to a maximum number of people suffering from various issues, enable them to function effectively in life with better learned skills. By gods grace and the trust that my clients have entrusted upon me, I feel quite overwhelmed that our Peaceofmind is gradually growing in its name and fame and its work ethics.
Any startup has its own journey and I think we have just started working in a field where there is still a lot of stigma and taboo around seeking help. However, we want to bring more and more awareness around Counseling and how it has become a necessity in today’s highly technology-driven times.”
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
Independence and Extending help to others have been the two main key driving forces for me. I actually did not want to get into that grind of 9 to 5 job and wanted flexibility in all that I do.
For me, family is my priority and if I am unable to spend time with them or give them my attention then what is the use of having a family in the first place. And yes I like to enable people since beginning in whichever way I could. Reaching out to the weakest every-time.
I need action, mundane tasks can bore me because I am the happiest when I have a list of things to do every day and my work does exactly that. So I think, these two factors drive me the most to carry on each day.”
How did you find your passion and purpose and started working with it?
The passion to reach out to people or provide guidance was an inherent nature I always had. I knew friends and family members relied on me. I think it is also something to do with one’s late thirties and early forties especially us women, where we start revisiting our lives, our aspirations, and our dreams and actually where we are heading towards.
Something similar was brewing inside me and I just did not want to continue with my MNC job although it was fulfilling in many ways. In 2010, with one kid and second on the way and fulfilling the responsibilities in/of a joint family, I took a break. For the next six years, I did all kinds of freelance jobs online and worked explicitly for some esteemed clients like Dr Vikas Kohli, a renowned paediatric heart surgeon, while looking after my kids and family.”
During this period I went through immense internal churning and self-analysis inside of me and I finally concluded that I was very good at resolving people’s problems, had good communication skills and that I wanted to do good, help people around me genuinely, somehow bring joy to them and I had to choose a profession which utilised all that and much more and hence I went into a completely new field that of Psychology.
Mind you it was not an easy path for me being formerly an IT consultant to switch gears to studying Psychology and eventually finding great interest in peoples’ thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours. I was gripped completely and understood why professional degrees are required, especially for such career pursuits. So here I am a Psychologist by profession having my own humble practice by the name of Peaceofmind Counseling Services in Noida in partnership with my friend and Colleague Harsharan K. Randhawa.
We have to understand and accept that in today’s high paced virtual environment life skills are depleting, values are being questioned, relationships are suffering and deteriorating mental health is the reality. Individuals families friends are not enough these days to sort personal issues and hence it is of topmost priority to seek help from professionals who know their job and provide you with effective tools and techniques to manage your life in a complete non-judgemental manner.”
Counselling I think is that first step that each one of us should take when we find that we are unable to function as before or are under constant stress and pressure. Because these are the very things that if not addressed timely can lead to serious mental health issues.
When do you think we decide that ‘I need counselling’?
See there are many basic symptoms or signs that do tell us that it is getting difficult but we still continue and carry on thinking all shall be fine, some days definitely are fine but some days are not. Few signs that should be read as ‘Go seek Counseling’ are:
Mood swings, being irritated, feeling anger or having anger outbursts, avoiding family, friends or social gatherings, overthinking or procrastination, sleeplessness or excess sleep, change in eating habits, frequent visit to the dr, low self-esteem or confidence, spending more and more time alone, being sad, not finding the zeal or motivation at work, unable to enjoy, the list is quite long but if you have 4-5 of the above then definitely seek Counseling.”
There is nothing to lose but only gain in this process. Get your life back make it better than yesterday. Shall be waiting for that call and message then!
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
The morning itself. It is very rare you will find me lying down in bed to take that extra 30 min of sleep or lazing around. I can find motivation in fact from anything it can be from a bird, from the wind, the green trees, the colours around me or creativity in any form and of course smiles on faces. All these aspects of life inspire me and get me moving in the morning.
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage it?
I don’t think we have any great fear regarding our work since there is actually nothing to lose. As I mentioned earlier that this is what we want to do our entire lives now extending counselling help and support to the needy.
We do wish that people lost their doubts and apprehensions around counselling and approached people like us to help them enable them to be able to resolve their issues and problems on their own.
Patients/Clients should never leave any counselling process in between, at least have one last session (even if it is the second or third) to convey to your counsellor what did not work for you or why it is getting difficult for you to continue.
What service(s) or product(s) do you offer? What are your niche areas?
We offer Counselling solutions in various forms and to various age-groups mainly from 5 yrs onwards.
Our services are:
a) Child/Parent Counseling,
b) Adolescent/Parent Counseling,
c) Relationship Counseling,
d) Individual Counseling,
e) Group Counseling for schools and institutes,
f) Workshops and Webinars/Seminars for Schools/Institutes/Corporates.
Our focus areas are Self issues, Behavioural problems, Inter-personal Problems (Marriages, Parent/Child, Adult Relations, Family Issues) and provide counselling for Stress, Anxiety, loneliness, workplace stress, choice of careers etc.
This year we want to focus on a few niche areas providing solutions to Marriage/Couple Issues, Adolescent-Parenting Issues and Corporate Mental Well Being for their employees.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
My family is my real stress buster and keeps driving me no matter what. I don’t consider challenges as roadblocks I just consider them as any job or work that I need to accomplish/complete. So the way I address any challenge becomes a more enjoyable experience for me and this approach helps me to tackle anything.
It’s not that I don’t have bad days or I don’t feel low sometimes I definitely do but my passion to help people always drives me. If I can contribute in any way towards the betterment of others then I am the happiest.
I don’t know if other ladies have experienced it that when I am working or actually able to contribute professionally I become more charged up and happy to contribute at home as well. When I come back from work I rarely feel tired, I feel more energetic and enthusiastic towards seemingly mundane chores ..is that strange?
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
Our/My genuine approach to providing help and support to people going through mental stress and life challenges has always worked for me/us. There is no falsehood in our interactions, no hidden agenda, we believe in complete transparency.
Additionally ‘Listening’, is our selling point. We don’t want to jump the wagon to provide treatment, administer tests or therapies on the word go but we listen to our clients and we do it intently. This has definitely resonated very well with our clients.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I would reframe the word Success to being Effective in whatever you do. And to be effective in life and in your profession few things are a must: Not Giving up at all no matter what. Hard-work, Taking ownership of actions, Being responsible, continuous development of self, stagnation has no place for people who are seeking success. Above all being Happy and Joyful.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out?
1 – For pursuit in any profession, your objectives should be clear. It should not be based on a vague promise.
2 – Don’t be afraid of trying new things or even taking risks for that matter where required.
3 – Be willing to learn always from your experiences and mistakes.
4 – No compromise on Hard work, that’s for sure.
5 – If your heart and mind are aligned then even failures shall not deter you.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
