Don't be what you're not − it's not worth it

When you start digging into yourself, things stop being pleasant.

I can say that fear and I have always had a special relationship. Sometimes fear has crushed me to the core, completely paralyzed me, taken away my will for anything, literally killed me. And it took me years and years to overcome that fear. But don't let anyone think that I'm now a fearless superwoman − far from it! Fears in various forms still come into my life, the difference now is that I no longer "freeze" like I used to. Today, fear propels me forward, it ignites me even more. Because I've changed, because I've grown. Every, even the most challenging situation, is now an opportunity for me and no longer a problem. That's how it used to be.

I'm a person of extremes − even when it comes to working on myself. To make those key shifts, I usually have to completely "break" myself down, utterly destroy my "house." Only then can I start laying new foundations, adopting new ways of thinking and perceiving. Looking back, no change for me has ever been easy. Even my husband still wonders what I'm doing to myself to achieve a change. When I started working on myself, I signed up for various workshops, worth hundreds of euros, which I never ended up attending. I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. And so I started digging into myself, going deeper and deeper within, and finally realized what was holding me back the most in life. And it wasn't fear at all. It was shame. You can't imagine what a realization that was for me at the time. To come to that, I had to "spend" a lot of money, time, energy... But the most important thing was that I discovered what was holding me back. I think shame primarily stems from poor self-esteem, from a sense of (un)worthiness. I know I brought all that from my primary family. But in life, parents pass on to us what they know and can do best. From them, we get baggage, a legacy, with which we then walk through life. I knew that my baggage was more of a hindrance in life than any help. I wanted a different life for myself. I wanted to live by my own rules. Just the way I feel.

All it takes for change is a single moment.

But if I wanted to live differently, I had to find ways to get rid of that heavy baggage. Because of shame and all the other limiting beliefs, I missed out on a lot of beautiful things. But at one point, I had enough. Because I'm a very persistent person, I approached this change with all seriousness. Giving up and going back to old ways was no longer an option for me. I completely surrendered to this path and persisted until something started to shift within me. I wanted to become more fearless, more determined, to trust myself more, to show who I am. And because life knows very well what's best for us, I ended up in the world of entrepreneurship by a series of coincidences! What a lesson it was for me. If I wanted to succeed in business, I had to necessarily overcome all my barriers, all my limiting beliefs. To expose myself, to bare myself, to tell the world who I am and what I do.

But I had to walk this path alone. The decisive shift had to be made by me. No workshop could do that for me. I know how many internal battles I had to fight, how thorny and obstacle-filled my path was. But it was worth it. Now I'm no longer ashamed because I have no reason to be. But it was necessary for me to walk this path. The most interesting thing about all this is that only a single moment was enough for that fundamental change. A moment of breakthrough in my mind. And then things started falling into place.

Today I listen to myself, express myself in my authentic way, speak the truth and don't sugarcoat or adapt things just to be likable to others. Today I know myself better, and I know that when I'm not honest with myself, it first manifests in my body. When I don't express what I want, my stomach alerts me first. Then I know for sure that I'm acting against myself. I can say that the progress I've made in myself is also reflected in business. For years I struggled, but things just didn't move in the desired direction. But when I changed myself, it immediately reflected in the business field too. I decided to remain authentic in business too, to do things my way. And my guests eventually felt that too. It means a lot to me when they say they feel at home with me, that I'm their safe haven, that I can listen to them and really hear them. They don't call me "camp mom" for nothing. :) It's important to let go of everything that holds you back and just be who you are. I come to guests from the garden dirty but smiling − just as I am. I don't pretend anymore, and I don't do anything against myself anymore. I think authenticity is the value that really matters in today's world. So, I urge you to start listening to yourself, digging into yourself, discovering who you are, expressing yourself in your own ways. You owe that to yourself and the world. From first-hand experience, I can tell you it will be damn hard, but the reward in the end is worth every atom of your energy.

Don't be afraid to be who you are; start with a getaway for yourself in the herbal paradise of Jezersko!
 
 

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