I've been working hard the last few months at overcoming my fears and following my dreams. So I'm running a series of interview with inspiring people to see what part fear has played in their life and how they've overcome it to live life their way...
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Hey! Tell us a little about yourself.
Hi I am Chrissy and I blog over at Whimsical Poppysmic. Right now my family (the hubs, our daughter, the pup, the kitty and I) are living in the suburbs of Chicago. We moved here almost 3 years ago from Germany and just made the difficult decision of going back in August this year. We knew we wouldn’t be staying here forever, but life here has been very good to us, although it wasn’t always easy being that far away from our family and friends! We do miss our “home” and think it’s the best decision for all of us!
Is the life you lead now the life you've always dreamt of?
No, not quite. When I was younger I always dreamed of living somewhere in the big city with an amazing career, being able to travel where I wanted and to do what I wanted. Ha ha But, to be honest, deep down inside I knew I was going to be the mom of a beautiful girl and married to my best friend and that we would travel the world together. And that kind of all came true. Don’t we all dream big when we are young?!
When you have faced difficulties, what has been your inspiration to keep going?
My family and the thought that everything always happens for a reason. Even if we can’t see and appreciate it right away, we do see it when we look back at the things that have happened to us and the challenges we had to go through. Life can be tough at times and I think we all have to face those difficulties at one point in our lives – we just have to remember to keep on going, no matter what!
Fear affects us all at some point. What part has fear played in your life and how have you overcome it?
I used to be very insecure about myself and my appearance and it was very important to me what others thought about me. I wanted to please others rather than myself. I would start sweating if I felt something was going “wrong” and it even got to a point where I would miss out on things or call in sick to not have to go to work. That all changed from one day to another when I became a MOM! All of the sudden that all didn’t matter anymore! And the older I got, the more self-confident I got! Looking back I now see and realize how stupid I was! I missed out on some things that I truly regret to this day! So, my advice is, face your fears and fight them! You are you – no-one else can tell you who to be or what to be! Just be you and hold your head up high!
What advice would you offer on following your heart and living your dreams?
Do it – if you can, go for it! Take a risk if you have to! If you can’t at the stage of life you are in right now, try your best to get there! Don’t waste time on things you don’t want to do! Life is too short to waste time! I know this sounds profound...but, believe me, it’s true! I am 35 years old now and the time here in the US has taught me so much! I have gained so much more self-confidence and had to learn to do things on my own rather to have somebody help me! And, if I learned one thing, it is not to waste my precious time with people and things that aren’t worth it!
What do you think are the three most important things you need to lead a happy and radiant life?
- Love yourself and what you are doing! Don’t settle for less!
- Don’t focus too much on the negative (don’t hold grudges – they’re not worth it), it will only hold you back! Focus on what’s important to you and not what others think is important!
- Surround yourself with people that love and appreciate you! And don’t be shy to ask for help every now and then – after all, we’re only human!
Chrissy, I'm your age and not a mom yet. But I really can relate with the rest of what you said! Getting more comfortable in our own skin and having the confidence to take risks and make it happen is so important! Otherwise we look back at the things fear kept us from doing- and Regret it!! Let's go forward living life to the fullest!!!
ReplyDeletePolly, thank you so much for this! It looks great!
ReplyDelete@0147b51f2c50fdb76c363a2afcc038be:disqus Thanks, girl! You rock! xxx