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Happily Flawed Blog

Purpose and thick skin!

Sunday, 23 July 2023

 




I have now been in the working world for 15 years. 

I couldn't have predicted all the twists and turns that have lead me here but in that time I have learnt a lot.

If I had a chance to go back I wouldn't change anything.

The exact same. I would choose all of it again.

When I started working as a student caller at university  I managed to get the highest number of donations...me..introvert and scared Maria got people who had never donated before to do so!

When I worked at Clarks I managed to sell a customer a pair of shoes only for him to return the box the next day with two shoes that were completely different colours, despite this I still managed to be the best sales team member for children. Parents insisted on coming in on the days when I was working.

When I worked at River Island as a temp for the Christmas holiday period I was the only one they decided to hire full time afterwards. They had no intention of taking on new staff, but they found the money and the hours to keep me based on my performance. 

When I worked at a youth project I lived with my fun and 'very cool' work mates in an old house in the center of London and learned how to facilitate workshops plus develop programmes for children and young people. 

My time with the UN will probably be the most impactful experience in my professional life, my work ethic thrived, I learnt so much from people that didn't even know they were teaching me. I had supervisors who invested in my skill set and believed in me enough to let me lead on fantastic projects that childhood Maria could only have dreamt off . If I wrote about them in this blog post we would be here forever, but trust me my whole professional and technical  foundation was built and strengthened during that time. 

Presently, I find myself in a new workplace where quite a few people are 
questioning me and my abilities.

And quite frankly I now know who I am and that I am really good at what I can do.

(if I wasn't...then...OMG...what a waste of a life!)

Its hard to shake me and if you manage to do so it doesn't take me long to put myself right and keep going. 

(Sometimes the petty side of me will wait for the opportunity to politely revenge...but that is for another blog post) 

Knowing my purpose and having thick skin is getting me through this, while frustrating the questioners all the more...

Let me also say that I am not afraid to learn , neither am I frightened by constructive criticism. 
They are major part of personal and professional growth.



I really have come a loooooong way. 

The little girl who fantasized about this adult life would be proud.

In fact I am at a place where I could mentor someone too. 

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Profess your love

Tuesday, 11 July 2023

 


Profess.


Profess!


Profess. 


Always profess.


Tell them in the moment. 


Tell everyone that you love , that you looove them.


They need to know 


You need to say it. 


It should never be a secret.


In this world where people die. 


In this world where tomorrow may be a complete and utter mystery.


Professing should never be saved for another time. 


Let them know!


Let them know now. 


Let them know always, for sure and for certain.

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Decision Anxiety - Big Girl Panties and Tackling 'what if' Spirals

Sunday, 2 July 2023

 



I am writing from a vulnerable place. 

I need to write this down. 

I know it will help me in the future and maybe...just maybe it will help somebody else. 

I have written about my anxiety before. 

Since then I have learnt about different types. 

After my father's passing I was forced to make a lot of big 'adult' decisions quickly and abruptly. 

As a result, I developed an intense fear of making the wrong choice. 

The fear has amplified over the years and now it almost crippling. 

I am in the process of finding my home in Italy for the next year or three. 

 This is all really overwhelmingly new for me. 


New language 

New formal and informal processes.

New culture.


The last  two weeks have been mentally tenacious

Lost appetite 

Sleepless nights.

The occasional nightmares.

Unable to follow simple conversations during the day.

Plagued by endless thoughts of the worst case scenario.


I am good at panicking 

I am good at imagining the worst

I can see red flags anywhere. 


As mentioned before on the blog,  I subscribed to headspace at the beginning of the year.

Somehow through this I remained committed and thankfully there were some snippets of clarity in my mind noise.

Headspace sessions are like little workouts for the mind no matter whether they are two minutes, ten minutes or twenty.

I had the opportunity to take a metaphorically step back and 

really look at the chaos eschewing inside. 

I started noticing triggers, fears, emotions, thoughts. 

Contracts are triggers for me. 

Emails and WhatsApp messages with demands are triggers for me

Flustered people are triggers.

Conversations about what could happen are triggers.


There is still a lot of work for me to do but I am grateful that I am willing to do it.

I  put on my big girl panties and started having some tough conversations and negotiations .

No one can swoop in and save me. 

I have to make decisions through the suffocating burning fear. 

There was an acceptance of all of this, inside of me this time. 

I called my bestie vented and cried. 

Then I got to it. 

There is light at the end of the tunnel.



I have been internally drowning for years. 

Now  I have a floater and I am paddling towards safety.

I am saving myself. 


What about you? Care to share? How are you tackling your anxiety?

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H<i>e</i>ll<i>o</i>!
My name is Maria. Welcome to my blog. Click on my picture to learn more about me. Otherwise feel free to roam around.

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