From Fear to Freedom

Comfort zones are a trap where dreams go to die. So… uncomfortable? Good! That means you're growing.

Yes, I’ve had to choose discomfort over familiarity several times in my life. Here are some of the hard lessons I learned along the way.

One life-changing decision was the choice to move to a new country alone, learn a completely new language from scratch, and start from the beginning by working as a nanny for almost no salary as a post teen, while all my friends were building their careers. They thought I was crazy and that I had already wasted my life with that decision. Fast forward 10 years, today many of them are having to start over.

Another pivotal moment was the decision to pursue a second degree in interior design and architecture in my mid-twenties. I was more scared of leading a mediocre life in the mediocre office where I worked as a translator back then. I cried like never before the day I decided to accept the invitation and start my interior design studies, despite having only 260 Euros in my bank account.

I printed out my resumes and spent days wandering through the city whereI was studying, entering literally every store, shop, and hotel to ask for ANY kind of job. My desire to fulfill my interior design dream was stronger than my fear of getting kicked out of the country. This is how I landed a part-time job in a hotel that changed my life.

More recently, some of you have witnessed my decision to move out of my dream skyscraper apartment and relocate to a completely new city. The closer the date of my move came, the more often I found myself crying (every… single… day…) because of the sudden discomfort and chaos my life had become.

And speaking of that skyscraper… After signing the lease, I wasn’t even sure whether I’d be able to afford it in the long term, and that thought gave me an incredible drive to work and create as never before. That was also the very first apartment I rented on my own.

These are just a few of the life-changing events that were accompanied by an indescribable fear and an indescribable desire to continue changing my life for the better.

And that’s why… If you’re feeling uncomfortable, it’s because you’re growing!

Warmest,