beautiful cactus babies!
The article I just read— “27 Low-Key Plants Perfect for Your Office”, or something like that, has me lusting after a ZZ Plant and mayyybe another cactus or two! (I have six already, so I probably don’t need more, but they’re SO cute!) And who doesn’t love doting on something to help it grow?
Okay, maybe some of us don’t like it. Some of us are even bad at it. (Me!) Hence my low-key plant search 😂😂😂. I’ve killed like four orchids, even after having an orchid expert re-pot a gorgeous lavender one for me in the hopes that it would flourish.
It didn’t.
Finally, I realized that I don’t have the right light source for orchids— Fun fact: they LOVE direct, eastern light, and all I have is indirect northern and southern. So… no orchids for me.
Serious whomp whomp.
But all of this plant contemplation got me to thinking about working with what we’ve got. I’ve got the capacity to help a plant live its best life, but I have to work with my north/south light situation.
And we’ve all got the capacity to help ourselves shift our mindsets and grow our inner confidence, but sometimes we have to work within our boundaries and personalities.
Emma Watson was not born to be the same kind of confident as Rupaul or Amy Schumer. But she certainly IS confident.
You were not born to be the same kind of confident as everyone else. But you certainly CAN be confident.
Sometimes you have to work with what you’ve got— and not let comparisons hold us back from trying entirely.
There is SO a way for you to grow courageous and confident, sweet friend! It’s true. You just need a little guidance on how to make your northern and southern light work for you 😘
I crafted a quiz that helps you to follow a path to confidence for yourself. And I created it for a few reasons:
- Because quizzes are fun. They just are! There’s probably a scientific study somewhere on why we humans love quizzes so much, and it probably talks about how we love gaining insights about our big beautiful brains.
- It gives you some of those beautiful brain insights about bringing your confidence A-game in a way that’s authentic to YOU.
- Science and research are important to me as an educator, and I’ve studied enough about good ole psychologist Carl Jung and his theories on personas and archetypes to know that there is some good theory in there (even if it’s not given as much ra-ra-PR as Freud’s theories).
So while quizzes are just fun, there’s some REAL insights to be discovered and uncovered here. Because bottom line, babe, you are SO ready to be courageously, unapologetically Confident! You ARE! I promise.
And you can be, as long as you’re not trying to grow orchids where the cacti belong. Love yourself, own your heart, and know that there are strategies that are perfect for maximizing YOUR brand of confidence.
And I’ve streamlined them for you!
You not only get a quiz that tells you your ideal confidence style, you also get a little 10-page workbook filled with:
- Love letters and pep talks from me to YOU!
- Information about your confidence style
- HOW to start applying that confidence style to your mindset
- Action steps for getting started
It’s perfect for a Saturday morning coffee reflection sesh, or a late-night light-a-candle-for-yourself-and-drink-wine sesh. (If it takes you longer than 30 minutes, you’re probably over-thinking it. Embrace your inner cactus life, babe. Let the comparisons go. Love who you are 💙)
And right about now you miiiight be thinking, this is NOT for me. Quizzes are dumb and there’s no way I can be confident anyway.
And to you I say: Stop, sweet friend. Stop selling yourself short. You deserve to be confident, and you can claim this for yourself in an act of fabulous self-love.
There are so many ways to be confident, and being the calmly confident YOU that you were meant to be is possible for you, sweet friend! Whether you find yourself to be a little sweet, or a little bookish or a little goal-oriented, or reallllly into cacti, there is a confident side of you just waiting to grow! Nourish it.
Take the Quiz
Love, and cheers, and warm cactus vibes from me to you,
Kayla Vavra
P.S. When you finish the quiz, tell me what you think of your results!! I read every email I get and I seriously LOVE hearing from you 💙🥰
P.P.S. Here’s the link to that plant article, if you’re just dying to flex your green thumb at the office!
P.P.P.S. Want to keep this lovely, positivity going? Heck yes! Take your Self-Love Quiz to find the perfect self-love mantra for YOU!
Meet Your Self-Love + Confidence Coach, Kayla Vavra!
I founded Brave Heart Open Mind, this enthusiastic self-love development studio, in an effort to empower women with the ability to live their happiest, most confident lives!
Because I’ve walked the path of feeling like I wasn’t good enough— drowning in self-doubt and self-hate— and it genuinely straight up sucks. (It does, for real. If you’ve been there— ugly-crying on cold floral linoleum— you know it’s true).
Part of the entire existence of Brave Heart Open Mind is to allow me to help you get to where I am— in a place of self-love; in a place of consistent confidence; in a place of self-empowerment! And to help you get there faster than I did. 😅🤩
It took me over a decade to get to where I am today.
From my own rock bottom— sitting at the end of an emotionally abusive relationship, fully depressed, with imbalanced hormones, halfway through college, unable to do anything other than barely hang on and pretend I was fine, (when really my self-image was a total dumpster fire on the inside). There were real moments of sobbing-on-the-floor feelings of wretchedness, catatonic-in-bed feelings of hopelessness, and hiding-blades-from-myself urges of self-harm during this time.
Medication to balance my hormones helped regulate my brain chemistry to smooth back the depression and darkness, but I was still left with a completely trashed self-image. I wanted to love myself, and it took me over a decade to figure out how to actually make that happen.
My personal journey over the course of that decade has thankfully brought me all the way to where I am now: the founder of an amazing and fulfilling business, totally loving my life!
And if I can help you skip the trudging, slow-as-heck, mountain climb out of the trenches of self-doubt and self-hate, and streamline a decade for you— like, that’s amazing! Why wouldn’t I help you? How could I not??
And through painstakingly building positive lifelong habits for myself, I’ve paved a new path: One where I consistently push myself to grow, feel good enough, and live in a place of calm, centered confidence.
And these habits aren’t magic— anyone can learn them! Everyone deserves to learn them. They’re rooted in solid verbal communication skills, body language tactics, and powerful mindset shifts. Meshing these three skillsets together creates a powerful range of habits that can make any lovely human feel confident! All you have to do is learn them and consistently work hard to practice them throughout your life. When you’re ready to commit to yourself, when you’re ready to finally let yourself feel good enough, when you’re ready to live a life of confidence, I can help you learn and practice these habits! You’re worth it 😀 (You SO are!)
I’m also a total scifi nerd 🤓
I can’t wait for us to work together! Seriously, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with! You’ll learn such powerful new habits, and you’ll feel so much power in the confidence that you’ve unlocked! Heck yes!!
In other nerdy news, you should also know that I’m a total geek and an avid life-long learner: I am certified to teach public speaking (and more!) with a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communication & Journalism and a Masters Degree in Education by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I am certified as a Life & Success Coach, Hypnotherapist, and NLP, EFT, and TIME Practitioner by the International Board of Coaches and Practitioners. I’m currently pursuing my certification as a Master Practitioner by the IBCP, as well as my certification in The Science of Well-Being by Yale University 🤓