The BRAVE Interview #20 March 2018: Crissy Maier

by | Mar 1, 2018 | author, Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, Interviews, no fear, The BRAVE Interviews, Travel

Here is this month’s BRAVE Interview with Crissy Maier!

  • WHO are you? Someone who overcomes challenges. Whether it’s my cleft lip and palate, my learning disability, my struggles through the police academy, other health issues, problems at work – I’m not defined by any of them, but rather by my ability to integrate the lessons I’ve learned and to find ways to overcome the next challenge I will face.
  • WHAT is your One Brave Thing? Sometimes I wonder if I’ve done it yet. I seem to have succeeded at everything I’ve tried, or at least not failed miserably. I might need to try something harder to really be brave. But when thinking about this question, I’m reminded of my first trip to Europe. I arrived in London, almost got lost going to my hotel even though I had step by step instructions. The next day I got on a hop on and off bus and at the stop in Trafalgar Square I wanted to get off the bus, but I was afraid of getting off the bus. In some ways it was an insignificant moment, but it’s a moment that I’ve reminded myself of many, many times. It’s a moment that inspired an entire chapter of my book.  It took a minute or two to talk myself into it, but I got off the bus at Trafalgar Square. I didn’t venture too far away from the bus stop, but I broke a barrier of fear. I traveled through Europe for two weeks before returning to London. When I did, I was a completely different person, I was taking the Tube to sites that I didn’t know how to get to and navigating the streets of London like I would the streets at home. It’s one of those rare opportunities in life when I got to see how much I had changed in a short period of time. When I’m afraid of something, I often think back to that experience.
  • WHEN did you do it? That was in 2005
  • WHERE did it occur? London and Europe
  • HOW and WHY did you make it happen? The woman who stepped off the plane in London in 2005 was ready for adventure, to see the world. But she was afraid of the unknown, of getting lost. But she was more afraid of missing out, or being a “failure.” When fear holds us back, sometimes we need to break down what the fear is, and what the realistic ‘bad’ outcome is. When we think of it logically, it’s usually not nearly as bad as it seems. It’s not always easy to do, it takes time and discipline. More importantly though, I think knowing why you want to do something, and the cost of not doing it, can be enough to give you the discipline needed to overcome the fear you have. If I wasn’t committed to seeing London (in one day), then maybe I wouldn’t have gotten off the bus and found out that it’s not so scary to face your fear.
    • Keep reading

    The BRAVE Interview #19 February 2018: Barbara Ryland

    by | Feb 1, 2018 | Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, Interviews, The BRAVE Interviews

    Welcome to this month’s interview with my good friend, Barbara Ryland!

    My Brave Thing

    As a child growing up, I had no father.

    My parents were divorced when I was an infant, and my father moved far away.  I had no contact with him, with any of his siblings or with my paternal grandparents. After I married and had my own children, it became very important to me to meet my paternal grandmother who was in her 80’s. I wanted so much to know her before she died. So I made plans to go to Gulfport, Mississippi, where she lived and where my father had grown up. I had hopes of meeting him, also, but he was living in Texas, and I was unsure if he would be able to meet me in Mississippi. Keep reading

    When the unthinkable happens

    by | Jan 8, 2018 | Clarity, Comfort, Connection, health

    It’s hard to imagine the unthinkable, the loss of a child.
    Unless you don’t have to imagine it.

    Unless it has happened to you.

    Then you don’t have to imagine it. You are living with it every single day.

    Two women who have been through want to help others who have also experienced this unfathomable loss get through it, too.

    Meet Laura Diehl and Melanie Delorme. Both are mothers who have lost a child.

    “Laura Diehl is known for extending a light of hope to bereaved parents. Through her writing, speaking, and coaching, she walks with grieving parents in their place of darkness, without judgment or shame, to learn how to live a life of meaning and purpose again. Laura found herself in a place of suffocating darkness after the death of her daughter, Becca, with no one to turn to for help in navigating out of the deep pit of grief. Today, as a bereaved mom living a life of fulfillment, purpose, and destiny, Laura invests her time in helping grieving parents journey from a place of brokenness to becoming a re-purposed vessel in a way that honors the life of their child, instead of living in the shadow of their child’s death.” Laura Diehl’s books are available here and wherever books are sold. Keep reading

    Cough Drop Snob

    by | Jan 7, 2018 | Affirmations, health

    I have had one of the worst colds of my life this winter, and I don’t say that lightly.

    I never get sick!!

    (So, wait, I guess I can’t say that anymore…)

    At the first sign of illness, I start breaking out all my artillery for prevention and treatment, in case any symptoms persist or try to sneak through my fire wall. Affirmations: I am healthy! I feel great! Acting ‘as if’ I was well: I continued with my usual routine, including a book selling event that I absolutely should have stayed home from.  I took some Airborne. I thought ‘well’ thoughts. Keep reading

    The BRAVE Interview #18 January 2018: Carrie Frail

    by | Jan 1, 2018 | Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, Clarity, The BRAVE Interviews

    My name is Carrie Frail. I’m 37 years old but I feel like I’ve lived several lifetimes.

    I was a teenage rebel, who rushed headfirst into any and everything.

    I went to college, dropped out, and then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force by age 18. I was married by 19, a mother by 20 and bought an idyllic family home by age 23.

    Everything seemed to be great on the outside, but internally I struggled daily.

    Later diagnosed with a slew of mental illnesses from Bipolar Disorder to anxiety, I was also an addict. Since I had to maintain a security clearance for the government, I pursued my addictions legally…alcohol, prescription pills, attention from men, bad relationships, shopping…anything I could do to not feel so empty and broken. Keep reading