This topic really resonates with me. Over the past couple of years I’ve had some challenges thrown at me and not all of them positive. I’ve learnt how important it is to nurture those friendships and relationships that provide support and encouragement and let go of those relationships that have the potential to drag me down. I’ve learned how important it is to surround myself with people who support my vision, who don’t begrudge my success, who don’t begrudge me the opportunity to fulfill my true potential. I’ve learned people harbor negative thoughts and feelings often as a result of their own insecurities and trying to pull me down is only to make them feel better. I’ve learned by connecting with people who are on a similar path, who are in a similar mindset as I am, creates an energy that propels me forward and empowers me even more so.

Your mindset is incredibly powerful, channeled in the right way it allows you to overcome obstacles that you wouldn’t have thought possible, it allows you to step outside your comfort zone and experience a level of freedom that isn’t possible when you constrain yourself behind an invisible barrier.

People are meant to come and go thoughout our life, we learn valuable lessons from the different interactions that we have and it is these experiences that help shape who we are. The key is to identify when to walk away from those relationships that no longer provide a meaningful experience, that no longer serve us, in order to open ourselves up to other encounters. Change can be unsettling, it can unnerve us and make us feel self conscious but change brings with it new experiences, it opens doors to other opportunities and if you truly embrace change it can invigorate you, provide you with a new lease on life and give you a direction and a purpose you didn’t have before. Failure works in the same way, failure is simply a lesson learnt and sometimes we need to fail to appreciate there is a better way of doing things.

Your strength of character comes from the people who surround you, it’s not whether you get knocked down but rather who is there with an outstretched hand to help you stand back up. Learn from the experience and use that experience to make you stronger, to make you more resilient – to live more boldly with greater purpose and greater passion.

Through previous experience, I learnt that habits can be restrictive, can be suffocating and can hold us back. I let go, I took a leap of faith, I put trust in my ability and I realised I wasn’t prepared to accept someone else controlling what direction I went in, I wasn’t prepared to accept someone else dictating what sort of person I became.

Have you got someone in your life you need to let go of? Have you got a habit you need to free yourself of? Have you got untapped potential that you need to release to achieve greater freedom? Would love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment below.

Susan Stevens is the founder of New Zealand-based Meme & Co, a jewelry and accessories company with an innovative, woman-centered business model. She has over 18 years experience in sales, marketing and advertising, she climbed the corporate ladder and was committed to her career but her priorities changed when she had her children. Life became a struggle, trying to find a balance between wanting to retain her worth and independence in the workforce without compromising her ability to be a present and attentive mother.

Then, Susan made a terrifying leap – leaving a six figure income to no job and a big mortgage. With a very strong resolve never to go back to the corporate world, and through commitment, perseverance and a passion to succeed, she found as one door closed other doors opened. It was this journey that gave her the motivation and the drive to create an opportunity for other women who want to be in control, who value their independence, who want to be empowered. Her drive to keep a balance between work and family life ultimately resulted in `taking a leap’ into the unknown and embarking on a personal journey of self reflection, new challenges and growth.

Meet Susan here… http://www.memeandco.com, and on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram

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