Be more Frida!
Cressida Bonas is wearing #Hmong fabric at Prince Harrys royal wedding - dress by Eponine London (Photo courtesy Getty).
Stand Out.
Do you own a dress that hasn’t seen the light of day for years? Stuck at the back of your wardrobe, looking bold, vibrant and pretty but never having the opportunity to show it off. Ask yourself why that might be. Is it too much out of your comfort zone?
I absolutely love the dress above that actress Cressida Bonas chose to wear by Eponine London for her ex-boyfriend Prince Harry's royal wedding in May 2018. The bold striped design is so vibrant and she pulls it off really well, because she looks confident and happy. The dress is Hmong inspired - Hmong people claim to originate from the Yellow River region of China, in around 3000 BC and textiles play a really integral role in their culture. Indeed, they’re considered so important that girls as young as five are taught to embroider, to prepare them for the task of creating marriage and funerary fabrics in later life.
One of my favourite bold, colourful style icons is Frida Kahlo and I love the fact that many of her self portraits represent life experiences where she has truly been out of her comfort zone - from contracting polio at just six years old, being involved in a major accident and having a turbulent marriage with famous Mexican Painter, Diego Rivera. She turned these negative experiences into vibrant self portraits. According to The Independent, Frida Kahlo is considered one of the most influential and important artists of all time, not least because of her captivating art, but for her fighter spirit and determination.
I’ve made a conscious effort to step outside my comfort zone lately. Yes, its uncomfortable at first, but that feeling soon disappears and is replaced by an overwhelming sense of pride for something you’ve really wanted to do for a while. So, going back to that ‘uncomfortable feeling’ - I get that you’ll be thinking to yourself ‘how will these anxious, nervous feelings help me?’
Well, according to Forbes “when you go out of your way to experience new things, or when you let new things happen to you, your body creates brand new neural pathways that fuel your creative spark and enhance your memory.” The article explains that few people actually enjoy the feeling of being uncomfortable. The challenge is to get past that initial feeling of wanting to return to the norm, so you can grow and benefit from that discomfort.
I initially trained as a Baby Massage Instructor during maternity leave, as it was low risk for me - I had the opportunity of running my own business and doing something which I was really passionate about. I then returned to the corporate world, as I believed this was the only way to advance in my career and succeed. For me personally, the recent pandemic has allowed me to do a lot of soul searching and realise that the only way I’ll truly be happy and content is if I fill my life with things that make my heart sing! This was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done and was most certainly out of my comfort zone, as I left a well paid, secure job. I’m lucky that I have an extremely supportive husband and it doesn’t mean that I’ll never have a bad day again, it just means that I’ll be putting my ‘all’ into everything I do going forward, because I’m passionate about it.
Another way I’ve been putting myself out there, is by going live on Facebook. I’m an independent ambassador for Tropic Skincare and as such, my face appears a lot on peoples newsfeeds! When I first joined, the main thing that was worrying me was having to do my own tax returns! The next day I woke up and felt quite anxious, in fact I was petrified, sat in Starbucks drive thru queue waiting for my flat white to be prepared and the thought popped into my head…. “Its now or never, just GO LIVE!” Sat in my car, I did indeed do my first live video into my private group and the support I received from group members absolutely blew me away! People I hadn’t seen or spoken to since primary school were hitting the love button and leaving comments and that meant the absolute world! Those nervous feelings were instantly eased and what I felt like me rambling on for ages was actually really well received! As the months went on, I realised it was much more than telling friends and family about a skincare brand I loved, it’s about me creating a community of like minded people. The reason that being an ambassador sings to my heart is because of the feedback I get. To hear that I’ve been a ‘saviour during lockdown’ and that its ‘lovely to see my face’ means the world to me and I’ll continue to run the group as long as my lovely Tropic Tribe community want it!
So whether it’s jumping into an industry you don’t have experience in but have always admired, trying your luck in a new class or developing your passion project; taking time to push yourself can really lead to favourable outcomes.
