Hello, friends! Today I’m so excited to share an interview I recently did with a friend of mine. Sara is a fellow blogger and shares my love for all things personal development. She lives in sunny California and is releasing her first book! Here’s what she has to say….
Sara, tell us a little about yourself?
Hi, I’m Sara! I’m a personal development blogger who’s passionate about helping overwhelmed millennials discover their passions and kick-start their best life. During the day I’m a marketing manager at a website agency, and on the side, I’m a blogger, author, and am developing an online coaching program!
How did you become interested in the topics of confidence + self-care?
A few years ago I was at my lowest point: I was struggling with anxiety, depression, and low self-confidence due to feeling lost at a job I hated after graduating college and not knowing where my life was headed.
I finally hit a breaking point and developed a deep desire to improve my mindset and my life, which led to my passion for confidence, self-care, and all around personal growth. I dove into these topics on my blog and Youtube channel, and recently even had the opportunity to write and publish a book to help others explore and build their own self-confidence, called I’m Awesome, Here’s Why…110 Lists, Activities, and Prompts to Remind You Why You’re Amazing.
Why do you think confidence is especially important in today’s world?
Confidence helps you push the boundaries outside of your comfort zone to really grow and feel alive. Fear and uncertainty usually keep you within the comfortable limits of your mind and experiences, which can lead to a rather stagnant life. Developing confidence not only helps you face those fears, but teaches you to love yourself and do what’s best for you and your life.
What are some steps we can take to become more confident?
I like to say that there are seven important pillars of self-confidence. If you focus on at least one of these pillars, you’ll start to notice growth in ways that help you feel more regularly confident. These pillars to focus on include: recognizing your strength and weaknesses, taking pride in yourself, practicing self-care, embracing failure, building positive resilience, surrounding yourself with positive people, and continuing to learn and grow.
I go into much more detail with specific examples for each pillar in my book, but if you’re struggling with self-confidence and want to take some first steps towards building your self-esteem, I highly recommend researching and exploring one of the seven pillars to start cultivating growth and change towards an improved mindset and love for yourself.
What does it mean to you personally to be confident?
Along with what I mentioned earlier, I also find self-confidence to be a beautiful, ongoing journey filled with self-exploration and overall growth. There’s definitely no straight path towards self-confidence, but that’s the beauty of personal development and being unapologetically human.
Can I say that I’m always confident in myself every single day? Heck no, but I’ve embraced this journey and have grown to even love the downfalls and setbacks because they teach me more about myself and push me to become even stronger than before. I’m learning to love who I am and what makes me tick, as well as the way I look. I’ve struggled with acne and other body insecurities for many years now, but I’m slowly learning to feel more confident and embrace them as a part of the beautiful woman I am and who I’m becoming each day.
Tell us more about your book?
I’m Awesome, Here’s Why…is filled with over 100 prompts, exercises and pieces of advice to help you feel more confident every day. It starts with a chapter that explores the seven pillars of self-confidence I mentioned earlier and then allows you to creatively practice developing each of those pillars and building your self-esteem at a pace that works best for you. You don’t have to work on the prompts and exercises in any particular order! I’m incredibly excited to see how the exercises have helped people and what they think about the book!
Where can we find you online or purchase your book? (social media, blog, etc.)
I’m most often online on Instagram at @sarakatherineblog and post on my website at sara-katherine.com. My book is going to publish on Tuesday, April 9th and you can pre-order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever books are sold!
