Meet Vida Valdes

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vida Valdes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Vida , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is a complex trait that can be influenced by various factors for each person. Your personality traits, such as my tenacity, optimism, adaptability, and to keep standing back up after I have fallen down. Believe me I have fallen down many of times in my life. Strong connections with my intimate family, my faith is my force and without my faith I wouldn’t have made it this far. Plus I have a supportive community that include my elders, my godchildren and clientele throughout the years. I love my family and they have always been my backbone. I have developed coping & problem-solving skills throughout the years through experience. I have messed that up plenty of times. Also learning how to deal with my stress and this is where my faith ties in. Daily practices and rituals keep me in tune with my spirit that allows my mind and body deal with everyday stressors and triggers. I am my biggest cheerleader. Believing in your self, your work, your abilities play a huge part in my resilience. Overcoming some really difficult past challenges and learning from difficult experiences. My mindset is also a huge factor here. Embracing a growth mindset, where you view challenges as opportunities for growth, instead of failure always lead you to success eventually Taking care of your physical and mental health can positively impact your ability to bounce back from adversity. Having a sense of purpose and finding meaning in your life can provide a strong foundation for you at whatever stage in your life.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I love helping people to love themselves flaws and all. I am well aware that we are in a culture that is still rooted in us sacrificing ourselves for others. Even though many people love what or where they are. I have found that in my community many people struggle with imposter syndrome because they still want others to accept them. Or they are attaching outcomes to specific dynamics and continue to get disappointed because again they are waiting for others to approve their lives or they are looking for acceptance from their world. I am currently in our 4th year of doing the Love Thy Self Program , which is a 12-week course that teaches individuals to find a new appreciation of themselves. Plus I have extended it to a longer program called Love and Know Thy Self this year., which is the same concept but working on owning it with a 24-week program. We are already sold out in our 3rd year for the Rebirth Retreat and we are going to Costa Rica which is a 5 day excursion on resting, recalibrating, realigning, recuperating and readjusting the mind, body and spirit to a better and truer you.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
My 3 qualities are tenacity, commitment and authenticity. Without these 3 qualities I would not have made it this far in life. My advice is to be honest no matter what, even if it hurts someone else. Stop catering to others and make yourself a priority and truly follow your dreams and visions. When you love yourself flaws and all you begin to see things very clearly and probably will have to make some changes in your life where you now will see what was holding you back.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My physical health has been the biggest area of growth this past year. In 2023 I had to 3 different surgeries. I had a bilateral masetomy revision, bladder surgery and gastrointestinal surgery. Without the physical human body we can’t nourish the mind, our emotions or our spirit. So my physical health is vital so I can continue doing the work I desire to do.

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Image Credits
Denisse Myrick

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