We were lucky to catch up with Breanna Perry recently and have shared our conversation below.
Breanna, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Cultivating my confidence and self-esteem has always been a long uphill battle that began as a child when I was really shy publicly which we would now identify as social anxiety. I had a fear of being the center of attention but behind closed doors, I was really silly and goofy. I grew up an only child so I spent a lot of time with myself inevitably being self-reflective. With social anxiety, a major fear is being judged or being wrongly perceived by others. So, at home, I liked who I was but in public, I was always second-guessing how I showed up in the world. How did my skin, hair and clothes look? Having great style and my hair done served as a buffer for any level of self-consciousness I felt. If my outfit was cute maybe it would distract from how skinny I was or this acne breakout I was having. It did not help that I was 98 pounds soaking wet, had acne since I was 5 and wore braces throughout middle school.
Fashion and style were my gateway to personal acceptance and self-expression. It was my first attempt at not needing to fit in. Additionally, my mother was a stickler for neat presentation, perfect posture and proper diction. She was my reminder to walk tall with confidence even if I didn’t truly feel it. The first pair of heels I ever wore, were hers when I was 6 years old playing dress up. I was amazing at faking it until I made it. It was easy for me to appear confident even when I didn’t feel it at all. Compliments like “You’re beautiful” would feel like I had heard it for the first time every time.
It wasn’t until my late 20’s early 30’s that I began to cultivate God-fidence. The notion that my confidence wasn’t rooted in myself, because that could ebb and flow at any given moment, but in the one who created me. I had a deep longing to see myself as he created me. I yearned to love me as he loved me. To love me despite my ideal body weight goals, desired hair length and makeup on or off. I wanted to no longer waste time obsessing over what I felt I lacked and embrace the gift of the person he so carefully designed before it was too late. We only get one life and I no longer wanted to allocate any more time and energy to not appreciating it. After that revelation, I genuinely began to see how beautiful I have always been and enjoy it. This has given me the motivation to work out not for some transformative aesthetic purposes but simply because I feel my best. When people give me a compliment I believe them. When I pursue something I genuinely believe I will accomplish it. Because I function in my highest self I know that whatever efforts I pursue will only contribute to the person I already am. I am thankful to God for this awareness and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to see themselves as he sees them.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a licensed mental health clinician who works in private practice serving individuals and families who deal with anxiety and depressive disorders, PTSD, relationship challenges and substance misuse. I love what I do and most importantly the transformative and empowering nature of the work which inspired my desire to begin image consulting. I wanted to combine my love for self-discovery and authentic self-expression, so I formulated the company Inn3r Image Consulting designed to help individuals reidentify their light in this world and show up as their best selves. In the coming year, I plan to hold a free Women’s Day community event to promote self-empowerment and self-care, collaborating with other female-owned businesses that want to partner and give back to their community. So if anyone is interested in collaborating and would like to volunteer their services feel free to contact me.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
First, I believe the “skill” to strive for progress rather than perfection has helped to provide focus in my pursuits because it allowed me not to give up even when I was not yet an expert or had what others had. The willingness to continue forward while gaining what I needed along the way is far more valuable because I knew God wouldn’t allow me to miss whatever I needed to know or understand, he just needed me to begin and trust.
Secondly, I believe it was helpful to explore my intrinsic motivations for what I wanted because if it was rooted in ego it would be difficult to maintain integrity throughout the journey or stay true to my initial mission.
Lastly. it was important for me to act on the faith I claimed I had and fully operate in the person that I knew called me to be. When I knew he called me to be a therapist I believed him and I took the necessary steps to gain the knowledge, skills, and qualifications to become one. When he called me to be an agent of transformation and change in the lives of others, I brainstormed what that looked like for me and established a business where I could motivate others to find wholeness, harmony and alignment.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am looking to collaborate with other female entrepreneurs who may feel our services would complement each other, such as life coaches or boutique owners. As well as, female entrepreneurs who would like to partner for the Women Empowering Women Day I would like to host next year. If you are interested please shoot me an email at: brealperry@inn3rimageconsulting.com or an IG DM @brealperry
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inn3rimageconsulting.com/
- Instagram: Brealperry
- Linkedin: Breanna Perry
Image Credits
Brittany Barr
