We recently connected with Nadya Lambreva and have shared our conversation below.
Nadya, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Building resilience is like building a muscle. The more you put yourself in challenging situations, the more you’ll learn to be able to get yourself back up and you’ll start doing it quicker. Like most people, at the beginning of my journey, whenever I was faced with a challenge, I used to get insecure, stressed and anxious. Today, due to a major shift in perspective, I’m actually able to look at a problem and see it as an opportunity to grow, learn and move forward in life. So to answer the question, I’ve built my resilience thanks to all the challenges I’ve faced on my path and now I have confidence in my abilities and I consider myself a solution finder and an infinite learner.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
What I’m most passionate about is creativity and mindfulness. To me, those two have been constant companions on my journey and they are connected to each other in a very special way. I’ve been in the creative arena for the majority of my life since just like many, I’ve been an artist before I could even build a sentence. The difference is that some of us choose to continue their creative path in adulthood and to me, that was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. This life has taken me on many different journeys and some of them have been being a model around the world, journalist, writer, photographer, reiki practitioner and more. Despite being told that art can’t be a real career, I’m lucky to say that I’ve been able to work on a lot of exciting projects and creativity is what I do for a living. I create wearable art, handcrafted and customized pieces, contemporary art and I’m also a content creator. When it comes to mindfulness and how it’s involved in my life path, I’m grateful to say that through self-awareness, I have bettered my craft, as well as my life as a whole. Art is also a mindful practice and it help us achieve our potential and make sense of our existence. Art can also improve our mental health and I had to learn that the hard way. I lost my mom when I was very young and I believe my love for art preserved me and pushed me in the right direction after that traumatic experience. Especially today, it’s of great importance to use all the tools we have in order to battle the everyday struggles of the human experience and I believe artists have a big responsibility to shed light on important issues and help the elevation of consciousness. Because of my passion for wellness, I have directed my attention to building mindful community events that help people remove creative blockages, manifest their dream lives and focus on their true values in an ever changing and fast-paced world. I’m extremely grateful that my art also has been part of initiatives that spread awareness around different environmental issues, domestic violence awareness campaigns and it has helped raise funds which help kids who face difficult life circumstances. I am so looking forward to what 2024 has in store as I am preparing for my first solo show and more creative and career growth around being a conscious creator. I look forward to working on more empathy led projects as we need more of it in the world, especially during these times. I believe that art has a meaningful role in society and has a huge contribution to finding a greater purpose.
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?
The three qualities that I believe are very important for any human being are: compassion, resilience, being grateful and finding your purpose. I guess that makes them four and I believe they are all an essential part of feeling content in your life, no matter what field of work you’re in or what are your life circumstances. Through resilience you can become a better learner and build the confidence you need to achieve anything you set your mind to. When you are a good learner, you can build new skills and become anyone and anything at any given moment. As mentioned earlier, the best way to improve and build resilience is through life experience and going for your dreams while simultaneously befriending your fears.
Being a strong individual on the other hand, doesn’t mean you loose your sense of humanity. Quite the opposite. The human beings I respect the most are those who are powerful but have the biggest heart and unlimited compassion for anyone on their path. And of course, strong boundaries. You can build a love led life while you also protect yourself and stand up for your truth. Being grateful has also been a key factor on my journey. By learning to appreciate even the small successes, you can attract more of them and become a powerful magnet for your dreams. Waking up everyday with a grateful heart is a conscious choice. Some days it’s definitely harder than others, we are only humans and all we can do is try our best but trying is what matters.
And last but not least is finding your purpose and using your unique gifts to fulfill it. One of the biggest pain points in our society is the lack of purpose and direction in so many of us. No matter what we do, I believe it should contribute in one way or another to the collective and have a higher purpose that’s directed to not only benefit our lives but the lives of others. That’s why sometimes being successful is not enough unless in some shape or form it’s accompanied by giving back to the community.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
We live in a very fast world: fast fashion, high-paced environments, short attention span and the list goes on and on. Our systems are built similarly to processors and sometimes they can get to a place of burnout. That’s why I think mindfulness is so important. It keeps me on track, helps me connect with my inner being and quiet the overthinking mind. Meditation, breathwork, sound therapy, journaling and painting are just some of the tools I use on daily basis. They all keep me centered and help me get back on track when things get too much. There is just so much information and stimulations thrown at us everyday, especially because of social media. Even though it’s an amazing tool to grow an audience and showcase your craft, we don’t know what is the actual impact of all this data on our body and mind. So taking social media detoxes and being away from devices definitely helps with feeling balanced and it’s also a great way to focus on your craft and being present in life. Nature and reading are also two of my favorite ways to regulate myself and tap into my creativity. And the final tool that comes to mind is cold baths. It’s a proven way to regulate the nervous system. All of these tools help me become more of a producer rather than consumer. My aim is to consume less content and produce more of it, consume less products and create more art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hopelamber.com/
- Instagram: @hopelamber
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadya-lambreva/
- Other: https://www.nadyalambreva.com/
Image Credits
Lilly Lilova, Viktoria Sirakova
