We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Raziel Cariaga. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Raziel below.
Raziel, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
Personally, my self-discipline comes from the deep desire for change, and having a better life for myself. I’ll usually find myself at a point where I am unhappy or unsatisfied with a current situation and then choose to devote myself to a lifestyle change in order to get to where I would rather be.
I believe the practice of self-discipline has many facets: desiring better for oneself, having self-awareness, knowing your goal, a lifestyle change, a plan, intention, devotion, and patience.
One of the most prominent times I have practiced self-discipline was when I found myself unhappy due to the lack of self-care and putting others before me. I felt like I lost my sense of self. My nervous system was out of whack, I was out of shape, and living life burnt out and on autopilot. One day I got to the point where I was fed up with the life I was experiencing; I wanted to find myself again, and I knew it was going to require a lifestyle change.
My main goals were to become more independent, evolve mentally, physically, and spiritually, but above all things was to be happy. I knew that the first step to change was to let go of what no longer served me in order to allow space for the version of me that I desired. To me, this meant cutting out bad habits, old thought patterns, and people/environments that were a liability to my vision. My next step was coming up with a plan and setting in a routine to achieve my goals. A perspective I took on for this was envisioning the version of me that I wanted to be, and imagining which habits that version of me would have.
Since I wanted to become more independent, I pushed myself to do a lot of things on my own. Little did I know, change meant getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, as it requires you to step out of your comfort zone. In the past I always wanted company in even the smallest of things, like getting gas for my car or even something as simple as putting my laundry away. I started doing those smaller things alone and then pushed myself to do more and more uncomfortable things like eating at a restaurant by myself, or going to the movies on my own and then eventually I began going on hikes and the gym alone. Once I worked on my independence, everything else followed. As I spent more time alone I found myself able to focus more on my goals, it’s much easier when you eliminate distractions and liabilities and replace those with better habits that are aligned with your vision. When it came to finding myself again, and evolving mentally and spiritually, I knew I had to remember and re-learn who I was at the core and also learn the version of me that I wanted to evolve into, and I did that by incorporating journaling into my daily life. I started out journaling whatever was weighing on my mind, and this helped me sort out the chaos of thoughts in my head by getting one thought out at a time by writing it down. I was able to organize my thoughts and see where the root of the problem was, and I learned so much about myself by doing this. Another benefit I found in journaling is being able to look back at past entries and seeing how far you have come along, it is so healing. Evolving physically was a no-brainer, it involved discipline in diet and exercise. But was it easy? Not at first. Throughout my journey I had to remind myself to sacrifice current pleasures/comforts for long-term results.
Did I have hard days during this journey? Of course I did. There will be days where you find it easier to slack off, but at the end of the day it’s all about how bad you want the life you desire. That’s what self-discipline is all about; you have to be everything you need for yourself. You have to be your biggest motivator, you have to be your loudest cheerleader, and you have to hold yourself accountable. This is your life, your journey, how bad do you want the life you desire?
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a professional hairstylist in San Diego that specializes in haircuts, fades, and color. What I love the most about my profession is the ability to connect with others and help them look and feel their best inside and out. I got into hair after a bad haircut I received when I was younger, I told myself I’d learn how to cut my own hair and become the person others can trust with their hair. Throughout the years I’ve spent a lot of one-on-one time with my clients during their hair appointments, and have learned a lot about human connection. We all go through good and bad things in life and sometimes we just need someone that can listen, understand, and empathize, and sometimes that person is your hairstylist.
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?
In my journey so far, I have come to believe 3 important qualities I have developed is self-awareness, kindness, and drive. When you are self-aware, you understand how you operate and why you operate that way and how it affects you and those around you, which I believe is key in life. Kindness makes the world go round, everyone has things they are dealing with that we may not know about, the best thing you can do for others is to be kind, and you will see the frequency around you shift for the better. And last but not least, drive, it’s the fuel for evolution. We are on this planet to learn, grow, and be happy. Having drive will get you to the places in life that you desire. I believe these 3 qualities are the perfect concoction to living your best life, for you and those around you, you become a magnetic, high-frequency person. The best way to develop these qualities is to look within and learn about yourself, once you do that, everything else follows.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
As much as I talk about my journey and encourage others to level up in theirs, I am learning to allow people the dignity of their own journey. When I devoted myself to my journey, I learned so much and went through a personal shift, an awakening; my eyes saw the world differently and understood things differently, and I wanted so badly to help others to see the world the way I do because it was such a positive shift for me, but I have learned that sometimes that is not my place, and people will learn things in life the way they are meant to. I am learning to let things unfold, and be there to support people when asked. We all are conditioned differently and learn differently, and sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is to let them learn their way, in their own time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://square.site/book/9EAM1TJ55G73E/raz-cutz-san-diego-ca
- Instagram: @razcariaga
