We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful DR. SOPHIA KHOUSADIAN. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with SOPHIA below.
SOPHIA, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Fortunately, resilience is an innate human capacity that can be learned and developed by anyone. All people have the ability to develop the skills that will put them on the path to resilience. My success and who I am today is shaped by my experiences. I can’t mention my resilience without bringing up the topic of family. My family has had a tremendous impact on shaping the person I am today. Their emphasis on the importance of Resilience, Education, Adaptability, Resourcefulness, and Discipline have helped shape me into the person I am today. There have been many obstacles throughout my life, and I quickly learned that sitting around and playing the “victim” card or overthinking a situation of what “could’ve” been would not change the situation. There is a great emphasis in my life of accepting the current situation and letting it be, even if it isn’t how I would want it to be. Time is the one thing in life that we cannot take back. Therefore, I have a life motto, where I am allowed to give myself the first hour of a life event to feel my emotions and to accept, push forward and “mourn” the event. After that hour, I am to move forward and think positive. With resilience, we soon learn things that are in our control and things that aren’t. This allows us to see life differently and through a more positive perspective. I often find myself saying “it is what it is” through many unseen events in my life. Lastly, I am a firm believer that everyone that crosses within our paths plays a role in shaping us into the person that we are to become. Each of these individuals play a role in growing our resilience and allowing us to become stronger.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My career in the educational field will always be one of life-long learning and personal rewards. I always knew that no matter the career I chose, that. I would make sure to work with children. Children are the future and running a private-sector elementary school allows me to implement many key factors, lessons and help shape the minds of future leaders. As a professor, my students motivate and feed my drive daily. The discussions held within the classroom not only help shape my student’s minds but feed my own. This naturally made for a smooth transition into becoming a public speaker at conferences and making an impact on people all around the world. As for The Global Leaders for Organizational Welfare, it is an organization based in Los Angeles, CA. The primary purpose of G.L.O.W is to motivate worldwide leaders to promote organizations in their own countries. G.L.O.W hosts an Annual Conference for leaders interested in developing leadership skills. It is a proud and exciting moment when I encounter driven individuals looking to make an impact in the world. Someone once said, “life begins at the end of our comfort zone.” Our challenges make us better and give us room to grow. Being able to get out of our comfort zone helps us grow and gives us perspective. I feel blessed to be able to make such a tremendous impact on so many people and to feel just as rewarded in return. I have always been a behind-the-scenes type of girl and have always promoted success without fame. However, this past month, I would say I have decided to express all sides of myself and display myself in the public eye a little more. I am manifesting more success and if it pairs with fame, so be it!
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?
My top 3 would be: discipline, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. There are different aspects at play here: such as, self-regulation, a growth mindset, consistency, determination, resilience, passion, empathy, conscientiousness, discipline, openness to experience, patience, and various social skills. Discipline is that bridge between goals and accomplishments. When you really think of discipline and the true meaning behind it, you realize the impact it has over your professional and personal life. My career as an educator, a consultant, and Co-Founder of G.L.O.W. Conferences exist due to my discipline. The success of my brand wouldn’t be here today without my discipline in my social life, my academics, and my professional life. Discipline displays the will-power one has when temptation comes into play. Emotional Intelligence is another major characteristic of mine. Having a high level of emotional intelligence allows you to empathize with others, communicate effectively, and be both self and socially aware. How we respond to ourselves, and others impacts our home and work environments and being in control goes hand-in-hand with emotional intelligence. Along with this, adaptability is very important in order to evolve with time as the years go by. Adaptability expands your capacity to handle changes in life. This can include focus, motivation, and an open-minded outlook. When others see us embracing change, it’ll inspire them to do the same. Those who are adaptable can respond quickly to a change in demands or priorities. More adaptable leaders tend to show greater ability to motivate, inspire and lead teams, and more easily earn the respect of many people. My greatest advice for anyone just starting out would be to respect their principles, but to not hold such high standards when originally starting. As your career excels, then you can start to pick and choose your battles. Also, to never burn any bridges in life. Your ego is never worth it and you just never know when you may re-cross someone during your path to success.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The next decade will be dedicated to myself because I deserve it. During my doctoral program, my professor told me that being selfish shouldn’t be considered or viewed as “bad.” He elaborated and expressed that when we are on an airplane and there is an emergency, when the oxygen kits drop, you must put yours on first so that you can then help others around you. This visual really stuck with me. I had never realized how by being so self-less, I was not only hurting myself, but those around me. Whether this is traveling, working, spending time with family… making an impact on someone’s life in the daily is how I define my success. My definition of success is achieving personal goals, whatever they may be, and being better than you were prior. If I am being honest, I am currently facing the challenge of whether or not I personally feel successful. I am proud of my accomplishments and don’t mean to belittle them in any way, but I do find myself questioning whether or not I feel successful. I have always focused on success without fame. Fame is defined as “the state of being widely known or recognized; renown” whereas success is “the favorable outcome of something attempted.” Very different, however when you look closer, the definition of success includes another perspective; “the attainment of wealth, fame etc.” I’ve recently been pondering whether true success can avoid fame or if it is inevitable. Sometimes challenges aren’t a physical one, but rather a mental one. The importance of mental health plays a major role in my life and all challenges can be overcome if one’s mental space is positive and strong. So I would say that if I had a decade of life left in me, I would continue to be kind, determined and accomplish all of my dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://drsophiakhousadian.com/
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