Meet Stacey E. Haught

We were lucky to catch up with Stacey E. Haught recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stacey E., 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.

I think this is something that I’m still working on as a woman who has freshly turned forty, and who has dealt with body confidence issues my entire life. I feel like I haven’t fully come into my own. And I don’t think I am the only one. If we are being honest with ourselves. Truly, there are things we are deep down still struggling with. Flaws only we see in the mirror. That pesky 5lbs we want to lose. Or those grey hairs we think we are too young to have. Perhaps even those fine lines and wrinkles we can’t admit to having.
I think truly deep down what really comes down to self-esteem and confidence is being okay with the person we are. In my experience when I’ve met a confident, fully secure person. Female, male, non-binary. They’re not bothered by what they “look” like. They’re more “bothered” by how they affect other people. What that lasting impact is like.
That’s the kind of esteem I strive for. Wanting to unpack those deep-rooted issues to where I don’t take out my lack of confidence and lack of esteem on my fellow human. To where I can fully embrace all of me in order to fully embrace everyone around me.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Hi! My name is Stacey. I am a romance author, who has been known to dabble here and there in the fantasy, and mystery genres. But I didn’t start out in writing, and I wouldn’t really say that I am necessarily the best writer out there (Honestly I don’t think it’s healthy to say you’re the best at anything) I actually began my professional career as an actress, and then went into professional instruction in performing arts, with a focus on film and TV. I taught for fourteen years before I “Retired” My retirement sort of pushed me into having to explore what else might be out there for me. Naturally, storytelling was an option, as it was a neighbor of my craft. Performing arts is a muscle of writing. A lot of my time as an instructor I found myself adapting scripts for my students, sometimes even having to write short-form plays and scripts. I would have maladaptive daydreams as a child, and sometimes still today elaborate stories, so when I began writing my first six novels were these daydreams I had dancing around in my subconscious. In addition to writing I dabble in social media management and working as an administrative assistant.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience: One of the strongest muscles I built early on in figuring this game of life out was being resilient. Listen. Sometimes the things we have planned don’t work out. Sometimes people are horrible. They say necessary things aimed at kindness but in actuality, it’s not. Building thick skin takes time. But it’s the best thing we can do. Now there’s a caveat with this. This doesn’t mean we become callous and heartless. This doesn’t give us an excuse to give back what’s given to us. We can still be us. Who we want to be. Remember that. Softness isn’t weakness.
Observation: Totally understand this is a weird skill but stick with me. We can learn a lot by observation. We can gain save ourselves a lot of hurt by listening and taking in the warnings of the waving red flags by seeing how people interact with one another. At the end of the day, observing is the active practice of active listening skills. Observe more. Listen more. React less.
Boundaries: I used to be someone who never evoked a healthy boundary to save her life. Would say yes to every opportunity. Because I believed hardcore in an opportunity was an open door to endless possibilities. But that led to burnout. Boundaries, and saying the word no is okay. Set boundaries that you’re comfortable with. It’ll save you. Save your relationships and your career. If people don’t respect that and understand your boundaries then they’re not for you, and that’s okay!

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am currently looking for writing partners. Fellow authors who want to collaborate. Get together and write something fun. If you’re interested let’s meet over on IG @stacey.e.haught

Contact Info:

• Website: https://authorstaceyehaught.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacey.e.haught/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.stacey.e.haught
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-haught-b85812227
• Other: Tik Tok: Staceythewriter