We recently connected with Vanessa Gabriela Naumann and have shared our conversation below.
Vanessa Gabriela, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I believe that purpose is a byproduct of living life and taking decisions that are aligned with your curiosity and inner compass of what feels genuinely true or good within you. I remember a time in my life where I wanted to find “my thing” so badly and what I did was just exploring everything that felt exciting to me. I joined different projects of people I admired and felt inspired by and got to know what it takes to grow these projects – for me that involved art, food, technologies, music, mental health. If you’re like me and you have many interests, I would recommend not to limit yourself but follow your excitement and see where it takes you. First, I just followed blindly and at some point I paused and started reflecting on what all these different things had in common, what I loved about them and what kept me engaging. This may sound easy and light-hearted but rest assured I’ve had many rollercoaster moments that left me feeling uncertain and confused about life and my path. It can seem quite challenging when you’re in the midst of it all but just know that this too is part of life and part of becoming who you’re truly here to be. One thing I will say, is don’t focus on finding your purpose. Focus on understanding yourself fully with all your fears, doubts, traumas, as well as your joys, excitements and passions. Make this your purpose for a while without asking ‘are we there yet’? Because dedicating yourself to fully integrating all the parts of yourself will ultimately be the roadmap to a purposeful life. Suddenly it will feel like purpose just showed up without you even looking for it. In those times of, let’s call it ‘soul searching’, I found it especially important to have mentors and a support system by my side to gain clarity and have a sounding board to figure out what I wanted my life to feel like and in this process I understood my qualities, gifts, dreams and desires and started taking action on creating a life that feels purposeful to me. During this exploration time it’s important to expand your ability to be in discomfort in order to be courageous enough to bet on yourself and take risks that are aligned with how you want to feel. A common misconception is that purpose is connected to outrageous public success and a career. It’s not. Your purpose can be expressed simply when you are being present with the people you love. Living on purpose is unapologetically and genuinely being your heart-centered self no matter who is watching.
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?
I teach leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives how to navigate through life challenges, decode their unconscious patterns and break free from the limited frame of thinking to come fully alive in their body and unfold their unique impact. It’s all about practicing how to tune into the body, listen and breathe – skills I believe are essential to see ourselves and the world around us clearly, make wise decisions and live fulfilled lives.
Simply put, I’m here to remind you of your own unique brilliance and power.
I work 1:1 and with groups and if anyone would like to get a taste of my work, join one of my upcoming online events here (https://vanessa-naumann-
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?
Great question! I do think this may vary based on the goals you have or impact you want to create but focusing on universal skills, I would say discernment, devotion and asking for help are my top 3 skills that ultimately changed everything for me and that I use daily to keep me aligned. Discernment is an important skill to cultivate because in doing so you’re learning to trust your unique taste and preferences. It’s good to ask others for input and feedback but it’s important to discern if it genuinely serves you and what you’re aiming towards or if it may be too personal or distracting. Discernment is also important in terms of choosing people, experiences, education, systems, therapists – you name it – that will be right for you. When we don’t develop our inner sounding board of what feels resonant with what we want, we may end up following someone else’s goals instead of our own and then be surprised why we don’t get what we really want. So be honest with yourself and stop taking everyone else’s opinion more seriously than your own. Another important quality for me is devotion. I thoroughly believe the times of profit and fame for ego’s sake are over. More and more people are realizing that doing a job solely to earn a living isn’t fulfilling their human desire for contribution. So whatever it is you decide to do in your life, only do it if you’re devoted to it. I spent 10 years of my career in the tech industry and the only part that fulfilled me was my passion for innovation and the possibilities that come with it but everything else often felt empty to me. Then life sent me on a wild ride of dealing with burnout, which was only the tip of the iceberg and a symptom of all the conditioning and trauma I uncovered underneath. In working through all this I got devoted to learning everything I could about healing the body, mind and spirit. I studied, read and practiced concepts and tools from psychology, neuroscience and alternative therapies every day and that led me to become an expert in the work that I do now. So if you choose to fill your life with a career, make sure it’s something you feel deeply passionate about or devoted to for whatever reason because this will keep you going, even when times get tough.
And lastly asking for help, this may be a skill that’s underrated because the societal notion in recent years lead us to believe that we should be as independent as possible without needing anybody. It’s not just okay to ask for help, it’s actually smart. No matter if you feel challenged with mental health, business or specific industry questions, building a reliable support system of mentors, therapists/coaches, friends and loved ones that share your values is an invaluable gift that keeps on giving. I know many people are afraid to invest in themselves or consider this an unnecessary ‘cost’ but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Any challenge or uncertainty you’re facing in business, personal life, health and relationships always comes down to your relationship with self. So if you ever debate if investing in yourself is worth it, remember this. I should also say (lovingly): don’t be reckless. If your budget is limited, you can find small ways to invest in yourself. Get creative and you’ll be surprised how fast you can grow using discernment, devotion and asking for help as your guides to success.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I was younger I didn’t feel the overwhelm coming, it just hit me and sent me down a drama spiral of imagining worst case scenarios. In those situations I often felt powerless and a loss of control. From a mental health lens what happens is, your nervous-system gets alarmed and you either flight (escape), fight (defend yourself), freeze (you stop moving) or fawn (you people please). You could say this is our built-in security system taking over to keep us safe. At some point I noticed that this wasn’t a sustainable way to deal with stress and I started reverse engineering the roadmap that led me to get overwhelmed in the first place. I noticed different things that would happen before the ‘big bang’ occurred and set boundaries with myself in form of little breaks, communicating my capacity to show up or deliver with others, reducing my daily to do list, intentionally taking self-care time and connecting daily to my mind, body and emotions through meditation and breathwork. There is always a build up to overwhelm and when we start observing how we feel daily, we can process it before we reach a breaking point. It’s mostly about developing the discipline and awareness to track yourself, as well as knowing that your wellbeing is important and cannot be the last thing on the list to care about. I’ve been going through a few big life changes in my personal life and business lately and naturally, juggling it all felt overwhelming, intense and uncomfortable. So what I did was, I acknowledged that this is a time of uncertainty and sat with it in my daily meditation to practice making space for the discomfort I felt in my body and nervous-system. In those situations all we want is certainty and safety. So we may try to grab onto something in the outside world to numb the feeling of discomfort. Especially if you’re moving through a new experience like business growth or a move, know that these are growing pains and that old insecurities may come up. But that’s normal and you are capable of dealing with it. You can repeat these two questions to move you forward: What do I really need right now? What is one thing I can do to help me feel safer? You’ve got this. 
In case you’re looking for support on your journey, I created an online program that teaches you how your nervous-system works, how to regulate it, how to harness your unique energy and how to take bold steps to access your innate potential. I’m big on self-sufficiency so my intention with this program is for you to walk away well resourced, clear and empowered. Equipped with tools & techniques that support you no matter what life holds for you. Check it out if it resonates: https://www.vanessanaumann.com/refineandembody
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vanessanaumann.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/vanessa.decodewithsound
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/vanessanaumann
Image Credits
Hayley Kelsing
