We recently connected with Sophia Vasiliou and have shared our conversation below.
Sophia, 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.
At the heart of this answer lie many of the keys and skills that I currently use in my work. In some ways, I had terrible self-esteem growing up. I was bullied, different and generally part of the outcast, misfit group. However, in another way I always had authenticity – I wouldn’t do false things just to try and fit in and I never tried to be anything that I wasn’t.
This has been one of my greatest challenges (because sometimes it is nice to be accepted!) but I do also view it as my highest value. I try not to do anything that compromises my authenticity and that is such a powerful tool for cultivating self-esteem and, from that place other kinds of confidence can grow.
I have always been bright and able to pick up things quickly, so being able to do any job was never an issue, but I generally tried to fly under the radar, that is until I went to the Amazon to drink ayahuasca. The mission was to go for personal healing. I was in a bad way internally, although externally I’m sure people would have assumed I had a fine life – a loving partner, a stable job and a nice family, but I still just didn’t fit somehow and was beyond depressed.
So, I went for healing and instead found myself and my voice. I was there for an intensive 6-week retreat which included 18 ceremonies, and the transformation I underwent in mind, body and spirit was so profound, that I opted to stay and work at the centre for another 2.5 years. That is where I learned to be authentically me in all areas of my beingness. And that was when I decided to fully dedicate my life to helping others. Up until that point I had just been supplementing my income doing some therapies on the side for people, but now I knew I could do nothing else.
There is something extremely powerful knowing you are doing exactly what you were born to do. It is exhilarating. Not that it isn’t hard at times or doesn’t come along with feelings of doubt and such, but that, combined with knowing one’s core values means that there are always bright stars to navigate by, even when things get tough.
To make this transition dedicating myself to this new vocation, one key thing I did was to invest in myself. I already had several qualifications, but I wanted to upskill and be able to offer more things – the key one being a way of reprogramming the subconscious – letting go of old limiting beliefs and being able to install life enhancing ones instead. This is now at the core of what I do with my clients, and I am a living example of the power of this work. One small example is that at school if asked to read in class I would shake afterwards would have tears in my eyes. Now my favourite means of connecting with a wider audience is doing interviews and podcasts and teaching workshops both in person and online.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Having studied ancient history as an undergrad, I suppose I have always been interested in discovering the roots of things – especially in the realms of thoughts, beliefs, and practices. My favourite specialities were ancient Egyptian and Greek philosophy and literature and how those things affected the cultures.
I have always been what you might call a ‘seeker’ – of knowledge, of self-awareness of trying to understand the mysteries of life, knowing that there must be more to what our physical senses can perceive. This journey has led me across the world to many places to study both ancient practices and myself – the culmination of which was my time drinking ayahuasca in the Amazon and learning from the Shipibo.
But I have also always had a very scientific, rational mind – albeit one slightly more open to possibility than some! This has also informed the way that I process information and do my work in which I like to include metrics of progress for my clients alongside using the most up to date findings from science to help expand what I do. For example, the most recent addition to my knowledge is HeartMath® which combines the latest discoveries about the heart and how it communicates with the body and uses simple techniques that help us gain control over our biology by consciously altering our physiology. I consider the understanding of the mind-body connection and using it to our advantage to be the most important part of what I do and the thing that has the most far-reaching impact for overall mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.
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?
At the top of my list is authenticity. As already mentioned, this was a huge factor in keeping me sane and became a seed for my self-esteem later on because I could at least hold my head up with pride and say that I never compromised on my values. Also, not being authentic is a huge energy drain both in maintaining a façade and in the way that it erodes your sense of self. Eventually it is likely to make you feel apathetic and dull and you may even start to dislike yourself or lose respect for yourself which will cost even more in the long run.
The second, thing is to start to understand the power of your own beliefs and how they affect you and the world around you (because what you believe you perceive and therefore the world we see is not really how it is, but how we are) Having the wisdom and courage to look at your beliefs, to question where they came from and if they are really yours (or say those of society, your parents or religion for example,) and then to decide if you want to change them or not, is an incredibly tough but rewarding process. Sometimes just the process of questioning why we think something is enough to start breaking down the belief structure and create impactful changes in unexpected ways.
Finally, developing tenacity and resilience is really important. Learning to follow your dreams and own inner compass to achieve your goals, whilst also having the wisdom and humility to ask for help along the way. One way that I would also suggest you can develop these qualities is to get to know your own core values. Once you take the time to discover what is important to you, these values can be used as your own true north by which you can navigate and guide your life and make decisions by.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Dealing with overwhelm can be difficult as the thought of dealing with anything when you are in that state can feel like an extra burden and often the main desire is to curl up and hide or go into mania. Neither of these states is productive because in the hiding state the stressors are still there and the weight of them will still be sensed. In the manic state we often go way past the point of healthy stress, (the kind that motivates us to get things done and gets us into flow and helps us hit deadlines,) to the kind where we find it difficult to bounce back and end up depleted and often burnt out.
My best coping strategy for having too many demands and feeling overwhelmed is to first do a mind-map and get out on paper, or white board, everything that is going on that requires your attention. Start with the big, broader categories of things and then break those down into smaller pieces connected to each category. I find that different colour pens are also really helpful to see patterns and how things connect to one another.
Next, highlight the must do and highest priority things and the things you may be able to delegate. Write a list of the most important things with the most urgency and break each of those down into smaller manageable tasks to be addressed one at a time.
I know this may sound like obvious advice, but the importance of making tasks achievable cannot be overstated. If you constantly are trying to climb Mount Everest it soon becomes demoralising, but if you have way stations along the journey, make sure you take breaks, and have moments to appreciate and celebrate each milestone, progress becomes both more probable, and enjoyable. Overall, it will become less overwhelming and you will end up feeling satisfied instead of frenzied or fried!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.awakenedpotential.co.uk
