Bazzicly

⚖️ Let’s talks about being authentic.

So for the first time in my career I felt at a point that I’m being “too much” in a certain business environment.

Let’s be honest here, I’ve got a lot of driving force. Tons of it. Can share if you need it. And it’s been my success factor for life. However, recently I’m feeling that I need to “tone it down” to fit. And being adaptable and enjoying a new challenge, I actually tried it. I tried really hard, I failed. I learned.

I learned something new about myself. About what I believe to be my core values and believes. About what is the power of my driving force.

Does it fit to every environment? Of course not. Do I need to fit to every environment?…

Me, hating to be a quitter, wants to say - I should at least try.

Me, having all the experience and knowing my strongest points - I have to say.. no.

I struggled today, but I made a decision. And it is to be my true self. Regardless if it fits the others. Because I know for a fact that there are plenty of those who need it, who come to me for who I am. Who tell me to “keep going because it makes a difference”.

So I’m making a conscious decision to stick to my authentic true self. An emotional, direct, brutally honest self. I accept me for who I am, knowing exactly what are ups and downs of it. I’m learning to love myself for who I am, not just loving myself for what others love in me. I’m learning to be proud of myself without others being proud of me. I learn not to seek validation, which used to be my main motivation before. I’m finding myself. I grow.

🙆‍♀️ International Women’s Day and why I don’t feel like it’s a special day anymore.

In Eastern European countries International Women’s Day doesn’t celebrate equality. It celebrates women that fit into socially accepted norm of women 💅

Recently I was told by a man that holds the same seniority level as me that taking responsibility and making decisions are true male characteristics. It pi**ed me off and triggered so much anger in me that it was flying across the room for eternity. I had to take a lot of time to reflect on why it was so triggering to me and I might have an answer.

I take responsibility more than many men do. I make tough decisions more than many men do. I have been called pushy and bossy and bitchy for doing exactly what “assertive and ambitions” men do. Because apparently it is a social believe that these characteristics aren’t natural to women. Similarly, when men are showing empathy and flexibility they are seen as “less manly”. In some bad cases even made fun of.

I’m tired of feeling guilty for being who I am and having characteristics that are making man good leaders that the society looks up to. It does not make me “manly”. It does not make me less of a “woman”.

Equality is not in letting women do hard physical work or artificially trying to put more women into top management.

Quality is in the same treatment for the same skills regardless of gender. When we stop saying to girls from the very start that them being strong-minded, bold and ambitious is “showing male characteristics” (some people think it’s a complement), and would encourage them instead for their natural talents, that’s when the true equality will come.

Same comes to saying to boys that “men don’t cry” and don’t even let me start on that one.

Photo credit: .nl

💪🏻 Mondays can be tough. Roads can be bumpy. Questions will always come before the answers.

Sometimes you just need to keep going, even when the future is misty. Somewhere, after the bumps and mist, the sun will shine bright and you will see that it was all worth it! ☀️

Let’s talk about ... US.
 
Since spring I didn’t write a single post and all this time, I didn’t have a single day when I was MYSELF. I actually feel like I was all kinds of different people, except for myself. FIRST time in my life I even said something like “I won’t go for this extra challenge, because I know it would make HIM (someone I work with) uncomfortable, and I don’t want a confrontation”.
 
I. SAID. THAT.
I SAID WHAT?????????
WHO AM I NOW? WHERE DID “ME” GO?
 
I’ve got so busy in trying to navigate my internal pain caused by the war, that in this navigation I lost myself completely. I sat there, weak, ruined, unsure.
 
And then this morning I had a work call and totally random my colleague said, “I’ve read your posts, you are my inspiration!” And she continued to say how much women need someone who can raise voice for them, and how I should keep writing because it’s helping other women. She said she needs someone like “ME”, referring to “ME” - as the person that I’ve been before I hid in my grief.
 
It was so painful to realise that I’ve lost myself that I had to take a break from my daily work to just sit and breathe, and think.
 
And then I realised something.
 
Since spring I managed to work daily, while also managing internal pain of a whole new level. I managed to be a good mom and spend time with my family. I managed to GRADUATE and receive my postgraduate Certificate with DISTINCTION, being a top 1% of the course. I had another talk where my fellow professional woman told me I inspired her to get her guts together and push for better contract conditions.
 
I managed to go out there and DO all these things while DYING inside and feeling hopeless and weak.
 
IMAGINE what I can do when I feel SRONG!
 
I felt like I lost “ME”. But here is the thing. “ME” was always there quietly pushing me forward, while letting me grieve and have my moment. Now “US” together will do more. Because there are other women that need someone like “ME”. Because I have a daughter and she need to know that she’s got the power and choice to be HER. That HER that lives inside her and will always support, even in the darkest moments of life.

💙💛 New level of multitasking

I was always busy. As long as I remember myself. Always a lit of things to do, always on a move.

Now I have a different kind of busy. Busy with tasks I have never expected to have.

In between my work meetings I’m riding around the city and surroundings, collecting things for refugees.

In between setting up advertising campaigns I’m sorting out boxes of humanitarian help that take a big chunk of my living room.

In between breakfast and daily working stand up I’m calling doctors, municipality and ministry of international affairs trying to navigate in endless forms and procedures for Ukrainians.

Answering as many questions as I can to everyone who seeks answers.

Trying to navigate between keeping my kids routine while helping other kids to have at least some basic clothes.

Trying to still be there for my husband who will soon forget that he has a wife.

Reading the news and trying not to break and still breaking. Crying. Feeling guilty for crying because I’m safe and have a roof over my head.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Please pray for Ukraine and its people, because they need it.

Work/war balance

Here was supposed to be a long post, but by the time I’ve got to it, my internal recourse has ended.

Please Stand with Ukraine 🇺🇦 , my home country that taught me to love, to laugh, to speak up, to believe, to be proud of who I am and where I come from.. 💙💛

Let's talk about Confidence 🙌

I had a chat with my friend yesterday. She asked for some tips on confidence during presentations and one of main suggestions I had was to be herself.

It's not uncommon to behave as a different person in situations when we need to speak on public or to be interviewed. I used to do it myself. Learning by heart the "best" answers to the interview questions. Writing perfect sentences for my presentations.. getting totally stressed and forgetting all of it as soon as I needed to speak up. Why? Because those best answers were not my true thoughts, and those perfect sentences were not how I normally speak. By trying to do things good, to "prepare", I was avoiding being myself, thinking that "just" myself can be not good enough.

But here is the trick. Unless you've got some real acting talent, you can't sound confident and convincing when you are pretending.

Think of the times when you speak about your passion and your interest. How strong is your message then. How confident you are in your judgements. That's because you speak from your heart, from within your true self.

Now, take it as the best practice and see how much more fun interviews and presentations become ♥️

Let's talk about BALANCE ⚖

So I disappeared from Instagram lately. No posts, no stories, quiet time. I had so much on my place in the last month that something needed to be cut off for the sake of my sanity.

And you know what happened?? Nothing. Nothing happened. No one died, the sky didnt fell down, Earth didnt stop moving.

I, as many other women, tend to have difficulties with cutting off anything from my to-do list. It feels like failure, it feels shameful and weak. But you know what? One of the most valuable lessons I learned in life is that my sanity is more important than any task I have on my plate. Because if I break, I wont be able to complete ANY task at all.

Funny enough, my work became way more effective since I adopted this balance in my life.

How are you dealing with your full plate? Are you able to cut off tasks for your personal balance?

Let's talk about personal brand and job hunt 🏹

I remember applying for a job before: sending tons of applications, preparing for interviews like for an exam where I will be evaluated. Rehearsing my answers to "the top 10 most common interview questions".. and being rejected in most cases 🤦‍♀️

Now. I don't do that anymore 😄 For the last 5 applications that I sent, I was invited to 3 job interviews and secured 2 jobs (for the 3rd, the company couldn't offer me a position that would fit my ambition).

My last successful motivation letter started with "I wasnt actually looking for a job, but your job description is too great to ignore". Which was absolutely the case.

Some things I said during the interview were:
- I can be slightly annoying (very true)
- I talk a lot (absolutely)
- If you are looking for someone to do a routine work, you shouldn't hire me as I will go and challenge everything (most definitely)

And of course listed the achievements I earned and the benefits my employers received from working with me.

Would these statements click with every employer? Absolutely not, an they shouldn't. In this case I did secure the job because my strong personal brand fit the company's need and culture. With this interview I made sure that the company was seeing who I really am, and also checked if they will be a good match for me.

Once you find yourself, your value, your unique selling proposition... your voice - the job hunt becomes not just easier, but also way less stressful. And what's even more important - it gets much easier to match with the right employer and the right position. When you believe in yourself, others will believe in you too!

Have you already found your unique voice? Share your success story!

Someone needs to see this today 🙌

Remember that no achievement would ever compensate for your broken mental health or missed time with your loved ones.

You cant pour from an empty cup. Happiness and balance will give you energy and drive that you need to achieve your goals.

It's a weekend, for Crist sake!

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💪🏻 MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

Coudn't say it better!

✅ SAVE THESE NOT TOO SERIOUS POST IDEAS FOR YOUR WEEKEND POSTS
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🖋️ Save these or share them with friends! ⁠
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Any special plans for this weekend? 🙌⁠⁠

🏆 MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

I'm so proud to make this post today. Last Sunday, 25 April, Chloé Zhao became the second woman in history and the first of Asian descent to win Oscar for the Best Director.

Let me repeat that. In 93 Oscar's ceremonies, it is the second time that a woman wins the Best Director.

Chloé had an amazing acceptance speech, but I would like to use another quote from her, that truly resonates with me.

Congratulations Chloé, and thank you for showing us all such an inspiring example.

🏋️‍♀️ IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN DO IT
(c) Walt Disney

Your weekly reminder to keep pushing and remember that the darkest time of the night is just before dawn 😉

Have a beautiful week!

✅ READ THE CAPTION 👇

Is running an ad always better than boosting post? Well, depends. Imagine having a car 🚗 and a bicycle 🚲. If you need a short ride, bicycle will do just fine. But if you go on a long distance, a car perhaps is a better option.

You can still go with a bicycle though, just need to evaluate the amount of energy and time invested. Might as well invest this time into learning how to drive a car 🚘 or grab a taxi 🚖😉

Which one is your favourite? Comment below 👇