What does your shoe collection say about you?

It might sound like a superficial question, but I swear I have a point…
For those of you who don’t know, my boyfriend and I recently moved out of the city to our dream home by the lake.
And let me tell you…
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​There’s nothing like the experience of packing up your life in boxes to remind you of the insecurities hiding in your closet (literally).
I happen to have a passion for beautiful shoes.
And over the years, I’ve worked hard to earn the collection of pumps, stilettos, slides and sneakers that line my shelves.

​When I was younger, my grandmother instilled in me the idea that having a lot of things was excessive and something to be ashamed of. It meant you were selfish and didn’t know how to manage your money. This negative thought pattern became ingrained in me, even though it wasn’t aligned with my truth.
As a result, I held back from letting my friends and family help because I was scared of what they might think.
But this is no way to live your life (and I don’t recommend trying to “do it all yourself” when it comes to moving, either).
How often do you hold back from showing your true self out of fear of what others will think?


I’m willing to bet it happens more often than you realize.
It’s not unusual for us to let the ideas, opinions and criticisms of others influence how we live our lives. And often, these criticism aren’t even true – we’ve imagined them because it’s what we think others will believe or say about us.
And we start wearing these assumptions as layers, covering up our true selves, because it feels safe.

It reminds me of the story of the Golden Buddha…
One day, in 1957, a Monastery in Thailand was being relocated by a group of monks. They were moving a giant clay Buddha when one of the monks noticed a golden light shining out from behind a giant crack in the clay. After chipping away at the clay exterior, the monks realized the statue was actually made of solid gold. Historians believe the Buddha was covered in clay several hundred years earlier to protect it from being stolen in an attack.
I love this story because it’s so relatable.

As humans, we tend to hide our true, golden selves behind layers of clay as a form of protection. But it’s not until we learn how to chip away at the clay—in other words, address the negative thought patterns, habits and routines we’ve adapted—that we reveal our true beauty.

Real talk.
Just because I’m a mindset coach doesn’t mean I am not challenged by my mind.
Yes, I’ve done the work. I’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into business and mindset education, coaches and training. But I’m still human.
And managing your mind is always going to be a work-in-progress, no matter who you are or what you do.
I was recently reminded of this when my Instagram following almost doubled in a short timeframe.
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Suddenly, I had 10k new followers – and it triggered me.​

​All these fears started racing through my head. I was asking myself questions like:
What are they going to think?
What if they don’t like me, and they lash out?

The thing about our triggers is: they aren’t about us, they’re engrained in us.
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In its basic definition, a trigger is when a behaviour, topic or action sparks an intense emotional reaction, regardless of your current mood.
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Knowing what your triggers are (and how to process them) is key to personal and professional growth.
And there are steps you can take to manage the mental shift around your triggers… 🙏

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1. Notice when you’re being triggered. Often, we don’t even notice when we’ve been triggered. But this self-awareness is crucial. It’s important to pay attention to your emotions, so you can recognize when you’ve been triggered, and how it makes you feel.
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2. Sit with your trigger. In addition to feeling your emotions, recognize how the trigger is making you feel physically. Is it in your throat, your chest, your hands? Acknowledge it and allow it to flow through your body.
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After my mom died, I spent years never actually noticing how it felt in my body. Feeling into the emotion made it a lot easier to release and move through.
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​3. Talk yourself through the trigger. Ask yourself: what’s really going on here? What’s coming up for you in this moment? What are you feeling this way? Whenever you’re feeling out of alignment, it’s because a thought pattern or emotional habit is unfolding in your mind that you’re not acknowledging or that goes against who you are at your core. Talk yourself through it, and look for ways you can soothe the thoughts and emotions that are coming up for you.

When was the last time you felt triggered? Did you recognize it in the moment? I’d love to hear about it.
If you could take a few moments to fill out this quick survey, it will help me better understand what you’re struggling with so I can create more free resources to help!