Cathy O'Brien
Writer and Storyteller at life through the haze
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I’m a survivor, wife, mother, daughter and friend.
I’ve spent most of my life being tough on myself – always making myself wrong, not valuing who I am and my worth, not acknowledging my accomplishments and undermining my own strengths – but I’m now finally focussed on how I can have the same amount of compassion and kindness for myself. Being kind to others is easy, being kind to myself is harder, though this is what I need to show to my children is just as important – I practice this by forgiving myself of my mistakes, living a life that is true to my values and ensuring that I make me a priority in my life.
I’m proud of the woman I am. I know I’m stronger than I feel and thanks to the incredible women in my life, I know I have a lot more to give.
As for what’s next for me, I have a big dream of making a difference in the lives of women and helping them be the very best they WANT to be in life. My story is one of addiction, poor choices, loss, and much more. I’m not shying away from that, but rather accepting it for what it is and learning from the mistakes I made so I can help other women who may face similar challenges. My future is not written yet neither are theirs. I am working with an addiction specialist on a conversation starter book about Women and Addiction. It’s not a sexy title, but I know that exploring the reasons why women race to numb the feelings of life through alcohol, drugs, exercise, gambling, money, sex, work and many more, is an important topic.
If I had a magic wand and could grant everyone a superpower, I’d want everyone to have the gift of courage – with courage we find compassion, with courage we find the confidence to make our dreams happen, with courage we have the wisdom to ask for help, with courage we can make a huge contribution to situations that require us to step outside our comfort zone, and with courage we can keep going when we just don’t think we can keep going at all.