Parisian Chique
I hope you enjoy my ”Parisian Chique” photo diary shot in the rain (Yes, we die-hard like that ;-)!). All outfit details are listed below. Also check out my last fall/winter 2016 favourites post for all my fall fashion must haves, which I’m sure you’ll love!
Love,
Nadira
Outfit details: Coat: SheIn. Gloves & Baret: BBarbarella by Trees (Kerkstraat 63, Gooische Brink Passage, Hilversum). Click on pictures to go to shop.
Photography by Jesse Verboog
- Published in Written Archives 2013-2018
The Unknown
I’ve decided to let you guys in on one of the things I initially intended to keep to myself. Because it has appeared to be a valuable life lesson to me, I figured it won’t hurt me to expose my vulnerable side a little bit, as it might help a lot of you through your journeys as well.
One of my frustrations that I’ve been working through in the past few months is having difficulty with ”not knowing”. I’ve always known myself as someone who knows exactly what she wants. I would describe myself as the type who always had a plan and everything figured out, but the past year I felt completely lost. Now I bet most of you are quite surprised reading this, because I know I always seem to have to all together, but the truth is, I’ve actually been quite a mess…(just really good at hiding it 😉 ).
I found myself falling into this gaping hole, completely lost. Despite running two companies, I still had the feeling that I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life; I started questioning everything I was doing. I didn’t know who I wanted to be, I literally felt as if I didn’t know anything anymore,”who am I, what do I stand for, am I on the right path, am I (good) enough?”….And it was SO scary! I lost my vision, my purpose, my drive and mojo. Especially for a control freak like me, it felt like I was going through the worst time of my life. I thought I was losing it honestly. And the worst part was, nobody could help me. Because nobody can answer these questions. for you, you need to find your own way.
So after months of inner-struggling and constantly in agony due to everything which seemed to be”unknown”, I decided to let it go. Because fighting to know wasn’t working out, it was actually only making me doubt everything even more. I let go of the panic I felt when I thought about everything I thought I should have had figured out by age of 27. I let go of the tremendous amount of self-pressure and doubt and said to myself, ”you know what Nadira, you’ll figure it out”, it’ll become clear, just focus on doing the things that trigger your passion, make you happy and give you energy. ”Eventually all the dots will connect”.
And the moment I did that, and used my precious energy for doing good for myself instead of fighting with myself, everything started changing. I knew I needed a lot to change, I wasn’t happy with where I was, but I didn’t know which direction to go. But the moment I stopped pressuring myself in needing to know, my next steps started to become clear to me. Amazing opportunities came out of ”nowhere”, and new paths were created for me.
In conclusion: the unknown can be frightening, believe me, I know. But I also found it to be a place where I discovered abilities I didn’t even know I had. And I believe the unknown is also the same place where I’ll accomplish more than I ever dreamed possible. I would advice to let go of the fear and just embrace it, let it reveal all those things you would never encounter if you’d always want to control and plan out everything in advance. In the end, I found the unknown to be like a breath of fresh air, exactly what I needed when I needed it. I learned that not knowing doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing.
I hope you enjoy my ‘‘Parisian Chique” photo diary shot in the rain (Yes, we die-hard like that ;-)!). All outfit details are listed below. Also check out my last fall/winter 2016 favourites post for all my fall fashion must haves, which I’m sure you’ll love!
And remember this:
”We do not fear the unknown. We fear what we project into the unknown”- Teal Swan.
Love,
Nadira
- Published in Self-Discovery & Growth, Written Archives 2013-2018
Whatever Is Good For The Soul…
Wandering through nature, with everything around me in transition, I finally find myself having a quiet moment in between what’s just a blur of busyness. I realised as I was looking around me, that constantly being in some sort of transition/progress/growth is the basic foundation of life in general. If it weren’t, life would be really boring, though it can be overwhelming at times. Speaking of overwhelming, there is so much going on right now, which is also one of the reasons why this is one of the longest periods that I haven’t been blogging.
What’s happening in short: My textile company Customized Wear is expanding (fast). Next to Wulterkens Lifestyle, my brand Wulterkens is getting divided into Wulterkens Clothing (Casual wear) and Wulterkens Sport, with new collections of both launching end of november, with an entire new look and feel!
And, as if I wasn’t busy enough, I’ve decided to start a third company ”Madame Selfmade” together with an amazingly talented lady. Madame Selfmade is a networking, motivating and learning platform providing a blueprint for all ambitious individuals, to explore their passion and create the life they want by providing guides and tools in several forms towards fostering the right habits, attitude and mindset that will enable one to achieve happiness, personal goals and success more efficiently. More about Madame Selfmade in my next blog. Oh anddd I’m officially starting with my Master thesis!
Don’t ask me where I get the time, because to be honest, I have been struggling, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Comfort is an illiusion anyway. I’m just really grateful that I am able to do so many amazing things that I’m passionate about. One thing I have really learned these past few weeks is the importance of quality me-time, even if it’s just an hour in the week. I am actually scheduling it in now, because otherwise it simply doesn’t happen. Next to that, I’ve found that starting the day with 30 minutes of meditation, affirmations and visualizations in combination with a good workout, works like magic to get through the day. However, this does require some discipline to get up extra early, which I don’t always have, because I’m not a morning person, but I’m working on it!
Whether it’s going to the spa/salon, meditating, sleeping in, taking a long bath, going for a workout or stroll through a beautiful environment, cooking, listening to some music, curling up with a good book, doing something creative like painting or writing. Whatever is good for the soul….do that!
I’ve given up on obligations if they are not work related and time sensitive. Usually it’s in the weekends that you get more social, visiting family or hanging/going out with friends. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to relate, but if you run 2 businesses, are setting up a third and are in pursuit of your master’s degree at the university, there is little energy left to go to family birthday parties, and other social obligations. If you have energy, you should go, but if you don’t, don’t feel guilty about it. Accept that it’s part of the choice you’ve made, and you cannot have everything. My rule is: if it’s not going to give me any energy (rather take what little I have left), I’m not going. Keeping to this rule and choosing yourself above social obligations will prevent you from starting the week exhausted. It will make you enjoy the experience so much more if you go, and give you peace of mind when you decide not to go. Of course, if you don’t go, make sure you re-schedule some quality time with the people some other time, they will completely understand. And if they don’t, well…that’s not really your problem.
One thing you will find along the way is that the best investment of your time and energy is in yourself. This is not egoistic in any way, because if you can’t be the best version of yourself, you’re not able to give the best to your surroundings. So by investing in you, those significant others will only benefit more too.
I hope this little piece will give you some energy. My blogs will be a little bit shorter in the future, due to being shorter on time, but there is a new one coming up next week. Also, the giveaway I have been promising you will start a litter later than anticipated. It’s worth the wait, I promise! The new Wulterkens’ collections launch at the end of november.
Lots of love,
Nadira
Outfitdetails:
Boots & Pants: Zara (old collections)
Coat & Faux Fur Gilet: Missguided (old collections)
Sweater: WE (old collections).
Bracelets: Anadyla || Earrings: Swarovski.
- Published in Self-Discovery & Growth, Written Archives 2013-2018