Gabrielle's Personal Story

"For many years I was so fearful of being rejected and ridiculed, of failure, and of being shown up for the fraud and unworthy individual that I felt deep down that I was. Such fears were established by happenings in my early childhood life; events which were by no means out of the realm of what we would call ordinary family life. However, the implications for me as an individual were significant. I spent my life striving for acceptance and trying to be perfect in the eyes of everyone. I tried so hard to please everyone in my life except myself. Without conscious awareness I lived my life by other peoples' values and ideals; those of my parents; my boyfriends; my friends; the media and Australian society as a whole, all in the name of feeling loved and accepted. These values and ideals were so ingrained in who I was that I never stopped to question them."

"I had a feeling of dissatisfaction with my body that didn't meet the so call ideal standards of beauty painted by the media and starved myself and pumped my body with processed 'diet' foods high in everything bad for me. I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day so I didn't eat as much. I pushed myself to unhealthy limits academically to win my parents' approval. I tried so hard to be cool in the eyes of my friends and classmates to avoid being labeled a nerd, which meant surviving on little sleep so I could go out and party yet still get up at the crack of dawn to study. I had to have the perfect wardrobe, which I couldn't really afford, and I did things which fundamentally went against who I really was, such as taking recreational drugs and binge drinking. I always tried to be a kind person, but this was often at the expense of my own needs. I had no conscious understanding that the life I was living wasn't really my own. Nor did I realise that I was actually being extremely disrespectful to myself."

"I felt helpless in life; a victim of circumstance. I found myself in a boring job, with a bunch of superficial friendships which came about through circumstance rather than choice and very few personal interests or hobbies. I'd had a string of failed relationships and felt like I always had bad luck when it came to men. I often found myself in emotionally abusive and draining relationships, both intimate relationships and friendships. I felt like there was something missing in my life, but I wasn't sure what it was and I felt helpless, like life was pulling me along and I had no say."

"I was fortunate enough to meet an amazing individual who opened my eyes to the way I was living my life, which sent me on a journey of self-discovery. Ironically it was a painful failed relationship with this man that served as a catalyst for a wonderful life transformation. Through this relationship I realised that while I was trying so hard to please others I was compromising myself. After we broke up I set about implementing positive change in my life, defining my own set of values by which I was going to live, and embracing self-appreciation, respect and love. When I did this, my life changed forever and for the first time, I truly started to live my own life. The effects of such a paradigm shift were amazing; not only did I feel more satisfied within, I could consciously start to build MY life. Once I knew more about what I actually wanted, as oppose to what I didn't want and what everyone else wanted for me, things just started to come together for me. I started to attract more respectful people into my life. I got a new job paying double. I started living a healthier lifestyle, wanting to nurture my body with nutritious, natural, organic foods, fresh water, daily exercise and plenty of sleep. New exciting opportunities started coming my way. I met a wonderful, kindhearted man with a beautiful soul, who showers me with the utmost love and respect. Once I was not so focused on my own feelings of unworthiness, lack and dissatisfaction with life I became more empowered to act kindly towards others, without compromising myself. I now know that I am actually in control of my own life and can create it to be whatever I want it to be."

"This change in my life was so significant, positive and amazingly transformational for me, that I am absolutely passionate about inspiring and empowering others to experience the same positive transformation and live the fabulous lives of wellbeing and happiness they really deserve."

Gabrielle Loves