As you already know, my name is Dragana and I am Stress and burnout coach and Mindfulness and meditation teacher.
I was born in small Balkan country named Serbia as an only child in a pretty patriarchal family.
As an only child one would think I was being spoiled and got what ever I set my eyes upon. But that cannot be further from the truth. My parents were very loving and supportive, especially my mother, and they were working very hard. I remember helping my dad as a very small girl and in the same time learned that life is tough but beautiful, and that I will need to work very hard, because nothing comes easy.
Soon after I finished my school, my career started and my dads words were following me all the time, so I kind of convinced myself that it is not going to be easy, and I will need to work extra hard to prove myself especially because I am a woman in a mans world.
I found myself in a very dysfunctional relationship and a child was born. This child, my beautiful son, was my saviour in a lot of challenges life has presented before me.
First challenge was death of my mother when my son was only one year old, which was emotionally defeating for me considering how close I was with my mom. She was my pillar, she was my anchor in good but particularly in bad times. Her death left serious void in my life and made me feel lost and helpless. That is when I realised that life can really be tough but I cannot give up no matter how hard it is because I had someone who was depending on me completely, and that was my one year old boy. By taking care of him I managed to get through all the sorrow and emptiness I felt over my moms passing.
Few years later my dad died too and again I have found myself questioning my life, my purpose, questioning where is the sense in that. I had no support from my partner, relatives were busy with their own lives, and being the only child I had to go through all of that mess by myself. Again, I found consolation in my son and dedicated my time in taking care of him, supporting him and trying to provide him with the best possible education I could.
After spending seven years with my partner, father of my son, I have decided to put an end to that relationship and start fresh. It was a very demanding time, because I had to take care of my son and at the same time worry about my finances, finding new job and just trying to make the ends meet.
But I was determined to live a better life and find someone who will accept me, appreciate me and love me just the way I am. I was tired from all disputes, arguments, fights and feeling like a failure all the time.
Universe heard my prayers and blessed me with a man who has been my loving husband for this past 15 years and who is all that I was praying for. By meeting and marrying my husband, I ended up in Germany where I really had to start from a very beginning.
Soon after settling in Germany I started working in a middle sized family company and I worked my way to a position of a department head. It was a nice but very demanding experience, which lead to my first and than, few years later, to my second burnout.
I was working a lot, had more and more responsibilities, had a feeling that I must be perfect, manage everything, meet all the deadlines and have complete overview of everything that was going on. There was no place for mistakes, otherwise I would get scolded and found responsible and guilty. It was actually a game of power, which I did not know how to play. I was afraid to go on a sick leave, because I thought the work will suffer, not get done, or even worse, get done wrongly. I could not rely on any of my colleagues, and so on. I was always given a feeling that I am not good enough and that I have to work hard all the time to prove my value. My fathers words all over again…
I was suffering for a very long time, tried to make some changes, questioned myself and my abilities and pushed myself beyond my limits. My body was showing signs of me being overstressed and overworked but I did not take them seriously, I just continued working and neglecting myself completely till the point my body just stoped functioning. I could not walk straight anymore, I had to lean myself to the wall when going from one room to the other in my home.
That was the time when I realised that something has to change. I immediately went on a sick leave and started working towards recovery. I was doing a lot of research, and ended up hiring a coach. It is actually then, when I realised what sort of limiting believes and core values lead me to my condition.
It is then I realised that no one else is responsible for my condition but me, no one could have influenced me this way, but my feeling of not being good enough, I was emanating that with every step I took, and every action I made. That was just how I used to show up.
Oh boy, that hit me like a rock….
That showed me how much I need to work on my mindset, because everything was deeply imbedded in my mind. I needed to learn to start valuing myself in order for others to start valuing me.
My coach showed me the path I needed to take and I was doing my best to stay on it. That is when I learned so many useful techniques for stress management and that is when I decided to get myself certified as a life coach and help people who were suffering in the same way.
One of techniques I learned was also mindful meditation and I embraced it with all my heart, because I noticed how helpful meditation was for me. After getting my life coach certificate, I continued my education by applying myself to become mindfulness and meditation teacher.
I was so inspired and convinced that I was doing the right thing. It is the best step I could take, and nothing makes me happier than to see my clients shine when they discover ways to reduce stress, overcome burnout and learn how to become stronger and more resilient towards challenges life puts in their path day after day.
Because there is stress in everyday life, no one can deny it, but everyone can learn how to deal with it in the best possible way. We are creatures of habits, and we are growing and developing throughout all our lives, we just need to allow that growth to ourselves. Why living in pain, if the solution is only one step away? Who said that we need to suffer all the time, who wants that? Life can be beautiful and fulfilling, and we can become the best version of ourselves, but only if we want to and if we commit to that decision 100%. The best possible investment we can make is investment in ourselves; in our health, both mental and physical, education, our general well-being.
I am here to invite you to take a second to relax, and imagine what kind of life you really want to live, write it down and read it to yourself every day, again and again, and than decide what steps do you need to take in order to achieve it.
I am very curious about your response.