Karena Thomas – Behind the Mask

 

Are you hiding? Is the real you in there somewhere? The you who has the right to be happy, create your lifestyle and build a business that suits your needs and lifestyle? Well, time for us to stop playing ‘hide and seek’ because, in this episode of Cynspiration, we are going to fast forward counting to ten and shout ‘Found you!’

 

Karena Thomas is here to share what it means to give yourself permission to strive for you that is happier and more at peace with yourself and the choices you make.

Karena’s Walkabout

 

With self-deprecating Aussie humour and gusto, Karena explains that she started as an actor after studying at drama school. Karena liked to make people laugh. She loved the connections she made with her audience, but she hated the shallow and ultra-competitive nature of the industry, not to mention the drudge jobs that all jobbing actors end up doing to pay the bills.

Doing a complete 180-degree turn, Karena left her thespian roots behind to take up steady employment at a large organisation. Sure, she enjoyed the regular money and had great colleagues, but she hated the bureaucracy and rigid structure. She needed to find a way to gain skills and give herself the freedom to create a way of life that meant she wasn’t tied to a salary or way of working that didn’t fit her ideals.

 

En route, she also gained a whole lot of insight and perspective that has helped her re-frame her life, reconnect to her spirit and show you that you can too!

 

The Hamster Wheel of Life

 

Like many people, Karena has endured her share of failures, hurts and not feeling as though she was enough or that she had enough. It hurts to feel as though there is a deficit inside us and to try to avoid these feelings; many people get stuck on the “hamster wheel” of life. An endless cycle of work, responsibilities and obligations. Seldom do they pause to reflect about who they are or why they do what they do? The lack of deeper meaning or connection to their work and life roles causes them to shift into autopilot, living in a state of unconsciousness and stagnation. 

 

Karena explains that we spend our time wanting to feel safe, and we take the actions that we think will give us what we want. So we stick with that job that we hate because it pays the bills and enables us to have an enjoyable holiday once a year. We will cling to that relationship that we know isn’t working because we are scared to be alone or our lives have become so entwined it will take a massive effort to separate. We will continue to put a brave face on hurtful actions by others because we want to feel accepted. 

 

The common denominator in these scenarios is that they require us to hide our true feelings and needs in order to feel ‘safe’ and project the image that we are doing well. 

 

Karena says ‘We have 24 hours in a day and you spend half of that time hoping that something doesn’t happen or wishing that something would happen. That stops you from being present’. It leads us to move from one decision to another doing anything we can to feel safe, but we forget ourselves and move further away from our real needs in the process.

 

Keeping it Real 

 

We all think that we don’t have much to bring to the table. Women especially suffer from the habit of downplaying their skills and achievements because we feel that our soft power skills are not valued in the wider world. What we often don’t acknowledge is how much those skills contribute to making the world a better place or the bravery we demonstrate when we expose our weak spots and vulnerabilities to others. 

Every relationship, whether personal or business, can be revitalised by re-engaging with authenticity, compassion, empathy and vulnerability.