Author Interview || Jasmin Waldmann

Intro

Jasmin Waldmann, Executive Training, Leadership Coaching, Mental and Emotional Wellness, and best-selling author of Change Me – 2nd Edition has generously answered a few questions as part of my interview series, lets deep dive into the below Q&A to the end and know, learn and understand ample things about her thoughts, experiences, and so on. She is the inventor of Pilardio®, a concept that combines Pilates and Cardio, and the developer of JaWa Diet.

Jasmin Waldmann is a highly accomplished Business and Life Coach, who stands among the global leaders in her field. Originally from Germany, Jasmin has established a remarkable career that has taken her to diverse nations, including India, the United States, and Australia. Presently, she resides in the vibrant city of Dubai.

About Book

Can you tell us about your book, “Change Me,” and what inspired you to write it?

Not all people who want and need life coaching and help can afford such services. My inspiration to write a book came from asking myself how I can reach out to people who are not clients but might benefit from what I have to say and offer. A book, according to me, is the best way to be of service to a larger number of people. It not only saves people a lot of energy and time, it also saves money and it can be extremely helpful.

So, the inspiration was very organic. Through my book, anyone wanting help could use the life coaching services. As soon as the idea struck me, I did not waste any time. I went over the notes I made through all my training, seminars, and the books I had read. Everything was right there. I just knew I could write something in an entertaining, yet helpful way, and at the same time make it both accessible and affordable to more people. It was smooth sailing after that. By the end of the year, I had the manuscript ready.

How do you define personal growth and transformation, and why is it essential in today’s world?

Everyone has the privilege to define this for themselves. For me, personal growth is all about transforming in a holistic way. This quest is infinite: I am constantly seeking to be better than I was last year or even yesterday. How do I do it? I observe myself, and I ask self-reflection questions about myself and my behavior. I also ask myself this: What would I change if I’d have the chance? I then work on the next day or the next opportunity.

Sometimes I also go back to people and share some thoughts. If I realize that I treated someone unfairly, I go back to that person and apologize. Or, sometimes I reflect on someone’s behavior and decide that I don’t agree with the way I was treated. I go to that person or grab the next opportunity to give her/him feedback. In short, I try to be at my best and try, to be sometimes ok with 80, instead of 100%, and be flexible enough to also let go of things. This is how I work on myself in order to grow and thrive – as a person and as a businesswoman, too.

Talking about feedback. I often tell my participants and clients that feedback is gold. But often you have to de-code it, in order to make use of it. It’s also one of the best tools for personal growth.

It’s so important in this world simply because change is a constant. The world around us is always changing, and it is human nature to adapt. We can all grow as human beings and move forward in this world, only if there is personal growth and transformation. Else, the world will be stuck in time and collapse. If people tried to become the best versions of themselves, the world we inhabit will become more tolerant, more inclusive, more resilient to negative forces, and will have more equality and fairness.

What key principles or practices can individuals adopt to facilitate positive change in their lives?

The idea is to take this journey from inward to outward. The key to facilitating change is to look within to make sense of everything outside. I follow something called The Four Pillars. These are:

• Meditation: It is important to take time to meditate. This practice helps us become more aware of ourselves and our thoughts. It also brings clarity and helps us stay focused.
• Mindful Fitness: Usually, when we talk fitness, it’s all about a toned body, ripping muscles, etc. But I believe that we should use the body to hone the mind. And fitness is also a great way to connect the body with the mind.
• Life Coaching: Life coaching here does not necessarily mean hiring a life coach. It means finding ways (with some help is always better) to achieve personal growth and insights.
• Diet: We are definitely what we eat. So it’s important to stay healthy both physically and mentally. A proper diet lies at the center of achieving one’s best health and personal goals.

If we can hold on to these 4 pillars, we can easily facilitate positive change in our lives and lifestyles.

How do you help individuals navigate the resistance or fear that often comes with making significant changes in their lives?

Many people are afraid of change. Whether organizations or people. Everyone like to be in what we call comfort zones. It’s natural because we spend the time before our birth in our mothers’ wombs: the most comfortable of all zones ever – it is safe, supplied with all that is needed, and it is familiar. Then all of a sudden, from the moment we are born, it’s a struggle for survival in this world. So, we constantly seek comfort zones. First, we have our families, then we add friends and enter relationships and alliances to continue feeling comfortable. We don’t ever want to be uncomfortable, so we create and try to keep little comfort islands for ourselves wherever we go. So isn’t it natural to fear and resist change?

If you look at it deeply, making or allowing significant changes in our lives is a way of stepping from a comfort zone that is good for us to a comfort zone that could be best for us. My personal view of change is that I love change. I believe in change, I am entertained by change. Else, I’d be bored if I’d do every day the same. Thus, I look out for change every now and then. In my profession, I help individuals and organizations navigate change by simply opening their minds and eyes to what could be better, more successful, more comfortable, and sometimes more thrilling.

How do you approach the balance between self-improvement and self-acceptance? Is it possible to strive for change while still embracing and loving who we are?

It sounds contradictory that we accept ourselves for who are, and why we need to improve. If we are already OK with ourselves, why change? Well, self-acceptance is not about believing that you are perfect and always right. It is not about thinking that personal growth and self-improvement are not for you. In fact, there can really be no self-improvement without self-acceptance.

Self-acceptance comes only if truly accept ourselves even when we are at our lowest worst, only if we can look in the mirror and admit to ourselves that we can be wrong and right, that we have strengths and weaknesses, that we can feel both safe and vulnerable, and we are still OK with it all. Self-acceptance is not easy. So my first step is to always help people accept who they are and be their real and true selves first before I take them on their journey toward self-improvement.

So, yes, it is definitely possible and much easier to strive for change if we embrace and love ourselves. Yet, tricky – when do you do what!? We need to distinguish between our behavior and us, as a person. Then we can criticize our behavior, can try to improve better our actions – but we as human beings need to be kept safe. So you accept and respect yourself as you are and you can reflect and improve your behavior. The key is to keep these two things separate always.

What role does resilience play in personal growth, and how can individuals cultivate resilience during challenging times?

It is not easy for individuals to look at themselves and completely accept themselves because people are always trying to be someone everyone else wants to be. We try to become a “perfect” version of something we feel others around us will accept. In trying to achieve personal growth, we often grow into an individual the world thinks is perfect.

This can be problematic because we wear masks of perfection and end up eventually self-loathing because we can no longer recognize ourselves. To avoid this trap of becoming who we are not and to stop ourselves from going too far away from our true selves, we need resilience. Only resilience can help us meet our true selves and not run away from it. Only resilience can help us adapt and make lemonade out of all the lemons the world throws at us. Only resilience can help us survive in the worst of times because without resilience we won’t have to courage to face ourselves and pick ourselves up when we are down. Which is why it is important to cultivate resilience.

We can do this by striving every day to accept ourselves for who we are, connecting with ourselves every day, being kind to ourselves, embracing our limitations and being flexible to what we can do and how much we can achieve, being positive and optimistic, being supportive and seeking support when needed, being grateful for the small and big things, and finding purpose every day. Overall, understanding that suffering is part of life, and some phases shall pass, too.

Your book covers various areas of personal growth and transformation. How do these aspects intersect, and how can individuals holistically approach their own transformation?

My book has chapters that focus on 10 ‘R’s: Recognize, Realize, Reveal, Repair, Rebuild, Replenish, Recover, Rekindle, Refresh, Resurrect, and Reflect. As is evident from the words, it’s about understanding who we are, accepting who we are, and finding out exactly what we need to improve on. From there on it’s about taking steps to recover parts of ourselves we may have lost along the way either because we are pretending to be someone we are not or because we can’t forgive ourselves from the past.

As we understand more about ourselves and begin to accept ourselves, we can help our true selves emerge through forgiveness, through mending broken bridges, and through a fresh perspective on life. The book is about this journey from inward to outward so that we can find the comfort zone that’s best for us and everyone around us.

Finally, what advice or message would you like readers to take away from “Change Me”?

I have two pieces of advice to give. It may sound clichéd, but change can only happen if we are open, and choose kindness and compassion every step of the way. Trust me, it’s really hard, yet doable. Let me tell you, change is such a beautiful thing, and when you trust yourself and the universe – many amazing things will happen.

With the thought-provoking ideology and insightful responses, no doubt the book “Change Me – 2nd Edition” is a life-savior for those who are seeking to improve their lives and in need of guidance along their transformative journey

‘ Allow yourself to feel what you feel, completely, no matter what ‘

Accolades

My special thanks go to Jasmin Waldmann for taking the time and humbly responding to my questions, I sincerely wish her book “Change Me – 2nd Edition” brings inspiration, and offers a fresh perspective on life as a whole, making it a valuable read for anyone seeking personal transformation. Not to miss mentioning my heartfelt thanks to WritersMelon team for providing me the golden opportunity to be part of this interview series with Jasmin Waldmann

About Me

Kiran K Adharapuram, an ecstatic techie with a decade-plus of technical expertise, currently outperforming as “Lead IT Consultant Engineer” in one of the top-notch IT companies. Without limiting himself to a vicious “9-5” job, he extended his arms to become a successful Bibliophile, Bookstagrammer, Blogger, Social Media Freak, Book Reviewer, Casual Writer, Spiritual Believer, and Occasional Journalling Practitioner.

Links

Book Link: Change Me – 2nd Edition
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House
Author Bio:  Jasmin Waldmann
Author Contact: Reach Jasmin
Collaborator Link: WritersMelon
My Handle: Kiran_Kumar_Adharapuram
You can also explore my works -> Here

With Best Regards
Kiran K Adharapuram