Hi Tajana, thank you so much for your time today. You are such a beautiful soul, I admire your inner strength and I am sure our readers would love to hear your story. To start with, please tell us about yourself.
Hey, my name is Tatjana and I'm a passionate dancer and traveller. I enjoy connecting in deep conversations and as well through dance. Dancing for me is another language without any other rules, it's pure and raw, just being yourself, embracing your light and darkness at the same time. It's like a journey of embodying your true, wild nature.
Travelling is an addiction for me because it broadens my horizons and shows me, exactly like dancing, that there will be always something to explore and create and gives me an understanding that we are all one, there is no separation - the beauty of life mirrors in all beings.
I know that you came to New Zealand very recently, could you tell us what brought you here?
I came in the middle of September last year. I wanted to explore a different part of the world and to go to my limits, to get to know myself in a different light. That was the purpose.
Why New Zealand?
It was just a feeling, actually. I never thought about Australia or New Zealand in general. I met a friend, who had been to New Zealand already and he was planning to go again. We started to talk about it and at one point I had this thought in my mind: I want to do this too. And then I made it happen.
What do you like the most about New Zealand?
I can't really tell, because I haven't seen so much yet. But I guess it's the nature and also the people who came here from different parts of the world. This is actually very exciting for me, because I get to know people from everywhere and it makes life richer in a way.
What about challenges?
The challenge is that you can't do anything without a car (laughs).
That is so true! What are your strengths?
My strength is that I can adapt to difficult situations very fast. And if there something that has to be done - I don't hesitate, I just focus on one thing. Also, I connect very easily with people, on a deeper level. It depends on the person, of course, but I have the feeling that it's easy for people to open up to me.
Do you open up in return?
Yes, I do. But not to all people, not with everybody I meet and only to a certain degree. It depends on how the situation is and on my feeling of that person. For me trust is very important, so if I feel that I can trust someone, then I open up easily and it goes natural.
What are your weaknesses?
I overthink and I hold myself back where I shouldn't or push myself in situations or doing things that I shouldn't be doing. And I know that, I feel that, but I still do it. This pisses me off actually (laughs) but I'm getting better.
Do you have any insecurities?
I think everybody has insecurities. Because you are harder on yourself than others, you can’t see yourself with the eyes of someone else. And because of that you look at yourself with judgment, thinking you are not doing something well enough or that you should have done something in a different way. So yeah I do have insecurities - sometimes more, sometimes less.
How do you overcome this feeling? Are you able to register it and say okay, now I need to stop and look at this from a different perspective?
Sometimes I let the feeling be and just dive into it, allowing myself to feel whatever I'm feeling. I used to not do it and then it would get worse because I was not dealing with the feeling. Sometimes, when I realise that I'm doing that in the moment I try to stop and ask myself why and where it is coming from.
What makes you happy?
Connection. What I have recently discovered is a connection without feelings is not a real connection. Dancing makes me happy because that’s when I experience the purest connection. Of course, not every time, but when it happens the time stops.
I also enjoy helping people and seeing that it actually works.
Do you have a motto?
What I believe in is that all is connected and that everything is universal. So my motto is “be genuine”. Try to bring up good in other people. This way we will be able create paradise, as everything starts with your mind. If you have a dark mindset, you live in hell. If you change your mindset, you can change everything.
Tell us about your mindset. How does it impact your life?
Mindset is everything for me, because with your mind you create feelings, and with your feelings you create thoughts, and so on. In a tricky situation, if you try to change your mindset you can view it from a different angle. And it's not either good or bad - it depends on where you stand. Every experience is a lesson. And I try to take the positive out of every situation and go with the flow.
It does not come easily, you always have to work on it. I think if someone says that it's easy for them, they are not really doing the job. They are just putting things aside.
Everybody has a lot of things in their life and when you acknowledge them, working on your mindset is hard. It is like a pattern and you have to repeat this work all the time. Sometimes it's easier, sometimes harder. But I wouldn't say that there's a time where I don’t have to work on it. It’s not like cleaning the dishes: when they are done, you are done too. It's a lifetime process, constant work in progress. You can have your ups and downs. So, if something is flat and nice and always the same way, you either don't look at it or you don't go deep enough.
Do you have a role model that inspires you?
There are people, who are quite famous for what they have done in life. I don't really know them, so I don't know if they really are like this, but what they represent I try to look up to. I am not blending in, though - I adapt things from them. Each inspiring book I read, each podcast, speech I listen to - I don't try to put it over me like a cover and leave it like that, I try to understand with my own mind and to transfer it into how I feel about it and listen to my gut feeling – what is right for me. Because not everything is right for everyone. And I think a lot of people just adapt to someone else's life and when they do that they don't really live their true self.
Could you share with us the most important lesson that you've learned in your life?
There was one situation where I did something that I knew was not right, but I still did it. After that, maybe even the same year I got into a similar situation, but reversed. At first I got upset, but then I decided to step back and look at the whole picture and I understood that I deserved it. It was a relationship situation. I looked at that and said “Yes, I understand. I won't do it again.” (laughs)
When you face challenges in your life what gives you strength to move forward?
Spirituality gives me strength. I believe things happen for a reason. It’s either a straight way or it goes through a few different situations. I also believe there are things that need to happen for you to grow. That's why I try not to attach too much to traumatic experience. Because if you do, you re-suffer again. It gives me strength to look back and to see how far I’ve come. In such moments I realise that I actually did well in those situations.
Is there any advice that you would like to give your younger self?
Believe in yourself and trust your gut feeling. Never question it. Because the first feeling you have is actually the right one. When you start to think about it, then you are doubting it. And then you reconsider your opinion and then you find yourself in situations that could have been avoided. So yeah, listen to your gut feeling.
If you look at your life at the moment, is there something missing or some goal that you have for the upcoming year?
I'm still figuring out my life, I am now in a process where I need to figure out who I want to be. I mean, I know who I am, of course. But you can also decide who you want to be. Everything that happens in your life shapes you. You represent a character: it’s not what you really are, it's not that light that you have deep inside. The older you get, the more layers you add to it. So when you know who you are, to get to that point again, you need to decide who you want to be and how to uncover it.
What is missing? There's never something missing because you already have everything what you need in the moment. And everything else you can work on.
Is there something that you're excited about in the nearest future, something you look forward to?
Yes, to lift my authentic self without any excuses, and to be brave to show it and to give others the same permission.
Thank you so much, Tatjana.
