Kory | Life Inspired: Finding Confidence and Happiness

Kory, whose story is featured in this installment of my Life Inspired Project, is both amazing and gorgeous.  She is a hard-working, hella resilient, and super loving single mama to her two beautiful children.  And with two small children to raise, she is creating a life she loves and helping others in the process.  You just have to check out her blog, Kory Needs Coffee, and also her business, Coffee Run Virtual Assisting, which can help you with just about anything! 

I’m so happy to have met her and to be able to share her incredible story with you. 

Find out more about my Life Inspired project here, and as always, if you’d like to nominate someone with a story that needs to be shared, yourself included, please contact me today! 

Without further ado, Kory…

When did you realize that your life was being held back by fear or self-doubt, and what kept you from moving forward?

I could talk about this for days! I have three answers to this question because each catapulted me in a different way. I had a really large life-changing moment of realization that I was holding myself back 3 years ago this June. I was in a relationship that was not good for me, I was across the country in Montana without any family nearby, and I was unmedicated while suffering through one of my Bipolar Disorder episodes. I actually took my own life through an overdose and went into cardiac arrest, when I was then resuscitated and spent more than a week in the hospital. After this event, I realized I needed to change and work on myself. I needed to stay focused on my mental health. I left that relationship, went back to Texas, and focused on my career and happiness.

 After moving back to Texas, I met the man who gave me my youngest son. We had a fabulous relationship and I was so incredibly happy. I relinquished my career to devote myself to being a stay at home mom and became pregnant with my son. Pregnancy is very miserable for me and I was left feeling so defeated throughout my pregnancy and right after my son’s birth. My mental health was starting to suffer again and I had no drive to do anything other than keep the kids alive. I was living in the negative mindset of “Well, if I plan for the worst, then maybe I’ll be surprised but at least I’ll never be disappointed.” A few months after having my son, I started having some mini breakthroughs and really started working to shift my mindset into a more positive place. I found some drive, created my blog, and became more active in my social life. That was my second realization that I was holding myself back and a slight step in the right direction.

Then, in February 2019, I learned that much of what I knew of my ex-fiancé was completely false and I had no clue what was actually going on in our life together. He had never been truthful about his past, about his work, about his whereabouts, about our money.. All of what I had thought to be true was not. At this point, I realized I was being held back in a MAJOR way and that I needed to fix it immediately. He was keeping me from living the life I deserved and I needed out.

What triggered you to no longer live a life of fear and self doubt?

The realization that I was being duped in all aspects of my life was a huge shock to my system. I immediately went into Flight Mode and started to plan my “escape” for lack of better terms. This gave me the jumpstart to give myself the life of my own dreams and the faith in myself that I can do it.

 What did you have to let go of in order to take the leap to move forward?

In order to make this transition and start living a full life as a solo parent and fulfilling my dreams, I had to let go of this relationship and every bit of fear I was holding onto. I had to let go of the worry that I wouldn’t be enough or I wouldn’t be able to provide. I had to believe that money would come to me, I had to believe that my kids would have everything that they need, and I had to stay strong and focused on my dreams.

 What did you find on the other side of fear that made it worth it?

On the other side of fear, I have found confidence and happiness. I now know that I have all of the power to do anything I want in this world. I am everything my kids need, I can provide a full & rich life for them, and I can create my own destiny. I have realized that I don’t need a romantic relationship to be happy, but I do need a support system. And I have found that I have success buried deep inside of me that has just been waiting to bloom. After releasing my fear, I have been able to create a business from scratch and have made myself so, so proud!

What would you tell someone (or your former self) who still feels held back by fear or self-doubt?

I would tell anyone who is being held back by fear or self-doubt to start keeping a gratitude journal. Implement little things into your life that shift your mindset towards a more positive direction. As you start to feel that shift, run with it! Tell yourself how awesome you are, write out your goals, talk to an accountability partner (for any and everything!), listen to motivating podcasts, etc. Once you start to believe in yourself and see things in a positive light, you’ll be able to weed out the negativity and jumpstart your dreams.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Never blindly trust anyone other than yourself. You are the only one that can take care of you, so please make it your priority. Make the shift to positive thinking, nurture yourself, do things that make you happy, and leave anything that doesn’t bring you joy behind. You are incredible and have a light deep inside of you, you just need to find it.