Stop selling yourself short. Tell your story - if for no one else but you.

“So Ilona, do you go along and do these crazy trips with your husband?”

“Oh no, that’s his department!”

Yeeeeaaahhh - except for that time you trekked 96km through the mud, mountains, rivers and tropical jungle of Papua New Guinea, also known as the Kokoda Track. And that time you trekked into the deserts of Jordan and the Wadi Rum. Or that time you backpacked in Alaska with a trusty can of bear spray in your hand. And then there was Africa.

And don’t even get me started on the whole bringing our two boys into the world thing.

It’s easy to listen to the achievements of others and suddenly sell yourself short on what you have achieved in your own world. Tales of climbing some of the worlds iconic mountains or tackling seemingly impossible races in remote and almost fantastic environments bring with them a romanticism and almost mystic quality when it comes to telling the tales. But in reality they are stories that contain the same components as many of our stories - hardship, discipline, failure, setbacks, pain, dreams, support, love, tears, elation, success, growth. All the moving parts are there it’s often just the setting or circumstances are different.

My story telling palette thankfully is composed of extreme adventure in far flung places, your palette may feel more mundane in comparison but look a little closer and see what is really hidden in the colour of your story. Hardships that you railed against, struggles that tried to crush you, goals that seemed almost inconceivable but somehow you finally overcame.

“Don’t dwell on your weaknesses, everybody else is already doing that for you.”

- Gary Vanyerchuk

Take some time to think honestly about those moments that have made you who you are - sometimes they are achievements in the traditional sense - ran that marathon, earned that promotion, delivered on that promise to your family, yourself, your kids. Sometimes it is in disguise - it’s a failure that you didn’t let derail you, a disaster that you survived and came out the other side, circumstances that you didn’t let define or derail you.

These moments are your story and to someone they are real and inspiring and heartbreaking and uplifting and beautiful. Tell your story - if to no one other than yourself. Sometimes that may the be the exact audience in need of it the most.