Community Highlights: Meet Amira Sookram of Guilt Free Goals

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amira Sookram.

Hi Amira, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
If you struggle to get out of bed some days, deeply feel your (and others’) emotions, or identify as highly sensitive… and you hate routine, you’re welcome here!

I’m Amira, and I teach people how to set goals with ease based on research, as well as my personal experiences with knowing that a one-size-fits all method doesn’t work for everyone. I hate routines and believe everyone can be successful in a lifestyle that feels personally powerful for them.

My passion for goal setting stemmed from my struggles with mental illnesses.

At the age of 16, I was first diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and I continued to wrestle with clinical anxiety & depression (possibly more undiagnosed) throughout high school and starting university. I was the last person I would ever trust to commit to and stick with a goal.

In my first year of university, I was a Computer Science major, and I hated coding. I never really thought to make a change until I found myself grappling with extremely depressive thoughts. I slept all day and avoided the work I knew I didn’t want to be doing.

This led me to take a semester off to re-group, go to career counseling to find a path better suited for me, and switch to studying Psychology full-time.

In 2015, I took my first class in Health Psychology. This class truly scared me because I started to learn about the long-term effects of Major Depressive Disorder. In this class, our professor gave us an assignment that I was determined to apply to my life, knowing experience is the best teacher. The assignment was to make or break a habit.

I set a goal to practice yoga for three days every week. The goal that eventually led me to writing my book Guilt Free Goals was: “I will practice yoga for at least 10 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,” and that year I practiced yoga almost every day. Yet, even with this new habit, my mental health was still very poor. This was only the beginning of my journey to shifting my entire mindset and lifestyle.

After a year of practicing yoga consistently, I began to notice how making one change started to affect other aspects of my life. I looked at what I was eating, how I was spending my time and the quality of the relationships in my life. Then, I started to make gradual changes to learn about healthy nutrition, build habits that made me feel the way I wanted to feel and broke old relational patterns I was facing.

It was a process that catapulted into a complete lifestyle change.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t always easy to trust myself.

To put it in perspective, I once had a job at a football stadium, and I only showed up for 2 shifts for the entire season. I couldn’t fathom going out into those big crowds with anxiety, so I avoided it.

This primed my brain to not believe in myself. I felt worthless because I couldn’t be productive in the way that I was taught to be. I couldn’t eat first thing in the morning or wake up at the same time all week long. I found it hard to get out of bed most days and follow a schedule like everyone else could (or so it seemed).

A month before I finished my degree, I had that classic conversation with my mom about what I was going to do next. Within a few minutes, I was in tears and being radically honest with myself and her, that I didn’t have it in me to go work a 9-5 job. I was still coping with depression and anxiety and I just couldn’t do it.

Instead, we made a plan for me to move right ahead with starting my own business in social media management straight out of university.

I didn’t believe in myself to follow the regular path because deep down, I knew it wasn’t for me.

I struggled in school to go to class, yet I thrived in an online setting and could go faster than the set pace. I struggled with never going to the gym, yet I thrived with at-home yoga classes. I could never keep up a routine, yet I thrived when I allowed myself to be productive in my own way and go with the flow.

In-the-box thinking told me that I had to live my life a certain way.

Today, I allow myself to live off of a regular schedule and honor my unique rhythms. In this freedom, I’ve found my purpose of encouraging people to honor their natural cycles and that it’s okay to not have a routine. You can still reach your life goals and be successful in a way that works for you.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Guilt Free Goals?
Realistically, no one does 100% of everything every single day. Yet, we all feel the guilt to check off everything on the to-do list, guilt for taking rest days because we’re overloaded, or guilt to achieve every goal we set out to.

We feel guilt from our parents, our partners, our friends, and society to always be productive, perfect, routine-oriented, and hustling to succeed.

Guilt Free Goals teaches people how to set goals with ease, based on research and life experience. It inspires others to go with their natural flow and honor their energy levels by taking breaks guilt-free. It’s all about that balance!

I’m Amira (the author and creator), and my goal is to help you envision and take your first steps toward your Dream Self, keeping in mind that how you want to feel in the future matters more than the accomplishments, you’ll achieve.

If you’re ready to start aligning the goals you set with a dream for your future, plan out your next steps in life, or feel supported in balancing your natural flow with goals and rest, then there’s something for you at Guilt Free Goals.

Get started with the Guilt Free Goals book, join for free weekly reading hours (to reach reading goals), and join our membership for monthly co-working sessions to connect with like-minded individuals who are all honoring their natural flows.

What matters most to you? Why?
Years ago, I would have told you that I am passionate about helping people achieve their goals. I want people to get in touch with their feelings. I crave to hold space for you to dig deep into what you dream for your life and I could practically show you how you can build your dreams into your reality.

With every passing day, I find my path changing (and I am a big proponent of allowing yourself to evolve whenever the #@$& you want to).

What matters to me today is love. Love. LOVE.

It doesn’t matter if you achieve your goal or not. It doesn’t matter if you’re in touch with your feelings or if you want to avoid them. Whether or not you reach for your dreams or continue with the path you’re on… you guessed it, it doesn’t matter.

What matters to me is loving you and myself at any stage of our journey. The radical acceptance and honest surrendering to the current moment.

Your body goals? Even if you reach it, your body will change again.

Your dream career? It’s never going to be the same every day for the rest of your life. Industries evolve.

Finally, publishing that book you’ve been itching to write? From personal experience, it falls flat when you realize it was another accomplishment that doesn’t necessarily help you feel more worthy of the praise you may receive from writing it (if you even get that)!

Change is inevitable.

I can find grounding in accepting every step of this journey on earth, surrendering to the world around me, and stepping into unconditionally loving life as it is. This doesn’t mean we never grow because as I said, change is inevitable. It means that no matter where you are in your journey, you feel, embody, and be loved.

Pricing:

• Guilt Free Goals Book – $19.77 USD
• Reading Club – FREE
• Membership – $10 USD/month

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.guiltfreegoals.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guiltfreegoals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guiltfreegoals
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-fQ5qWZveAJuF57zAnqm_A
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/guilt-free-goals-podcast/id1499148809