Profession, Passion, & Why You Should Have Both with Annuszka Nowak

Becoming Unapologetically Me with Helen Norbury

Becoming Unapologetically Me is the podcast for people who know that they have more inside them and want it to come out. In this episode, host Helen Norbury is joined by flower farmer Annuszka Nowak. Annuszka is a gardener at Prune & Bloom Gardening Company, where she passionately grows flowers for anyone who wants them. She delves into the ideal of following your passions, why you shouldn’t wait, and how it will change your life for the better. She shares tips for getting connected to what makes you happy.

Annuszka had a hectic career in television, she shares. With a young baby to take care of and barely any time for herself, she grew disenchanted with her job and started dreading going to work every day. After becoming pregnant with her second child, she and her then-husband moved to the countryside with hopes of improving their quality of life, but these hopes fell flat. “So many people fall into this trap,” she says. “‘When I’ve got the house in the countryside, I’ll be happy,’ or ‘when I’ve got the big car, the children’... always looking for something to plug the gap, which is ultimately an internal that needs plugging, not with something external.”

Motherhood was very challenging for Annuszka, especially when she and her husband separated and she was raising them alone. She was at a point where she felt disconnected from her life, and disconnected from the person she wanted to be. Ironically, it was the complete breakdown of her marriage that enabled her to begin again. “At 40 I decided to completely change my life,” she says. “I walked away from a successful career in TV, a beautiful family home and a ten year marriage. On paper it sounded perfect, but in reality I felt completely lost in my own life. It was the most difficult and painful decision I’ve ever made but it would turn out to be the most rewarding and fulfilling one too. I’ve finally found myself and the life I belong in.”

After a brief and unhappy stint in a job similar to her previous career, Annuszka decided to switch things up. She had taken up horticulture in her spare time, and after receiving encouragement, began to pursue a career in it. “I don’t earn a lot of money, and I probably never will, but it's enough,” she claims. In the previous chapters of her life, there was this constant pressure to scale up in everything, and it quickly burned her out. Now, she loves what she does, and it allows her time with her children that she wasn’t afforded before. “When you’re tapped into your passion, the world will open for you, and opportunities will present at the right time.”

Key Takeaways

• Stop trying to fill internal gaps with external things.
• Stressing about pleasing people takes precious time away from you - it’s your life, live it for you!
• The world will offer you opportunities when you’re tapped into your passion, because you’re in a position to shine.

Resources

Annuszka Nowak on Instagram

Helen Norbury on Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | helenannenorbury.co.uk