Adrienne (00:03.83)
Hi everybody and welcome back to Sugar Coated. I'm so excited to share my next guest with you. You've met her before. Her name is Yuri Chu Su. And Yuri is actually a member of the She Leads Media team. She helps me out with some podcast marketing. She is an operations guru.
And I was introduced to her by my dear friend Jennifer Dawn, who has a podcast here on the She Leads Podcast Network as well. Jennifer's podcast is called Happy Productive. And if you have not listened, I highly recommend that you tune in. Jennifer has a top 5% podcast worldwide, and she brings on some pretty incredible guests.
and being a pretty incredible person herself, you can see why. So take a listen to Happy Productive and also take a listen into some of the other podcasts that are on the SheLeads Podcast Network. Those would be Therapy Deconstructed with Dr. Bonnie Wims. You will learn everything that you need to know about therapy and demystify what it isn't and…
and figure out what it is and determine whether that is good for you or somebody that you know that might be struggling. We also have a podcast called Creative Visionaries hosted by Tori Barker. I highly recommend that you tune in with that as well. There's some really great things coming in 2024 from Tori.
and also Ravel, Ravel Radio hosted by Kara Steinman. This too is an incredible podcast hosted by a wonderfully creative, brilliant woman, Kara Steinman. And she has a thriving community that I am a part of. And it's actually how I met Tori Barker.
Adrienne (02:13.162)
So lots of great things happening on the She Leads Podcast Network, including this podcast that you're listening to right here called Sugar Coated. And we also have some very interesting things that will be changing and updating throughout 2024. So without further ado, I'd like to just share and open up this conversation, this sort of final conversation that I've had with Yuri Choo-Soo.
The reason that I say it's final is because it's the third in a series of Yuri's journey around the world. Literally. Yuri participated in a program called Remote Year. What is Remote Year? Well, it's pretty incredible. It is a program
a travel community with other digital nomads, and Remote Year brings together remote workers and digital nomads as a community to work and explore in over 80 destinations around the world one month at a time. Working remotely and traveling solo can be daunting, time-consuming, and isolating, so Remote Year takes care of all that planning for you.
So Yuri actually did the entire remote year. You don't have to do a remote year. You can do a month at a time or three months at a time. But Yuri chose to go on this journey around the world and this journey, I would say, within herself. So take a listen into this revealing, genuine, vulnerable conversation that Yuri and I have. And I am so honored that she chose to share her story with us.
Adrienne Garland (00:01.262)
Hello. So I am here today with Yuri Choo-Soo, who has just recently completed her year traveling around the world with an incredible program called Remote Year. And Remote Year brings together digital nomads and remote workers to explore over 80 destinations one month at a time.
And Yuri, you chose to embark upon this journey and kind of go all in, right? You didn't just choose a month, you chose to go for an entire year. So that means 12 different countries. And I know that you're in another place even now, so it's more than that. And we did speak a couple of months in and then another couple of months in.
Yuri (00:46.936)
Yeah.
Thanks for watching!
Adrienne Garland (01:00.554)
about sort of where you were in the world and where you were like on this journey. And I'm so happy and honestly grateful to be talking to you today because not a lot of people do this in their lives, right? This is something extraordinary. And you were able to travel to work and to probably discover
things about others and yourself that you had no idea about. So I kind of want to start with maybe where you are right now and then talk about some of the lessons or the insights that you had, and then maybe we can dive into anything that kind of really stands out to you. So where are you right now?
Yuri (01:57.922)
Thank you for having me back and doing this with me to help me capture this journey that I've been on. I am currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was not part of the journey and when people hear that I've chosen to at least settle here for a little bit and when people hear that they're surprised because I went all over and I chose somewhere completely different to kind of settle
Yuri (02:27.776)
is that.
Sometimes when you plan out life, the expectations that you have are not going to come out as is. And that's a huge, huge lesson that I walked away with. I went into the experience with, I guess, just this list of expectations that I had. And some came true, some didn't come true. And it just comes to show that plan just always has its own plan for you. Life has its own plan for you, and it might not coincide with what you have in mind.
Adrienne Garland (02:57.834)
So let's almost go back to a little bit more than a year ago. When you made the decision to do this remote year, when you said to yourself, you know what? I am going to go all in, and I'm going to do this. Do you remember where you were, and what was the thing that made you make the decision?
that decision that you were going to go for it.
Yuri (03:30.966)
Yeah, I vividly remember I was actually in Bali. I was there for four months in 2022 and
Remote Year was beginning in September of 2022. And I remember this was in June. And up in this point, I had known about this particular journey that Remote Year was offering for about nine months, I will say. And I had contemplated it. I had mapped out like the finances and everything. And ultimately, it was a gut instinct. I just knew I was meant to do it. And...
The biggest push was the fact that the program that I did was named my name.
Adrienne Garland (04:12.482)
Yeah.
Yuri (04:13.802)
So it's called the Yuri Program and it's quite an unbelievable reality that I lived for a year and that I will always live with for the rest of my life. So Remote Ear does these different journeys with different durations, different itineraries, and they're called something after a famous person or a city, somebody who left a legacy behind. And the program that I did was called the Yuri Program.
So in many ways this was a divinely guided journey and I just knew that if I didn't do it I would forever wonder, I would forever think about it and think what if and that's just not the kind of person that I am. So I decided to do it, to enroll. I paid my deposit at this point and I remember I was flying from after Bali I was going to go to Thailand so from Thailand I had to buy a plane to
destination and when I bought that first plane ticket that was my way of telling myself and the universe like hey I'm doing this I'm committing to this year-long journey and I had to convert the price of the flight into Canadian dollars and the flight price was 888.88
Adrienne Garland (05:29.93)
Oh my god, really? I don't think you ever told me that. Wow.
Yuri (05:34.735)
So I was, yeah, I got chills all over my body and then I knew that I was for sure meant to do it. Yeah. And I have multiple major sign stories, like two major ones throughout that happened after the program started. But yeah, it was, we'll get there.
Adrienne Garland (05:43.526)
Oh my god, talk about signs, right?
Adrienne Garland (05:57.698)
Well, we're going to get there. Let's get to what those signs are, because I love this, because I think that there is definitely some magic that happens and that there is something guiding us toward what we need to do for our higher and best selves. And whether whatever anybody believes,
when a program is literally named your name. And then, you know, these crazy eights, right? All in alignment like eight is infinity, right? It has special meaning. I mean, these are all signs. And the fact that you invested in yourself in this way,
Yuri (06:33.148)
Mm-hmm.
Adrienne Garland (06:57.146)
is so interesting, right? And you're not a college student going on a travel abroad. You are a more mature person that has lived your life and it's something that people do maybe when they're younger, traditionally, when they're younger, or maybe even when they're older, after they've sort of had their careers. But you did it at a time
when you, I think, and it's post pandemic and all of that, were trying to figure out what's my place in life? What's my place in this world? And I think getting out and getting outside of your comfort zone, which I know at times was not comfortable, right? I think it helped you to realize something.
or a multitude of things about other people and yourself. So if you could, you know, sort of think about in this whole journey, what were maybe the top three things, or it could be one, two, three, that you learned about you?
Yuri (08:21.014)
Hmm, yeah. Okay. What is coming up for me when I think about that question is that I really did see how much I can survive through. Because traveling, yes, it's amazing, it's incredible, but it's also really difficult. It's a lot of adjustments. It is a lot of getting out of your comfort zone. And...
At times I really struggled for a multitude of reasons. And I'm still here today telling the tale. I survived. I'm a survivor. I'm a warrior. So it really showed to me how much resilience I have. And I do have to give myself a pat on the back because it was not easy. As incredible as it was, it was definitely such a challenging journey to be able to navigate just so many dynamics, people, time zones.
cultures, what I was going through internally, and I just saw my strength through it all.
So I think that's one of the biggest things I take away from that. Um, another thing that I learned about myself is how adaptable I can be literally going from country to country, speaking different languages, navigating different everything at the flip of a switch, like being an Asian one day and being an African the other, it's like, it's fast. So being able to just navigate through that. And also
Adrienne Garland (09:36.824)
Yeah.
Yuri (09:55.958)
Knowing when I need to step back, so knowing how to recharge, knowing how to say no, learning how to put up boundaries, how to...
Adrienne Garland (10:01.599)
Mmm.
Yuri (10:08.146)
One of the things that Remote Ear told us is to embrace JOMO, which stands for the Joy of Missing Out. So instead of FOMO, of the Fear of Missing Out, it's JOMO. So just to, you don't have to do everything and that's okay. And I think really being able to be okay with that has actually really helped me post-Remote Ear. For example, I'm currently in a new country, in a new city, and when you're in a new place, you just want to do everything, meet people, see things.
Adrienne Garland (10:22.371)
Yeah.
Yuri (10:37.88)
that person, I'm just giving myself the space to just nest, to take it easy, take it slow. And I think remote air really, really helped me become this evil version of myself where it's okay to take things slow, it's okay to recharge, even if that means not going out or not doing things that people normally do in any place.
Adrienne Garland (11:00.898)
Hmm. I think that's so interesting, because I know you. And when you talk about you're brave, you're strong, you're adaptable, you're resilient, I would have said those things about you before you even went on this journey. And so it's really interesting that I think you were that person, but maybe you just didn't
See ya!
Yuri (11:34.344)
Yeah, that's a really good reflection.
Adrienne Garland (11:34.89)
And do you, yeah, cause it's funny how we don't necessarily see those things about ourselves until we almost like put ourselves in these uncomfortable situations where there is no doubt, nobody can question you ever now, right? You're confident in your resiliency. You're confident.
in your adaptability. And I think that maybe that's what the difference is. It was always there. And I bet you of all the things that you learned, it wasn't that you became something that is brand new and different, but it's almost like you opened up to what you already are.
Yuri (12:06.515)
Mmm.
Yuri (12:28.702)
That is very well put and thank you for that reflection. And what came up to me as you were sharing, that is something that I've thought of post remote year is that it really solidified my sense of self. It really mirrored me to me. And I love that you said that these were things, qualities in me that I had before traveling. It's not like I changed. It's more so that I embraced who I really am.
Adrienne Garland (12:40.386)
Mmm.
Adrienne Garland (12:44.965)
Mmm.
Adrienne Garland (12:52.299)
Right.
Adrienne Garland (12:56.435)
Mm-hmm.
Yuri (12:56.938)
first acknowledging that these qualities are in me and then really embracing that. So stronger sense of self.
Adrienne Garland (13:03.182)
Mm, I love that so much. Oh, that's so good. I wonder like, you know, not everybody has the ability or the desire to, you know, do something like this for a year. And I'm sure that there were things that came up for you, like, you know, if you were to sort of give someone else who was maybe...
you know, unsure of who they were or who they wanted to become. What are some of the things that you feel that you learned that have that are like applicable if someone's just kind of staying where they are, but wanting that deeper knowledge of themselves?
Yuri (13:56.874)
I think curiosity is huge.
Adrienne Garland (13:59.847)
Hmm
Yuri (14:00.49)
just being curious about what's out there, what does a different life feel like, a different way of doing things. Travel obviously just opens up that part of your brain in such an intense way. And I see people who do travel who are not curious, who are not open-minded, you know, like you know people who when they travel they go to all-inclusives and they just stay at the hotel and they just, you know, just stay in their own bubble.
Adrienne Garland (14:21.122)
Mmm.
Yuri (14:31.424)
And I think that's what differentiates like a traveler and someone who just vacations. You know, a real traveler, I think really immerses themselves in the new culture, or at least is curious, asks questions, talks to local people. And I think by doing that, you really impart curiosity within you. And...
Adrienne Garland (14:37.742)
Hmm.
Adrienne Garland (14:52.31)
So good. It's so good. And yes, I think that is the key to it all. It's not only curiosity, but that enthusiastic curiosity. Oh my god, that's different. And maybe you even say, that's weird. I don't understand it. Let me find out a little bit more about what's going on here.
Yuri (15:18.394)
Yeah, and it's not just external curiosity, it's also internal curiosity. That's the underlying goal there.
Adrienne Garland (15:22.711)
Mmm.
Yuri (15:28.402)
Can I live my life in a different way, in a way that is more aligned to who I am authentically? Can I react to situations that in the past have always triggered me with more space, with more compassion? Can I do things in a different way? I think that is ultimately a quality in me that I've always had that has led me to take travels like this or journeys like this. I wouldn't be the person I am today without having that innate curiosity.
Adrienne Garland (15:41.058)
Mm.
Adrienne Garland (15:46.158)
Hmm
Adrienne Garland (15:58.762)
Mm, so good. So what is, like, I would like to know, and of course, you know, for you too, and maybe something for you to, you know, remember. So like, it did things come up that in the past may have triggered whatever within you, whether it's anger or frustration or fear or whatever, that still triggered you, but you...
you almost recognized like, ah, like I see it now and why it's triggering me. And let me think about that. Like what are some of the specifics?
Yuri (16:38.674)
Mm. Yeah.
Yeah, that word trigger, that has been a huge, huge word this year, this past year of travel. I feel like all my triggers at some point or the other just came to the surface. And triggers really are opportunities to dive deeper into it's either a wound that's not been healed, a trauma that's still kind of there that needs more curiosity, that needs more, you know, more compassion. And some specific triggers are very openly
share were jealousy. I definitely felt jealous of the people who I was around, whether it was
physical jealousy or seeing partners like couples. For some reason I was in a group that everyone seems a couple of and that can be triggering for someone who does not have a couple. So I definitely had to navigate through a lot of that and it wasn't easy always. For sure you can only can only imagine you know being the third wheel, the fifth wheel, seventh wheel, ninth wheel, eleventh wheel, literally there were so
Adrienne Garland (17:28.45)
Oh no.
Adrienne Garland (17:36.13)
Hmm.
Yuri (17:49.08)
Just look at that and think, why is this bothering me so much?
Adrienne Garland (17:54.062)
Hmm.
Yuri (17:54.614)
and have I done anything wrong with this? Where is this really stemming from? Also triggers in the sense of friendship, female friendship. I also did struggle with that at some point or the other. And it really brought up to the surface where those stemmed from, which for me was university years, which is, you know, years ago. And it's like, okay, like there's something still there that I have to heal through.
Adrienne Garland (18:05.058)
Hmm.
Adrienne Garland (18:20.003)
Yeah!
Yuri (18:24.988)
and doing things like therapy, and doing a lot of journal, inner child work, really being able to talk about these things and not just brush them to the side or not acknowledge them, but really take that as an opportunity to uncover something that needs deeper work. And one of the biggest things that I learned was how important compassion really is.
Adrienne Garland (18:32.299)
Mm-mm.
Yuri (18:54.366)
because
a past version of myself would navigate these triggers with a lot of shame and guilt. Like, oh aren't you over that already? Why is this still bothering you? And that does not create any space for you to work through anything. And I have to learn through the hard, like by the hard way, but that doesn't work. Like I'm, just because it's coming up doesn't mean I'm any less worthy, or I haven't done enough work on myself. It just means it's not an opportunity to do deeper work.
Adrienne Garland (19:15.446)
Yeah.
Yuri (19:26.294)
and having compassion with myself really allowed me to do that.
Adrienne Garland (19:30.522)
It's almost like when you said that, it's like that's a totally different voice than you. Like, that's not you asking those questions. Shouldn't you be over that already? That is not, that's not Yuri.
Yuri (19:43.426)
and recognizing that, right? It's like, who is that? Who is that from my past? Is it, you know, a parent? Is it society? Is it peer pressure? I should be married by this age? Like, yes, understanding that it's not me.
Adrienne Garland (19:45.239)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (19:48.644)
Or is it society? Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (19:56.866)
Yeah.
Yuri (19:57.154)
always, sometimes it can be, but not always. You know, it's all a lot of us, all of us are programmed. It's been a very specific way, so much programming, right? And really creating space when that thought comes up. Hey, is that me? Hey, do I have to believe that? Do I have to act on that?
Adrienne Garland (20:03.99)
All of us. Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (20:17.49)
Yeah, that's interesting. The idea of like the fact that you can have thoughts and you can even verbalize them, but you don't have to act on them and you don't have to believe that is your only thought. You can have other thoughts as well and make more room for those more helpful.
Yuri (20:39.968)
in life.
Adrienne Garland (20:45.73)
thoughts, because they're all there. And it's just like everything. It's like what we focus on grows. So we should choose to focus on the thoughts that help us instead of that lead us down this path of shame. And why we make ourselves suffer is beyond me. Like, what is it?
in our makeup that we have that default setting to like shame ourselves and make ourselves feel bad and like how has that like adapted us as a human species to keep going? I don't know. It's interesting.
Yuri (21:40.582)
Yeah, I think it's a fight or flight, innate fight or flight in us. You know, our vertilian brain just wants to help us in some way to not feel pain again, so protect us, but ultimately it drives us to feel the pain. So it's very counterintuitive and really understanding that. And again, coming back to compassion that, hey, this ultimately is just trying to protect me.
Adrienne Garland (21:58.015)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (22:07.818)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that is what it is, but it does it in such a convoluted manner. It is completely backwards. And I think too, there's a little bit of like the tribal part of it. So it's like, you feel shame about these things so that you don't disrupt the tribe that you're part of. Like, oh, I feel jealous. I shouldn't feel jealous. I should be over this already
Yuri (22:16.458)
backwards.
Adrienne Garland (22:38.018)
you know, our survival mechanism is trying to keep us with the tribe. But we don't have tribe. I mean, we do, but we can create our own tribes. No one's going to kick you out.
Yuri (22:43.132)
Okay.
Yuri (22:49.827)
Mm-hmm.
Adrienne Garland (22:51.21)
and you can leave and be safe and no one's going to harm you or anything like that, but we have to recognize that is at play. Do you think that...
Adrienne Garland (23:05.35)
And maybe it's like not as quickly. Like, do you think that you would have gotten to some of these like recognitions on your own eventually? Yeah.
Yuri (23:19.514)
eventually, who knows in how long, how much longer, but I really do think that travel is such a, it can be such a fast track.
to healing, to looking at all your shit, to really facing your demons, really dead on head on like it's almost like a mirror that reflects back you to you. There's no escaping yourself when you are traveling. That's I think that's something we talked about in like the first podcast that we did it's like wherever you are there you are really like all your problems are there with you. Yeah it can be travel can be like a shiny kind of distraction.
Adrienne Garland (23:36.098)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (23:45.427)
Hmm
Adrienne Garland (23:54.185)
Yeah.
Yuri (24:00.756)
or like a band-aid solution if you're trying to not feel whatever is you're hiding but ultimately you are there wherever you go no matter how beautiful the sight is.
Adrienne Garland (24:09.662)
Mm. Right. And after 12 countries or 13 or 14 or however many you've done, like over the last, you know, 14, 18 months, 20. Wow.
Yuri (24:16.057)
Yeah
Yuri (24:20.25)
It was 20 months straight for me actually. It was a 20 month journey I counted and I actually counted even more. I kept a list of all the beds I slept in, all the flights I took. And I left Toronto in April of 2022 and I came back in October of 2023. So that was about 20 months and I took 80 flights and I slept 90 beds.
Adrienne Garland (24:31.978)
Yeah. Oh my God.
Adrienne Garland (24:49.21)
Oh my god.
Yuri (24:51.954)
I think I did 23 countries, but the other stats are crazier.
Adrienne Garland (24:58.614)
Was there anything that was like, for whatever reason, it doesn't matter, but that you felt like either I'm home or this is my place or like, this is the most comfortable bed that I've ever slept in? Was there anything that was like a standout?
Yuri (25:15.134)
Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, it instantly came to me in Columbia. I really liked Medellín. And you were you were in Bogotá. You didn't go to Medellín, right? But you went to Bogotá. And we almost like overlapped, I think. Medellín was amazing. And that was month 11 for me. So a lot of the shit that I had to go through, I had really like worked through. And that was that
Adrienne Garland (25:27.307)
No, yeah.
Adrienne Garland (25:31.744)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (25:40.287)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (25:43.779)
Mmm.
Yuri (25:46.086)
It was crazy because six different people from different parts of my life somehow were in managing at the same time.
Adrienne Garland (25:55.154)
Oh my god.
Yuri (25:55.83)
So I got to have reunion after reunion after reunion people from someone from Toronto's a really dear friend of mine came to visit me for about a week and a half, someone who I met in my travels, a bunch of people who I met in my travels and I got to just live so much life in one month and then we were also located in the central area of Mille Jean so there was music and it was vibrant and the co-work was super close to me and my roommates were amazing I just I thrive.
And it just, it's the one place that after Argentina I might even go back to and that's saying a lot. So yeah, I really, really enjoyed it. The weather, it was also eternal spring, they called it there. So it's just beautiful. I did horseback riding. I paraglided. It was like...
Adrienne Garland (26:31.812)
Oh yeah.
Adrienne Garland (26:40.645)
Mmmm
Adrienne Garland (26:44.677)
Oh my God. Wow.
Yuri (26:46.798)
I think I perigulated on the second last day that I was there, maybe the second last day, and I'm having this incredible month. Just, it felt like such a gift in so many ways. And I'm like gliding through the city, overlooking everything. And I literally have like tears out of my eyes. So just like having this moment of, look at all the things I've gotten to see in my life. And it was just such a moment of gratitude. And it was beautiful. And I'll always have fond memories of that.
Adrienne Garland (27:03.519)
Ugh.
Adrienne Garland (27:16.886)
Oh my God, it's like you literally ascended and were able to look down on everything. That's amazing.
Yuri (27:23.05)
Yeah.
Yuri (27:29.374)
Oof. Yeah, and talk about Ascension because the prior month, and we're gonna go there, but the prior month I did Iowaska.
And ayahuasca was when I really faced everything head on. Really, really did some deep, deep inner work, the deepest I've ever done and hardest I've ever done. But afterwards, I was literally on a whole new plane and a whole new frequency, had just let go of so much that I was holding on to, understood so much of my life, my existence, my purpose.
Adrienne Garland (27:45.186)
Yeah.
Yuri (28:09.544)
and I felt like literally I was being gifted all these experiences and people and connection and love and It was magical
Adrienne Garland (28:12.869)
Ugh.
Adrienne Garland (28:19.502)
That sounds like absolute magic. You almost needed everything in its order, in its time, divinely was laid out for you. That is something interesting too, right? Because there has to be some level of trust that whatever is happening, good, bad,
indifferent. It's like that is when it is supposed to be happening. And to really lean into that, that's so difficult to do because, you know, I'm a control freak. I think that you are not a control freak, but you, you like order.
Yuri (28:54.962)
Yeah.
Yuri (29:04.118)
so many of us. I mean, we all have our own attachment. Yeah, I like order. We all have our, you know, our attachment to what control is in our lives, right? And wow, when you travel, there are some things that you just cannot control. And
Adrienne Garland (29:23.522)
Yeah.
Yuri (29:24.898)
Yeah, that was a... I think it wasn't as hard for me as other people, but I think it's also been like a muscle that I've just had to really like work through. It's like, okay, I cannot control this. I can either stress about it, worry about it, or just let it be and just trust that it's happening for a reason. Somebody said this to me before I embarked on Remote Ears program, and it's
Adrienne Garland (29:34.946)
Hmm
Yuri (29:54.992)
and she says, thank you for the highest outcome that has already happened.
Adrienne Garland (29:59.451)
Mmm, yeah. Wow.
Yuri (30:01.866)
just understanding that whatever has happened is for the highest good and just being grateful for it even if you don't understand it even if it's not what you thought it would be or you know it's for some reason bringing you whatever it is like negativity or difficult emotions but for some reason for some reason this is happening in the grand scheme of things and you know if I were to think back in my year-long adventure in remote era there are moments where I really just was not
Adrienne Garland (30:06.655)
Yeah.
Yuri (30:32.24)
Why is this happening? Why is it not happening? Blah blah blah. But now in the grand scheme of things having, you know, hindsight, it's like, okay, it all was there for a reason. It all made sense. But it's so hard to see that in the moment.
Adrienne Garland (30:32.685)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (30:45.471)
I really wish we were taught this from a young age. I feel like we could avoid so much pain and suffering if we had, it didn't have to be a full understanding, because we're young and learning. But if there is some way for us to say, look, whatever is happening is happening. Let me just move.
through it and know that there's something to be learned here. Because I mean, I even think we both had experiences with jobs that we were like, why did that happen? And you're in it, and you don't see it until afterwards. And even with relationships with people, and sometimes things we say, like, wait, why did I say that? What?
What was I doing? What was I thinking? And it is coming from a different place, I think. And we don't give ourselves time to step back and reflect on it. That's what's missing.
Yuri (32:03.187)
Yeah, I can so agree the time to reflect wow
Adrienne Garland (32:09.292)
Yeah.
Yuri (32:09.526)
So many people are just running, reacting, hustle and bustle, no time. And I mean, I get it. Life is complex. Life is hard. We have jobs, we have relationships, people have kids, responsibilities. It's a lot to handle. Being human is hard. That is one thing that I've really, really just acknowledged this past year, two years. It's like, like being human in itself is complex.
Adrienne Garland (32:16.948)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (32:28.563)
Yeah.
Yuri (32:39.32)
So giving ourselves the luxury of time to slow down and to just be in whatever way that feels good for you is so, so needed. That's why self-care is so important.
Adrienne Garland (32:43.235)
Hmm
Adrienne Garland (32:53.588)
Yeah.
Yuri (32:54.934)
no matter what you're going through, even just five minutes a day, ten minutes, you know, just take a deep breath and just really ground, it goes a long, long way because so many people, like I said, are just reacting, are just in this dog-eat-dog world. I mean, I don't blame you, you're navigating a lot of things, I mean, and also, you know, having a lot on your plate.
Adrienne Garland (33:08.67)
Yeah, I'm one of them. Yeah, I'm definitely one of them.
Adrienne Garland (33:21.59)
But you know what's funny?
Yuri (33:21.654)
job, wife, children, you know, like, she leads. I mean, that's a whole undertaking, the conference.
Adrienne Garland (33:30.626)
But you know what's funny, like even listening to you, and I'm sure that you had a lot of conversations with people like over these last 20 months, but so much of what we do, we like spin up ourselves. Like this wasn't like dumped on me, like all the things that I do and have, and that I'm busy, like they didn't just come out of nowhere. I spun all this crap up, you know?
And then I complain about it. And it's like the only person to blame for all of that is me. And it's like, why did I do that? How is that benefiting me? And what is the complaining about being so busy and having so much to do? How is that like benefiting me? It's something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. And it's true, it's like, it's the mirror. Like,
Yuri (34:26.85)
Bye.
Adrienne Garland (34:29.166)
Because when I listen to people, I'm so busy, I'm so busy, I get annoyed at listening to them. And then I'm like, wait a minute, that's how I sound.
Yuri (34:37.106)
Uh...
Adrienne Garland (34:38.411)
It's crazy.
Yuri (34:40.358)
So self-reflection, it's like, why are you doing all these things? There must be a reason obviously why you're doing them, right, and is it worth it?
Adrienne Garland (34:49.163)
Yeah. And I think I'm a little older than you. But I think as I get older, I'm starting to realize, like, wait a minute. You don't need to be doing all of these things. It's actually harming you, relationships, things you want to do. And it makes me reflect, like, what can I clear from my plate? Because my plate is piled.
Yuri (35:03.904)
Really?
Yuri (35:15.922)
Mm. Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (35:17.13)
and I can't eat at all. It's crazy. So I'm kind of wondering, the people that you met, some I'm sure you're still in touch with, others, like they say, for a season, for a reason. So like, who are, and it doesn't have, no naming names or anything like that, but...
Yuri (35:38.581)
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Yuri (35:45.169)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (35:46.03)
Who are some of the people that maybe you met for a time and they made you think about something or they were like a great friend for like two days, right? And then who are some of the people that you're still in touch with, right? Like those two things, like think about those two almost like categories of
Yuri (35:51.325)
Yeah.
Yuri (35:58.644)
Yeah.
Yuri (36:08.691)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (36:15.218)
of acquaintances, friends, relationships. And yeah, just talk to me. Ha ha ha.
Yuri (36:17.659)
Yeah.
Yuri (36:22.246)
Yeah, so my best friend in the program, I'm still in touch with him, of course, and our second conversation, which was, I think, a week into the year, we just knew, like we just knew there was something there. And nothing beyond the platonic relationship, but it was he's someone who I respect dearly, and I really look up to him and I saw him go through his own journey. And we were definitely mirrors for each other. We went through very similar
struggles together and we have very different journeys as well but it was just so nice to be able to have someone and just you can peel back the facade and peel back the layers and just talk soul to soul and I'll always love our journey together and yeah.
He's great. A year ago, we were living together in Cape Town, which is when we recorded our last podcast. Yeah, so he's incredible. I had, yeah, I had like my little group who were great as well. And on our last day, we, in very Yuri fashion, I asked to do like a sharing circle. And that was really, really sweet, but we all went around and talked about our experience and everyone cried, of course.
Adrienne Garland (37:19.978)
Yes! Oh my gosh!
Yuri (37:43.864)
because it was like the end of a year, you know, and we've got we all went through so much but that's a special group and just today That person who I just mentioned my best friend his girlfriend just reached out to do like a Christmas call So we're all still in touch and that's really sweet and a bunch of us just saw each other too recently Which was crazy because it wasn't really planned, but we're all like in the same place. So that was really cool The people who I roomed with in Medellín, they're part of my soul for sure
Adrienne Garland (37:58.11)
Aww.
Yuri (38:13.984)
I mean you get to experience so much with these people that there's no way you're not going to be bonded And then there were some people who I met who Who knows if I'll ever see again who knows if I'll ever speak to But for the moment the day or the hours that we connected it was like whoa like a portal opened some of these people Yeah, I
Adrienne Garland (38:14.113)
Uh-huh.
Adrienne Garland (38:19.021)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (38:25.671)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (38:34.795)
Yeah.
Yuri (38:39.126)
not even spoken to since I last saw them, but we shared something really powerful together and I'm just so grateful for those experiences that just really expanded me and made my heart like beat faster, beat louder almost.
Adrienne Garland (38:56.158)
Yeah, right, because I have had those experiences for 100% sure. And
Adrienne Garland (39:05.206)
The way that I think about it is like, I don't know whether they're angels on earth or whatever, but it almost shows you that people are good.
You know, like it's simple, but if you are open and they're open and you're having some type of a shared experience, you know, like people are good and they'll give you a helping hand or like show you where to go to be safe or like listen to you talk because you just need to get
Whether you see them ever again, that's not the point. The point isn't that every single person that you meet, you have to have this lifelong relationship with. Because they are. They're a little like Candyland. They're little like nuggets of gold.
Yuri (39:48.002)
Mm.
Yuri (39:51.789)
Yeah.
Yuri (40:04.902)
It's like nuggets of gold, almost like pots of gold. Pots of gold, I think that's the term that even I used. It's like, because you don't get that many of them. So they really are just like surprises, like, oh, whoa, I wasn't planning on turning left in the street. And then I now have this person who shared something, and I feel really connected. And you just, you can't plan these things. You don't. It's almost like the beauty of surprise, element of surprise of life.
Adrienne Garland (40:11.823)
Oh.
No.
Yuri (40:33.836)
learned is that you're not gonna vibe with everybody you meet. You're not gonna like them. They might not like you. You're not gonna connect and that's totally okay. And I think the older they get, it's like that I understand that just so much more that most people I'm not gonna have a deep experience with because to be honest most people are simply not as open as I am. Not to put myself on like a different pedestal or anything but I'm just a really open person and
Adrienne Garland (40:37.867)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (40:48.512)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (40:57.194)
Yeah, yeah.
Yuri (41:03.656)
A lot of people aren't and that can almost intimidate them or push them away. And when I was younger, you know, I would take that as, am I doing something wrong? Am I being too much? And it's like, no, I'm just being myself and that's not everyone's cup of tea. And that's totally okay. Just really accepting me for me and embracing me and, and knowing that the right people will want me around.
Adrienne Garland (41:05.697)
No.
Adrienne Garland (41:22.551)
Mmm.
Adrienne Garland (41:30.91)
Yeah, that's a big lesson. And also sometimes because you are so open and you are you, you know, and that is intimidating to people because not everybody shows up as themselves, right? Everybody's got, not everybody, many people have this facade, this image that they're trying to portray about who they are. And so when they come across someone that is
Yuri (41:33.482)
Oh, shi-
Adrienne Garland (41:59.614)
maybe just further along on the journey. We're not talking about being better or anything like that, but maybe just further along on a self-awareness journey. It's jarring to them. How can she be like that? What's her motive? Because they're thinking and reacting to you from their point of view. And that's like a huge realization too, right?
Yuri (42:25.034)
Mmm. Yes. And something that's coming up for me, which is a huge lesson, is that people always act based on them. People always act based on them. 100%.
So taking things personally or being offended, yeah, people can be mean and sometimes it is directed, sure, but when it's not, most of the time, they're just reacting based on what's coming up for them, based on their programming, their childhood, their whatever it is, and just really being able to witness that and...
Adrienne Garland (43:02.903)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (43:07.426)
Yeah.
Yuri (43:08.606)
that just alleviates so much pressure. Like, hey, you're doing you, and we might not be colliding at this point, but that's okay. That doesn't mean that I did anything wrong, you know?
Adrienne Garland (43:18.174)
Yeah, and it doesn't mean like, even if they're coming at you or like not nice or whatever, that it's like, that's okay. Like no skin off my back because I'm doing me too and it allows you to move forward and not get stuck there. I know that I suffer and suffered from that like, why don't they like me? What did I do wrong? And it's like you start ruminating
Yuri (43:30.646)
Sure.
Adrienne Garland (43:47.73)
And what a waste of energy.
Yuri (43:50.082)
Oh my gosh, what a waste of energy. Yeah, easier said than done. But yes, I think the more work you've done on yourself, the...
Adrienne Garland (43:51.614)
And brain power. Yeah. Just move on.
Adrienne Garland (44:00.049)
Totally.
Yuri (44:04.77)
lighter it is to navigate through these almost quicksand moments, I kind of call them. Like you never know when it's going to just suck you in. You're just like going about your day, you're like, oh, I'm stuck here now. And how do I navigate this? If I move too fast, if I freak out, if I react, I'm going to get sucked in deeper. Let me take a breath. Let me, you know, give some space and, and act in a not such a reactive way.
Adrienne Garland (44:10.622)
Yeah, ooh, I love that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Adrienne Garland (44:23.787)
Yup.
Adrienne Garland (44:31.954)
Yeah, and think about the, like, everything that's coming up for you about that situation and being okay with almost expressing it. Because I think sometimes that's part of it too. Like, like I'm pissed. Okay, you don't have to not be pissed. Like, first be pissed and then try to understand, like, don't try to tamp down that you're angry.
Yuri (44:49.97)
Mmm.
Yuri (44:53.98)
Hmm
Yuri (44:59.87)
Oh, so good. And what's coming up for me now, it's something that I went through in my last month. And I don't get angry easily. It does not happen for me. I'm just not that person. But something happened that really got me angry. And it happened with somebody who was part of my group.
Adrienne Garland (45:15.832)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (45:20.77)
Hmm
Yuri (45:21.23)
So that really like, whoa, that really was tough to navigate through. And it was an opportunity for me to really stand up for myself, which is something that I don't typically do. I don't, I don't like confrontation. I typically am. I'll just brush it off, but it was something that I, I felt like I could not move past it until I acknowledged it and I addressed it. So, and this was the last month. So it was just like such a.
Adrienne Garland (45:45.366)
Yeah.
Yuri (45:52.004)
opportunity and I couldn't back off from it. So yeah, I had really tough conversations and I had to navigate through difficult emotions and acknowledge that what happened did not feel good for me. And
Adrienne Garland (45:59.022)
Mmm.
Adrienne Garland (46:09.164)
Yeah.
Yuri (46:11.238)
Yeah, it's something that I don't navigate through. I don't go through often, if ever, but I think it was such a push towards acknowledging how far I've come in my own evolution and that I needed to release this for me to really move forward.
Adrienne Garland (46:23.863)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (46:32.351)
Yeah.
Yuri (46:32.454)
Otherwise, I would have just held it all in and it would have, you know, changed my experience, how the remote year ended for me, my relationship with this person, and I didn't want to end that way.
Adrienne Garland (46:40.843)
Yeah.
It's almost like that, like I think of the cornucopia of emotions and like giving yourself permission to feel them all, like not just 80% of them or 90% or 98% of them, but what? Yeah, yeah, only the appropriate ones, right? Like anger, it was like the last, it was like the holdout, you know? And it's like, no, no.
Yuri (46:56.466)
or the good ones, you know, everything.
Yuri (47:03.682)
Ugh.
Yuri (47:07.618)
The last one I didn't click, it's like I had to just scratch that one off. The whole, the whole wheel of emotions is like, no, you're in. This is one chunk that you haven't really processed. You get to be angry now. How do you navigate through it?
Adrienne Garland (47:14.516)
Yeah!
Yep. Yeah.
So cool. I see this as almost like there's so many different layers and it is such a journey on so many different levels, but it's all about navigation, right? Navigating yourself, navigating your emotions, navigating relationships. Holy, I mean.
Yuri (47:38.546)
relationships, triggers, everything. It's literally like traveling through it. It's like such a journey, right? And that's why I feel like it was like a fast path of life. It was the fast track of life and growth and.
Adrienne Garland (47:46.797)
Yeah.
Yuri (47:56.146)
I think on the last day when I had this sharing struggle with my friends, it was like somebody said like, I'm going to need so much therapy from this. I think the same person said that this was like a fast path of life and growth. And I'm going to need so much therapy from this. And it was like, so true. Because, whoa, you, you just were faced with everything possible.
Adrienne Garland (48:03.735)
Ha ha ha.
Adrienne Garland (48:11.245)
Mmm.
Adrienne Garland (48:17.302)
Yeah, like it stirred it up, which is like, but that's good. Cause at least it's all there on the blackboard, right? It's not like hidden underneath something. It's at least there for you to decide what you want to work on next. And you don't have to work on it all at once, but at least it's out.
Yuri (48:19.91)
Everything.
Yuri (48:26.546)
Yeah
Yuri (48:41.663)
Yeah.
Yuri (48:45.022)
Yeah definitely at least it's out on the blackboard. Oh man for sure yeah if what I'm supposed to come out of this whole travel journey with is a full blackboard then that is like I won if that's what it is because I feel like I know myself just I know everything. No I'm not going
Adrienne Garland (48:50.046)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (49:00.888)
Yeah!
Adrienne Garland (49:04.83)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (49:16.298)
You know so much more, right? There's more to learn.
Yuri (49:16.342)
Limits how much more I know so much more. Oh, there's always more to learn for sure, but it really was and Just like putting myself in a microscope. It's just like analyzing everything Like an ant just like literally everything pick this apart now
Adrienne Garland (49:28.91)
Ooh.
Adrienne Garland (49:32.406)
little part right here.
Adrienne Garland (49:37.03)
Yeah. Oh my God, I love this. So like, there doesn't have to be anything. So I'm not suggesting this at all. You don't have to have any answer. You don't have to have anything wrapped up in a nice bow. You don't have to have your whole life journey like ahead of you. But is there something that you're at least moving toward next?
Yuri (50:04.382)
Yeah, so I will share this to hold myself accountable. I just committed to, I'm not gonna say what it is, but I just committed to doing a project that will be very public.
Adrienne Garland (50:19.318)
Huh...
Yuri (50:20.532)
and it will share my story in a very public way, which is something that I have not done much of. I have been very reserved and I've had conversations and had two podcasts released with you, but to really dive deep into.
the complexity that is my life and my mind and my journey. I have not done so. So it's something that I've been wanting to do for the past honestly two, three years and I've never really prioritized it. And I was on a call with a dear group of mine last week and they learned about this and they lovingly pushed me to set a deadline and to just do it. And I committed to doing it.
Adrienne Garland (50:50.76)
Ah.
Adrienne Garland (51:05.482)
Yeah.
Yuri (51:08.884)
by my next birthday which is in less than a month which is crazy to me so now that I'm saying it yeah out loud it's a lot more of a commitment but I'm doing it so that's what's next it's just
Adrienne Garland (51:12.958)
Oh my God.
Adrienne Garland (51:21.358)
That's amazing. And don't also, like I love the accountability of it. Don't feel like whatever it is has got to be perfect, right? Yeah, like whatever it is, is sort of the next step. And I think that you are going to inspire a lot of people.
Yuri (51:32.662)
It's not gonna be. No.
Adrienne Garland (51:50.227)
I really do.
Yuri (51:50.794)
It means a lot. Thank you. I mean...
Adrienne Garland (51:53.922)
You're awesome though. You always were. I mean, come on. From like minute one that I talked to you. So I mean.
Yuri (52:06.102)
Yeah, I mean that is definitely not
why I'm doing it, but it's such an incredible feeling too. And I've had people tell me this, seeing you just travel and do these things just really make me want to, and I know what that feels like because when I've seen other people take these big, bold moves and seek discomfort, which is such a huge mod in my life, from Yes Theory, I'll quote them since they're such an inspiration for me, but seeking discomfort. And they really believe
Adrienne Garland (52:31.682)
Hmm.
Yuri (52:39.368)
things out of life come out to your comfort zone. So just sharing that story I'm sure will be impactful.
Adrienne Garland (52:42.718)
Yeah, yeah, oh, so good. What is it like, uh, uh.
Rock sharpens steel. I don't know if that's the right analogy. There's something about like, like a hard thing sharpens the knife, you know what I mean? So, much better said.
Yuri (52:55.751)
Okay.
Yuri (53:04.702)
I mean, pressure makes diamonds, you know? Something. Ha ha
Adrienne Garland (53:13.09)
Like rocks, sherv, and steel. Ha ha ha.
Yuri (53:19.163)
I'm sorry.
Yuri (53:24.64)
But I get it, I totally get it, but yeah, sure.
Adrienne Garland (53:29.73)
And I think that also the message there is that, you know, what is your year abroad? You know what I mean? It doesn't have to be travel. It can be something else.
Yuri (53:45.382)
Yeah.
Adrienne Garland (53:47.651)
And that's very individual. And you, not you, others, need to find out what their journey is.
Yuri (53:51.041)
Okay.
Yuri (54:00.214)
Hmm, yeah.
Adrienne Garland (54:01.586)
I love that. Yuri, this is amazing. Before we wrap it up, is there anything else that you want to just kind of say or capture that maybe we didn't touch on?
Yuri (54:22.756)
What's coming up for me and the last thing I want to share is to just remind people to be kind to themselves and to really love themselves because one thing that really hammered home to me in my journeys is that I will be in my longest relationship and I can be quite mean to myself. And
Adrienne Garland (54:41.428)
Hmm.
Yuri (54:46.762)
That's just a tough way of living. And I know a lot of people are hard on themselves as well. So I think what I really want to put out to the world is to remind people to be kind and love themselves first.
Adrienne Garland (55:02.466)
So beautiful. Well, thank you so much for sharing everything and for just sharing your journey and your thoughts about your journey and how much it has helped you to go inside and uncover the absolute beautiful, gorgeousness, intelligent, fun, incredible person that you are. I love you.
Yuri (55:25.942)
Thank you.
Thank you so much. I love you so much.
Adrienne Garland (55:32.462)
Mwah!
