We recently had the chance to connect with Monica Douglas and have shared our conversation below.
Monica, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Who are you learning from right now?
Something many people don’t know about me is that I enjoy combat sports. I love doing MMA and Jiu-Jitsu as a hobby. Being surrounded and mentored by trained fighters has taught me a lot about myself. The coaches at my gym have helped me overcome and discover so many unknown fears I didn’t know I had. I’m okay with feeling embarrassed about new experiences, now. I’ve learned about the mind-body connection and that I’m as weak as my mind believes. I’ve learned that I’m going to fail a lot before I’m even considered “good” at anything. They’ve even helped me realize that I’m a lot more athletic and confident than I believed. Most importantly, I’ve learned to never stop being a student in any aspect of life. I love the community there and am always humbled when I attend classes.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, my name is Monica! I’m a freelance photographer based in Nashville, TN, currently specializing in portrait photography. I’m a creative with humble beginnings in the film and production world, who transitioned into photography. I love to capture intimate, candid moments in my portraits by building interpersonal relationships. I find that people are a lot less camera-shy when they aren’t forced to pose and instead focus on music or jokes.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
One thing my parents have ingrained in me is a strong work ethic. If I’m going to do a job, it’s going to be done right and given one hundred percent effort. When I was a kid, I prioritized all of my homework first and then played with friends. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve only expanded by doing my most difficult tasks first in my days. The mindset has helped me go extremely far in life.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
In these last few months, I’ve been facing a lot of rejection in all aspects of my life. I kept wondering what I was doing wrong and why things were falling apart. It had gotten to a point that I thought maybe I deserved all of the failures coming my way. Then, funny enough, I’m scrolling on Pinterest one day, and see a quote that says “Every rejection is God’s protection”, and it just clicked. For a month straight, every career opportunity that fell through, or date that went wrong, I just kept repeating the saying like a mantra. Now, I have a new and improved mindset on failure and rejection. No matter how hard I fail in some way, it’s meant to happen so a lesson can be learned and then a new opportunity can present itself.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My friends say I’m really big on creating positive interpersonal relationships.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What light inside you have you been dimming?
There has always been this fear of being seen since I was a kid. I’m an introvert to the outside world, but quite extroverted once I get to know you. I’m facing the obstacle of actually posting my art on social media. There is the self-doubt that my work isn’t good enough, and that there is no space for me on any platform. I know that once I overcome this fear, I can finally flourish the way I envision myself, too. It’s why I thank you for taking the time to interview me, because it’s a step closer to overcoming my fears.
