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BernieM

@theberniem

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👩🏾‍🏫Educator · Intercultural Communication Trainer 🗣️
✈️Living beyond the comfort zone
🌸Unattached to one version of myself.
🦅Always becoming

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I got exactly what I came for 🥰
Vienna, if you can hear me, I wanna say an extra special thank you for your welcoming spirit and breathtaking classical music scene. It’s truly an art!

To play with chords and strings and convert that into music so timeless is phenomenal.

#stpeterschurchvienna did an amazing job of showing how such music cannot go unappreciated.

Vienna for the win! 🥇

#austria #vienna #music #traveler by @theberniem

📦Comfort keeps you boxed in.

My travels and interactions have taught me much!

The one thing, however, that shines most brightly is that not one goal I had was accomplished by remaining without change or open to such.

Let that sink in for a moment and we’ll talk about it a bit later 🦅 🫶🏾.

#soar #comfortzone #change #mindsetmatters #shifts by @theberniem

📍The French Riviera by @theberniem

💡Professional relationships do not have to be distant to be professional.

It’s okay to build genuine connections with your clients. It’s okay to take an interest in their lives, share a laugh, have a conversation that goes beyond the immediate task and make the experience feel personal.

In fact, I believe some of the best professional relationships are built on that kind of connection.

People communicate more openly when they feel comfortable. Trust develops when people feel seen and understood. And working together becomes much more rewarding when there’s a genuine human connection.

Of course, professionalism and mutual respect still matter. But I don’t believe we need to create unnecessary distance to demonstrate that we’re good at what we do.

You can be professional and personable. You can have boundaries and still be warm.

🌸Sometimes, a little closeness is exactly what makes a working relationship better.

#professionalrelationships #clientrelationships #humanconnection #Communication #peopleskills by @theberniem

🌸Making room for the versions of myself I haven’t met yet.

The parts of me that are still curious. Still changing. Still willing to ask different questions and imagine different possibilities.

I no longer believe that growth requires us to explain every change or remain loyal to an identity simply because it once fit.

We are allowed to evolve.

To outgrow old definitions. To explore unfamiliar places. To change our minds. To discover new interests, take different paths and become someone we couldn’t have fully imagined a few years ago.

I think there’s something quite beautiful about refusing to put yourself in a box.

🦅There is freedom in allowing yourself to be a work in progress.

Always becoming. 🌿

#alwaysbecoming #lifeoutsidethebox #personalgrowth #selfdiscovery #intentionalliving by @theberniem

🗣️Your intention isn’t always the whole story.

You might mean well. You might believe you’ve communicated clearly. You might even feel that your words were harmless.

🌸But communication doesn’t end with what you intended to say. It also involves how your message was received, the context in which it was delivered and the meaning another person attached to it.

🌏This becomes particularly interesting when we communicate across different cultures, experiences and perspectives.

The same words, gestures or silences can carry very different meanings depending on who’s interpreting them.

Good communication isn’t about assuming we’ve been understood. It’s about being willing to find out.

🫶🏾Because sometimes, the most important part of communication happens after we’ve spoken.

#InterculturalCommunication #CommunicationMatters #culturalawareness #humanconnection by @theberniem

💭I’ve always been drawn to the idea that life can look different from what we’ve always known.

Different places, different perspectives, different ways of living. There’s something about stepping outside the familiar that reminds you how much there is to discover about the world and about yourself.

I don’t think we have to become a completely different person to grow. Sometimes, we simply need to give ourselves the space to see life differently.

A little curiosity can take you a long way. 🌍🤗

You just have to love a throwback pic that puts it into perspective! 🫶🏾

#LifeBeyondBorders #TravelReflections #AlwaysBecoming #CulturalCuriosity #lifeoutsidethebox by @theberniem

📚Teaching has taught me far more than how to explain a concept.

It’s taught me patience, adaptability and the importance of understanding people before making assumptions about them.

🗣️It’s also taught me that effective communication requires more than choosing the right words. It requires cultural awareness, curiosity and a willingness to consider perspectives different from our own.

⚖️And perhaps one of the most important lessons has been discernment: understanding that being able to work with people doesn’t mean every working relationship is the right fit.

You can be patient without being endlessly accommodating. You can be understanding while maintaining boundaries. And you can recognise someone’s perspective without agreeing with it.

💖Some of my most valuable professional lessons have come from the people I’ve had the privilege and the blessing of teaching. Many of those lessons have proved just as relevant outside the classroom.

I’m still learning, still observing and still becoming.

What’s something your profession has taught you about people?

#interculturalcommunication #teachinglife #communicationskills #personalgrowth #educatorlife by @theberniem

🧳✈️🗺️Scenes across #vienna #austria

#architecture #europeanstyle #culture by @theberniem

📍Genoa, 🇮🇹 by @theberniem

The Malta 🇲🇹 Glow
#sunkissed by @theberniem

In and around the city - Genoa 🇮🇹 by @theberniem