Kathrin Emely Springer: "Everyone has a talent"

"I can only be truly successful if what I do makes me happy. If I enjoy doing the things I do. Only then will I be successful." In an interview, the experienced psychologist and personal trainer Kathrin Emely Springer , author of the book "What really counts in life" , talks about talent, success, happiness and self-determination.

You studied psychology and work very successfully as a personal trainer, including in the areas of leadership coaching, crisis intervention and conflict resolution. What motivates you to motivate others?

Kathrin Emely Springer: Everyone has a talent, everyone can do something particularly well. I am good at coaching people. Not only because I have completed several training courses and developed my own coaching method, but also because I have a feeling for people and see it as a gift to support my clients in leading a self-determined, successful life. I know that everyone who comes to me for coaching is a little further along in their life afterwards. That motivates me.

In your new book “What Really Counts in Life” you address, among other things, the connection between happiness and success. How is this valued in today's society and what is your definition?

Kathrin Emely Springer: I can only be truly successful if what I do makes me happy. If I enjoy doing the things I do. Only then will I be successful. In our society, however, it is often only appearances that count. What is really important is often overlooked. Take someone who works very successfully with old people, for example. Do they receive the same attention and admiration as someone who has made a fortune very quickly through stock market speculation? I don't think so. We still chase the wrong "dreams" far too often and listen too rarely to our inner selves. If we used our inner compass and let it guide us, our chances of leading a self-determined, happy, successful life would be much better.

Why is it that many people do not live the life they want and do not even know their true goals, let alone achieve them?

Kathrin Emely Springer: That's because a lot of people allow themselves to be influenced by others. Because they are forced from a young age to do things that aren't 'theirs' and so lose their sense of self. These people don't question themselves, they don't find their center, but do everything with an eye on appearances. They try to meet the wishes of others, to achieve a certain status, to get recognition. As a result, they lose touch with their inner self and can no longer feel their real, genuine wishes. In other words: not listening to myself prevents success.

Close people, such as family or friends, are often not the best advisors when it comes to choosing your own path. Why is that?

Kathrin Emely Springer: No one but myself can know what my talents are, what I really want, what my life should look like. Only I can do that. But this is often disputed, especially in families, where 80-year-old parents know even better what is good for their 60-year-old daughter than she does herself, and have expectations and demands that the daughter should fulfill. It is obvious that this cannot end well. Freeing yourself from the wishes of others can be difficult and painful. In my experience, however, it is the only way that leads to a truly self-determined, happy life.

You use numerous examples from your practice to show that life only develops in the right direction when you do what you enjoy. How do you find out?

Kathrin Emely Springer: By looking within myself, finding my center and dealing with myself and my life. By writing down: What did I enjoy as a child? How did that develop? What do I enjoy? What don't I enjoy? Only through self-knowledge can I make the right decisions and shape my life in a way that suits me.

Happiness and success can also be passed on – for example when raising children. What do you think is the most important task of parents and adults?

Kathrin Emely Springer: In my opinion, the most important task is to guide children correctly. A child must learn self-confidence. A child must be given a good foundation, it should learn that it can stand up for itself and defend itself sometimes. It should have its own opinion and be allowed to express it. A child should be authentic. If we manage to raise our children without 'training' them out of their sense of self, then the chances of a happy life are good. Because only those who are truly self-confident and self-aware will be successful. This applies to big people as well as small ones. And apart from that, a child needs a lot of love and a lot of strength.

Would you like to give us some personal advice?

Kathrin Emely Springer: Don’t look at others and go your own way.

Book tip:
Kathrin Emely Springer: What really counts in life. Success coaching. Recognize your strengths and dare to be successful. Mankau Verlag 2018, paperback, 12 x 19 cm, 158 pages, 9.95 euros (D) / 10.30 euros (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-484-7.

Link recommendations:
More information about the guidebook "What really counts in life. Success coaching"
More about the author Kathrin Emely Springer
To the discussion forum with Kathrin Emely Springer