catalin g.

I am Catalin Gruia, I am 44 years old, and I wear just as many hats: I am a journalist, writer, traveler, communication expert, psychologist and coach. In the first half of my life, I spent over 20 years (half of which as editor-in-chief) working in the Romanian editorial team of the National Geographic and NG Traveler magazines. When people hear of National Geographic, they don't treat you as just a journalist, but as an ambassador of a great kingdom. And it is not always an easy task to embody the values of this exceptional brand! What has National Geographic meant to me all these years? It has been the enthusiastic pursuit of the yellow rectangle, it has been a school of excellence in journalism, it has been the wisdom of mastering the secrets of a brand that roams the wild, whose magic opens locks and hearts everywhere. When the majority of my friends chose to travel to the future - moving to London, Paris, or Vancouver - I decided to do the opposite and travel to the past. So I left Bucharest for a little countryside cottage where deers come to the doorstep, with an old orchard and a stream, in a village in Mures county. And I like to believe that it was an essential experiment: chopping wood, making my own fire, going mushroom picking, washing with a traditional kettle, eating by candlelight, growing my own vegetables, visiting neighbors for "storytelling" sessions. Romania's patched cloak still has hidden pockets where you feel like you're living in the past, in a world reaching twilight, yet still governed by customs passed down through generations, where people's work is determined by the natural calendar and religious holidays. However, unfortunately, time no longer has patience for the rural world. The avalanche of change has already begun and will sweep away everything in its path. In the second half of my life, I came back to city and embarked on the path of psychology and coaching. With the latter, I specialized in anxious-preoccupied attachment and work with individuals facing difficulties, helping them transform their anxiety into authenticity, calmness and flourishing through the reprogramming of the conscious and subconscious mind, self-awareness, and cultivating positive habits.