Hayley Lynn Pocock is unapologetic.

In fact, in my 35 years of existence she is the only woman I’ve ever met that lives her truth - which is that she believes everything that she’s ever said, done, felt, heard or been a part of happened so that she could continue mastering what it is to be an individual. A woman in a world that’s constantly asking women to be and feel sorry for who they are or why they are the way they are. The best part about her is that she tells the truth more than anyone else I know.

This makes her a great person to interview.

Rad: First question. What are you in love with at the moment?

Hayley: At the moment, I’m in love with where I’m at in my own personal journey. I’m in love with the new feeling that I have inside myself. I feel like I’m finally in a place where I practice what I preach more than ever. So I’m really in love with that feeling of ...all these things I’ve encouraged for other people because I’m applying them to my life on a very personal level. I’m just in love with how that’s been feeling and what it’s resulted in, because that’s just what I so desperately want for other people and now I finally know my way around it. I can actually confidently help other people and teach this from a place of love that I needed with myself.

Rad: How do you find love in what you do?

Hayley: I’ve always just loved the feeling of helping someone else flip on a switch. The most important part of what I do is help people turn on where they had been turned off. Seeing people’s perspectives shift. Watching people who are rigid about something or really committed to something that wasn’t beneficial for them (something they were believing about themselves or something that was holding them back). I really love being a part of the moment where they’re ready to look at something from a new way. So, watching change happen is what I love about my work, watching people that didn’t think they could look at something a certain way realize that they can, is what I love.

Rad: Is there a method you use to find that love — a way you go about getting to that?

Hayley: I’ve only ever gotten to that by just being myself and being really committed to the idea that people deserve that feeling. People deserve those moments where they’re changing and growing right before your eyes. I get there by holding that space for other people to explore and pay witness to the way that they’re doing things and how they can change.

Rad: Everyone wants to know how to find your way back when things get tough or challenging —how do you answer the question can I really love what I do?

Hayley: I guess I just always remember that it feels so much better to be in a space of love and feeling good. I find my way back because the days I spend feeling sad or overwhelmed by a challenge are just so much worse. It's so much more worth it to find a way to trust myself, whether that means calling a friend and having a conversation where they help me get back on my feet, or watching some movie I’ve watched 150 times just cause it feels inspiring. Or reading something I wrote that helps me feel powerful and helps me remember how cool I am, or that what I have to say is really meaningful to me. Looking at the evidence that tells me that despite all the challenges, I’ve still been able to express myself and be loving with myself and spread love and acceptance everywhere.

Rad: Do you remember the first time you felt love?

Hayley: (Thoughtful pause of about 15 seconds) I guess I just immediately think of cuddling with my parents. Something physical that made me feel really loved, and safety that translated into love. My parents always hugged me and tickled me and cuddled me in a way that felt like love.

Rad: And how do you feel that love has evolved for you?

Hayley: It’s become a lot more serious. I think I grow more serious about love as I grow older. I take it seriously, I take the feeling seriously and I think it deserves to be taken seriously. I think at one point in my life it felt fluffy and easy, you know like “love ya, love ya!” But it’s really quite serious and I only use it in a sincere way now, like when I want to tell someone “I love you”. It’s a feeling and an emotion and an experience that I want to take seriously, even when it is fun, because even then the weight of it matters so much that I don’t just treat it like fluff anymore.

Rad: That’s beautiful. And to close up…what don’t you love?

Hayley: I don't like hiding. I don't like being misunderstood. I only like to be in spaces where I’m provided the opportunity to be understood. I don't like to feel really clear to me, but misunderstood to others.