Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tara Mont. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Every day, I feel tremendously grateful for how hard my immigrant parents worked to provide unlimited opportunities for me and my brother. Through these actions alone, I was inspired to follow my passions and to be empathetic of individuals from all backgrounds. While I don’t think any parent “gets it all right,” I feel incredibly thankful for the lessons I have learned from both my mom and my dad. My mother, specifically, encouraged me to always be true to myself, take risks, and follow my passions, even if that came with external judgment. When I was unhappy at my advertising job, knowing I did not want to continue in the field, my mom encouraged me to look within and listen to my truth. She was and still is my biggest supporter in being authentic to myself and taking the unconventional route. My mother also taught me to be empathetic of others, while my father taught me to stand up for myself. Witnessing my father’s hard work ethic, I have been inspired to work hard for my future kids and following generations. In addition, my mother studied psychology, which inspired me to learn more about the field and eventually pursue it. While my childhood was not perfect, I see both the great moments and the downfalls as lessons that have made me who I am today. I feel very lucky to have grown up in a household that supported my individuality, and I can only hope to make my parents proud.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Tara Mont, and I am the Founder and Podcast Host of Trust & Thrive. I am also a Clinical Psychology graduate student and a soon-to-be therapist. I am incredibly passionate about mental health, relationships, and self-reflection, which is why I created Trust & Thrive in 2018, where I explore these topics through meaningful and vulnerable conversations. Around 2018, I was going through many impactful changes, including being a recent graduate, shifting career paths, losing my grandmother who I had lived with for most of my life, and moving out of my childhood home. These massive changes inspired me to self-reflect, look within, and have difficult conversations with both myself and others. From this pain and self-exploration came Trust & Thrive. I took the risk to post the first episode in October 2018 with a low quality microphone and a heart full of passion. Through insightful and vulnerable discussions, I hope to inspire my listeners to trust the process of their unique journey and to thrive as their most authentic self. I aim to encourage these actions with a conscious, practical, and attainable approach to self-reflection. I often feature individuals from a multitude of professional fields, levels of expertise, and life experiences who generously share their stories and invaluable knowledge to me and my listeners. With the podcast and my presence on social media platforms, I hope to encourage others to use self-compassion and self-reflection as tools to become self-actualized versions of themselves, while acknowledging the role of their intersecting identities. With every episode, I remind listeners that the podcast is not a replacement for therapy, but hopefully a source of hope that can encourage listeners to seek support and do their own inner work outside of the podcast. In addition to my podcast, I post about mental and emotional wellness on my other social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok. More than anything, I hope Trust & Thrive can remind listeners that they are not alone in this complex, beautiful journey that is life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Growing up with anxiety and perfectionist tendencies, I had often associated mistakes with failure. I would feel so much anxiety from making any mistake, even if it was irrelevant in the big scheme of things. Throughout the past few years, I have been working on unlearning the belief that feedback and mistakes equal failure. If anything, my mindset on this has changed completely. I believe feedback is the only way to grow. Now, I see every mistake as a stepping stone toward growth. Without feedback and mistakes, I feel stagnant. I truly view learning as a lifelong journey with no end destination. Moving forward, I hope to continue being open to feedback, while staying accountable and curious.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

As uncomfortable as it may feel at times, I truly believe that the key to connecting with an audience in the mental health and social media space is showing up authentically. With each podcast episode and post that I share, I remind listeners that I can only speak for myself and my experiences. I am the only expert of my life. No one else can speak for what I have been through, the same way I could never speak for others. That being said, I believe that inner freedom comes from owning our story and showing up authentically, while acknowledging the role we play in our community. With authenticity comes boundaries, which means, while I may show up authentically, I can still have boundaries on what I want to share. By showing up authentically, I hope to inspire each listener to embrace the discomfort that comes with growth, to trust the process of their unique journey, and to thrive as their most authentic self.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tara-mont.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trustandthrive/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trustandthrivepod
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taramontazeri/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/trustandthrive
• Other: TikTok: @trustandthrive https://www.tiktok.com/@trustandthrive?lang=en Trust & Thrive Podcast Links: Apple: bit.ly/trustandthrive Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v3v67cIKVNqiK4Jqh6AGk

Image Credits
Jonathan Edzant IG: @jedzantphotography