What comes to mind when you think of bullying? You’re probably thinking of a long forgotten phase of schoolyard chants and teenage awkwardness. In the recent years, bullying has become an epidemic for the youth of this country. Sadly, bullying doesn’t stop there for a lot of people, even adults can become victims of bullying. What was once thought of as just a sad part of life that most of us begrudgingly accepted has now become one woman’s crusade to change the way we not only think of others but mainly the way we think of ourselves. That woman, The Bully-proof Diva, Traciana Graves.
Traciana Graves used to have a successful career as a musical artist, singing with the likes of Celine Dion, but over the last several years, she has dedicated her life’s purpose to becoming a bullying prevention expert. She has traveled across the country educating people at a number of educational institutions and corporations on the dangers of bullying in the workplace. “I would often bring people together when I was singing so speaking to them is no different. I’m hoping to tap into that boldness that’s there in all of us and bring something out of not only myself, but other people,” Traciana explained of her passion.
Although bullying can come in many forms, very few people are able to recognize its destructive power until it is too late. Traciana, with the help of her organization, Project Bully Free Zone, which has gained national attention, hopes by launching her new blog BullyProofDiva.com, she expects to reach people in need by empowering them. Bully-Proof Diva is dedicated to young professionals and their superiors in the workplace who need help recognizing the signs of bullying. Most importantly, it helps them understand how to overcome it.
When asked what she would say to those who have said that ‘Bullying is a part of life and we all go through it,’ Traciana calmly responded with the following, “Bullying is now a silent epidemic with adults. If you ask someone how bullying has influenced their lives most people would say things like it has caused stress, self medication, depression and even being fired from their jobs because of it. No one escapes bullying regardless of their age.” She compared bullying to a form of cancer. “It may be a part of life, but that doesn’t make it right.”
Traciana has been an educator and organizational developer for 12 years, it’s during this time that she learned how to reach and motivate those in need of her help. She found that the psychological effects of bullying don’t stop once someone has left the place/person that has been doing the bullying. Many people take that negative energy home with them and it transfers in other ways that can be damaging. Traciana combats the growing threat of bullying by promoting others to become self-aware through positive thinking and confidence. “We as people often need to rethink how we communicate with one another in our personal and professional lives,” Traciana says. She explains that bullying doesn’t stop once childhood is over, but in fact it has become a very serious matter for adults. “Don’t think of it as being overly politically correct, but the promotion of oneself in order to become a better person as a whole and change the way we think .”
Traciana encourages readers to check out her blog in order to get help and advice so that they can become more familiar with bullying and it’s impact as well as explore options on how to fight it and become a victim no more.
Readers can learn more about Traciana and her organization at www.bullyproofdiva.com, www.saysomethingbeautiful.com and she also has videos on youtube that can be viewed at wwww.youtube.com/bullyproofdiva