People have called me a lot of things through my life, I’ve had more job titles than I care to list, experiences that have taken me places I never thought I’d go, and moments when I felt completely lost through all of it. But regardless of the lists you could try to fit me in, I’d rather you just call me Bree Pear. I founded Only Human and I thought it was time to reintroduce myself and give you a little background on who I am and why I started OH.
I can only equate my “success” and where I’m at right now to one thing, and that’s failure. I’ve failed up, down, and sideways. I’ve failed in ways that felt like the end, and failed in ways that taught me that our lowest of lows can actually be moments we’re most grateful for. I’ve learned that being at the top can feel lonely, and that being in the valleys is where you’ll learn the most about how capable you are of climbing your way out.
In 2015, I was at my rock bottom at that time in my life. I had gotten out of a relationship that taught me that giving all of yourself to someone else will leave you completely broken in the end. I moved from the home we were living in together, was the heaviest I had been in my life, developed skin issues, had too many panic attacks to count, and was drinking no short of five nights a week. Then the cherry on the top? I lost my job at the time.
I had no sense of purpose anymore. I didn’t have passions or hobbies, I didn’t have goals or aspirations. I looked in the mirror and saw a stranger. I was so sick of living every day like it was Groundhog Day. It was as if I woke up each morning and could actually hear Bill Murray saying “It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be gray, and it’s going to be the rest of your life”.
The day I decided to make a change wasn’t at all like a movie; it wasn’t glamorous, or grand, it didn’t come with a soundtrack, the perfect outfit, or a fast tracked timeline that jumped to the happy ending. It took things that I can never show you, it took a three-round knockout fight with my own mind to force my body to start moving.
I made one small step in the opposite direction of where I had been going, then another, then another, and it turns out rock bottom is a really solid foundation to build the rest of your life on. I made a commitment on November 29th, 2015 that I was going to dig the last hole I’d ever throw myself into. I buried a girl that day. I left behind a life that was no longer mine and committed to doing the things that scared me.
I lost 25lbs in three months. I got a new job, a new home, a new mindset. I rebuilt, reengaged, read, and minimized the noise and fear that everyone else told me I should feel.
So here I am, seven years later running the company that was born out of my story of how all the worst things that I’ve been through turned into the best things to happen to me.
Does this mean I’ve got it all figured out now? HELL NO.
And that’s why OH is here. It’s a community of people who are all looking for ways to move through the hardships life throws us as humans and how we can learn, grow, forgive, and move forward. Look out for part 2 of this post all about our values and where they came from.
Because if this life has taught me anything, it’s that you can take all of your hardships and be standing at rock bottom, but you can also grab the hammer and nails and start building.
