Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really my superhero. That's why it's important for me to support women, to share their uniqueness, their personalities, perspectives, and emotions about life. Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle with their mental health. But when they listen to the Rare Girls podcast where empowered women share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of freedom and to overcome all insecurities. They will feel it is a safe space to find their confidence to remember their unique beauty and to feel their self worth and they will connect with the sisterhood of rare girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Nana Sato. Nana is originally from Japan. She is a flight attendant based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nana loves traveling and she is a big foodie. She also loves taking photos of her travels and of food, so her Instagram is all about the two. Nana, how are you today? I'm great, thank you. Thank you for this opportunity. You're welcome. I'm honored, I'm lucky, I'm very privileged to have you here and looking forward to know so much more about you. So I'll begin with this nice first question, which is, Nana, if your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you? I would say that first I'm very positive and energetic and people always tell me that I'm laughing so much. So I guess I'm smiling and laughing a lot. I love humours. So some people find that I'm very funny as well. And very friendly, easy going. I love that and I want to explore much, much more. Let's begin with your energy and the positivity within you. Usually the human brain evolved to be more negative, to worry too much, because in evolution, if you're worried, then you pay attention to any predators and you survive. But happy people will be like so happy they die easily. So did you do something? Are you inspired by some relatives? What created within you this positive energy? Are you a girl who has like her gratitude journal every morning for the last seven years? And that's how you built it? How does it work and happen that your energy is so positive? I'm just naturally born with this positivity, I guess, because I remember even at a small age, my parents would always tell me that I'm always happy and positive. So I don't think I did anything to gain positivity. But at one point, maybe within the last 10-15 years, I have learned about showing more gratitude. So yes, I have done the gratitude journals. Even if I don't have time to write it, I do always thank whatever I have in my life. So I think that helps as well. Thank you so much. And you said you are friendly. There are too many people in the world who feel awkward about talking to new people, about being so friendly. They worry about being judged. They think, "Oh, what if this new person hates me?" So they start by being closed off just in case they avoid the judgment. And therefore, they are good people, but they cannot really feel comfortable being too friendly to someone they don't know for a long, long time. What is your mindset or set of beliefs or how do you view people that allows you to be friendly and expect the best when you are meeting someone for the first time or someone you don't know very well? - Well, I think I have been very lucky because even when I was a little girl, I was constantly moving with my family because of my dad's job. So I just had to always learn to make new friends everywhere I go. So I don't really know if there's like a typical tip or like special tip or anything. But what I can say is that yeah, it is sometimes scary, you know, like when looking at someone, maybe some people have scary faces maybe. But if you're just being yourself, I think the key is to be yourself and then you will start attracting people just naturally rather than trying to, say, fake it or trying to be someone else, trying to be a better version of yourself. But that's quite tiring, you know? So I think, yeah, the best thing is just to try and relax and be yourself. Yeah, be friendly to others. And I think that would be something that would be easier for you to make new friends. I hope that makes sense. Perfect. It makes absolutely perfect sense. And I love that you have this drive to not put a mask on, to be yourself, not even try to be better than you currently are so that you are absolutely authentic. You use words such as "I am lucky" and that you attract the right people, and even energy, those sound very spiritual rather than someone who's very pragmatic and practical. How do you perceive the world? Do you see it as some energy that is attracted to each other, And so everything is coming to you because your energy is creating it. Or do you believe in destiny that people are meant to arrive in your life at specific times to give you lessons and resources and new exciting adventures? Or do you believe that you see and feel energy everywhere? And so when you look at people, you just feel their energy. And therefore your spiritual connection is seeing that people are energy more than bodies. Or how does it work? the way that you see the world that allows you to feel that attraction, that lucky side, all those things that you use. That's a great question, actually. Well, I am Christian, so I do believe in God. And so what you said about how destiny, like I feel like God is always having like the right moment, you know, write everything for you. So in that sense, I do believe in that way. But I also believe in the people's energy as well, where like attracts like and so yeah, if you're very positive, I'm sure positive people will be attracted into your life. And so yes, I do believe in this spiritual kind of way, but also psychological way as well. Thank you so much for that. And something that I'm very curious about since you are today, a cabin crew, is it correct that the people who are either selected or who are attracted to becoming cabin crew have their unique personality that tend to be more hospitable, more friendly? I don't mean like for you to say no, they're not friendly. Nobody's friendly here. But I mean, do similar kind of people tend to be attracted to the work of cabin crew? Or it's not like that, it's a mix of all kinds of personalities that become cabin crew. So when you go there, did you find that people tend to be soulmates? I don't want to say it in a way where people, if your friends listen, they're like, "Oh, she's saying bad things about us." But I mean, do you tend to think that the kinds of people who are attracted to become a cabin crew are the same type of person or they are diverse and therefore all kinds of personalities are in that job. I would say majority is like me who's positive and energetic and love traveling and love different things. But I would say not everyone because I have seen people who are a little bit more reserved a little bit more quiet or shy and they are still enjoying their job. So yes, but I would say majority is someone who's able to communicate with people without any hesitance or any issues and someone who's more friendly would be easier, I would say, to be in this position because you would always have to be talking to your colleagues or to your customers. So that's like a must thing. That's a required thing. So even if you're shy, you have to, I think, be able to have some communication with someone, yeah, like the friendly side, that would be definitely something that would be required, I think. Thank you. So according to you, anybody who gets exhausted from too much social interaction is not really going to be enjoying or very happy working as cabin crew. Is this correct? I'm actually not 100% sure because I do have some friends who just at work, they're very friendly. But when they remove their hats in uniform, then they suddenly become like switched off from the whole world and love their own world. So yeah, it's a little bit difficult to say, to be honest. I cannot really... I don't know how to word it correctly, to be honest. Well, you can say that any person who can, during their work, enjoy the experience, feel excited about the feeling of being a cabin crew of the adventurous part that is someone who can enjoy it. And then I will ask you as well, you as someone who has such positive energy, sometimes you might have people who are energy vampires, not only at work, but in life and in general, or people who have negative energy. I'm a super empath. I can feel everybody, even the dogs and the cats and the trees. growing up, it was difficult because whenever someone was in a negative mood, I will pick up on that feeling and think it was my fault. I was a small, so I didn't know. I was like, what did I do? Why are they so angry until I learned? Actually, I did not. Some people learn to put a wall that separates their energy from others. Mine is different. My energy is so positive that it overflows any negativity. So I cannot even if someone is negative, I cannot even like be impacted by it. Not because I put a wall, but because my energy is flowing so positively that it doesn't enter. There is no space for negativity. But for you, how do you deal with that? Because not all of the eight billion people in the world are positive and happy and excited. Some of them, like you said, might have scary faces or some of them might be addicted to being negative because they feel or have the stereotype that means you're a very high status, powerful person because you're the angry boss or whatever. How do you deal with that? I try to just focus on myself, actually, rather than trying to focus on someone else's problem, for example, if there are some issues going on, but it is, of course, difficult. If you're surrounded by negative energy, for example, and like you said about the energy vampire, that's super difficult when especially if it's like 101, then you cannot escape from that situation because you've got to be talking to the person, you know? So yeah, and then at the end of the day, I feel like so drained. And I just, all I need to do is just to lie down and take some rest. So in that sense, yeah, I just I guess I have to deal with that. But I guess resting your mind is definitely the key. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate your answer very much. And it makes you also wonder, you are a foodie. I have questions about that. But first, are you a girl with a high metabolism so you can eat as much as you want and never gain weight or not? Because my questions will depend on this. I wish I had. I wish I could just eat whatever and then not worry about my weight. I do have to be careful. Yeah, some people have asked me because I am such a foodie. They're always seeing me eat so much. And so I don't know, I guess I'm average, but I do be careful. If I'm eating like very fatty food, for example, then I would try not to, you know, I would try to eat more salad or something like healthier food. Yeah, if that continues because I can feel that especially I don't know if it's just my thing, but whenever my energy is running low, I start to crave for junk food, for example. And yeah, that's when I feel the sign like I need to really take care of my body and maybe my immune system is going low. That's why I'm craving for something that's not really good for my health. Yeah. Thank you. I love that. And so I want to ask you something related. There are many girls and women who are nowadays constantly on Instagram seeing girls who look in perfect shape. Some of them photoshopped or plastic surgery and they compare their bodies and they don't feel beautiful. And even if they loved food at some point, now they have this love/hate relationship with food that when they eat it, they think, "Oh, this is making me not look good," or "This is not good for me. I will hate myself for eating," and all that. So two parts to the question. One, how do you keep your relationship positive with food, although you are trying to be careful not to overeat? And so how do you keep that pure attraction or pure interest in food? And second, did you deal with that such things related to like body image issues? And what's your advice to girls and women who are constantly struggling with that? - Yeah. So I love eating in general. So normally I just would go for the food that I really want to eat. But at the same time, people tell me that I'm also a health freak as well. I love healthy things. So I always try to start food like with salad, for example. And my parents would always feed me in a healthy way. So I guess I learned that habit from a very young age. So I feel very blessed that my parents were always being careful with that. Well, it's always easy to compare yourself with others, right? But I feel like once you start comparing with someone, then I don't know, unless you have the perfect, perfect body, then I think you would start hating yourself. And maybe even that perfect body person may have the issue thinking that there's definitely a better version of herself, for example. So I think it's just never ending story. And once you start comparing with someone, I think you would just go downhill because you would start hating yourself. So what I could say is that, again, definitely focus on yourself and also definitely have that image of whoever you want to be, for example, if there is someone who you think is beautiful or, you know, that perfect image of someone, then I don't know, maybe have it on your phone, and then always look at her and then think that you're going to become her someday, somehow. And then I think somehow I feel like that sort of desire, that image will trigger your brain, I think, to start acting in a way like, oh, you want to eat healthy, for example, or you want to work out more often, or you want to go to the gym, or if you don't like the gym, maybe you will start finding a way to enjoy yourself in playing the sports, for example, or, you know, like different things may come to your mind. And then one day maybe you will have like that perfect body of your image. Thank you for that. I appreciate your answer very much. And there are many girls who are dreaming of becoming cabin crew. And so they only imagine the glamorous side, but every Every job has some challenges, some things that make it difficult, including maybe exhaustion sometimes and lack of sleep. But to be realistic around here, of course, there are many, many, many great things about being a cabin crew and working it and being someone who lives that adventurous life. But what are some of the difficulties that someone considering it should think about so that when they make a decision, they're not surprised later, like, "What happened? I thought this is different or whatever it is. Yes. So definitely the most difficult part is to try and rest. Like your sleep pattern will be completely ruined. It will never be the same if you were, say, doing your nine to five job, for example, you will never have the routine and you will have to wake up weird timings and try to sleep for your flight, you know, And that's also very difficult because you might be under the sun for a while and that would kind of wake up your body. So then you have to sleep like the next moment for five hours, for example. And then you only lie down, but your mind was playing tricks on your brain and then you couldn't get any sleep. But you still have to go to work and be on time. So that's probably the most tricky part. Yeah, it's probably the most difficult thing for us. And also another thing would be, yes, it does look glamorous, but we also have to deal with some things that some customer may have very demanding attitude. And the company will, of course, want you to smile all the time and try to stay positive. But we're all human beings. So of course we get irritated. Of course we get angry about some things, but we shouldn't be taking it personally. And if you are someone who takes it so personally, then you will face more difficulties than others because that's something that you really sometimes you just have to close your eyes and then just accept it and then say, you know, apologize, for example, some people cannot apologize if you didn't do anything wrong. And of course, you shouldn't be apologizing for something you haven't done anything wrong about, but sometimes that I'm very sorry, or we apologize, that small word or phrase would solve all the issues, you know? So that's something that you want to keep in your mind. 100%. Thank you for that. And you mentioned that throughout childhood, I understand that your parents were very influential for you and that you kept moving from place to place to place. Well, did that make you someone who is more cosmopolitan, that you don't have really the Japanese culture too much within you or are you like through and through a Japanese girl who happened to be living all over the world? I want to understand it because I lived in many many places. I consider myself cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world. I just see countries not as a separation but different expressions of human creativity. But to you, I don't know how your life was and growing up, did this part of moving from place to place allow you to be someone who sees the world as one big blue country in space? Or are you because of that? Because some people actually who are outside, who are not stabilized in any place, they become even more traditional representatives of that place and they defended even more than people who keep living there in the same place for a long time. I'm definitely just like you. I'm very cosmopolitan, I would say, and although I have been naturally positive from when I was a child, but I'd say I still remember when I actually didn't really enjoy my childhood back in Japan from like around the elementary school time before I moved to the US and I was a little bit bullied and I didn't enjoy my life really. And so I don't know why, but in my mind, I thought going abroad, like leaving Japan, would change my life. And one day it happened out of blue. And so I thought, okay, my life will change. And then when I actually moved to the US with my family, my life really changed. And I loved all my friends and I really got along with everyone and I love my new life and different culture and different school system. I could say that it really fit my personality and then it also built up seeing other kids freely expressing themselves and that was kind of like a wow for me because in Japan we're kind of educated in a way that we shouldn't really speak up unless you have the chance to like the teacher would ask your opinion but until you're asked we're not really meant to be speaking up much and you don't really want to stand out in the crowd so in that sense that really was like a big wow for me moving to the US. And so I think I built the confidence that I needed moving to the US as a child. I love that story and how it was such a transformation that made you very, very happy. I'm very happy for you. And I imagine it really helped you heal emotionally in many, many ways. And to finish this, I have this question, which I believe is very important and you can have good insights for it. There are some women and even girls who are living to other people's expectations. They feel they are stuck in a life they did not choose, or they have a brain that keeps thinking in a worrying, negative, anxious way. And so they're not following their dreams, not living up to their potential, but choosing the safe way out or living to people's expectations. What's your opinion on this? Did you struggle with it? Did you not struggle with it? And what's your advice to them so that they will take that first step towards creating their potential because their potential is outside of their comfort zone by definition? Thank you. Yes, definitely. I was in the similar situation, actually, to be honest. When I decided that I want to become a cabin crew. My dad especially, he was very disappointed because he always gave me a very good education. He paid a lot of money for me to go to a good university and then all I wanted to become was a cabin crew and he never really thought that the cabin crew position is not very intelligent position. So I was a little bit disappointed in the way that he had to think about the he had the image of that about cabin crew but I was telling him that there's no going back and I just and she already knew and at the bottom in the bottom of his heart that I'm very very stubborn so I would not listen to him in the end but she also had to fight for his girl as well so I understand where he's coming from but at the end of the day it's my life and And I can say that to every other women out there. Yeah, it's your life. So you cannot live your life for someone else because at the end of the day, I think even if you try to live your life for someone and try to make your parents or I don't know, whoever you think of happy, but you can never satisfy the others 100%. percent because if you're not happy then everything will just go downhill I think. Yeah because that would affect your life as well if you're not happy. So I think in the end you really have to believe in yourself and do whatever you think is right and even if you're judged if you think this is right you go for it and then if you fail then you start from zero And even if someone's judging you, don't talk to these people who will judge you and there will always be someone who will support you, I believe. And yeah, you're not alone in this. Yeah, I always encourage everyone, whoever is struggling in that way. I always say, yeah, just be yourself. And even if your parents don't agree, they will understand eventually. Because if they see you being very happy, that's what parents want from you. Right. I think that's how I can encourage people. One hundred percent. And before we finish, then I'm curious what attracted you to be in a cabin crew, even though your father didn't want to, or even your life trajectory, was going in a totally different direction with your education, etc. I was interested in cabin crew because I think the very first thing was because I used to be on the airplane even as a baby. I always looked at the beautiful cabin crew and thinking, "Wow, one day I will be like her." And I was so fascinated and I love uniforms. I think I'm always attracted in beautiful clothes. And so I really liked the uniform, the way it looks and how it's structured. And also the idea of being able to go around the world for your work is also another thing that would always attract me. And also because of my personality, I really love meeting new people. So I also, I've been a cabin crew for almost 14 years and I still enjoy up until today that I just love serving customers and making their days, you know, making their flights easy, comfortable and fun because we can always use our humor as well, just a little bit, just to joke around and you know have a little laugh and they would really appreciate it. So I love the whole concept of being a cabin crew. 100% thank you so much Nana, it was my privilege and my honor to have you here to share your voice and your story and your perspective. I wish you to keep enjoying life to make people's days better and always stay smiling. thank you again for participating. Thank you very much, it has been very very interesting as well.
