How I Rebuilt My Life Through Mindset, Accountability, and the Domino Effect

My Story: By Dominique Brun

If you’ve been reading my work on mindset, change, money, or creating peace of mind, you might be wondering something quietly:

Who is she to talk about this?

That’s a fair question.

I don’t have a psychology degree. I’m not a life coach with a perfect past. I haven’t “figured it all out,” and I’m not standing on the other side of life pretending it was easy.

What I have done is survive — and then consciously rebuild.

This page exists so you know exactly who you’re listening to.

Before the change, I was Surviving instead of living

There was a version of me who lived in constant survival mode.

I was in a domestic violence relationship that slowly dismantled my sense of self. Not overnight — that’s not how it works. It happens quietly. You begin to question yourself before anyone else ever has to.

I went to jail multiple times.
I had four DUIs.
I made choices that, today, don’t align with who I am — but they do align with someone who was numbing pain, avoiding reality, and running from herself.

I wasn’t lazy.
I wasn’t incapable.
I wasn’t broken beyond repair.

I was dysregulated, ashamed, and disconnected from my own worth.

From the outside, my life looked chaotic.
From the inside, it felt like trying to breathe underwater.

The hardest part wasn’t the events themselves.

It was losing trust in myself.

When you live like that long enough, you stop believing peace is possible. You stop imagining a stable future. You start shrinking your expectations — not because you want less, but because hope feels dangerous.

I didn’t wake up inspired to change.
I woke up exhausted from abandoning myself.

That was the moment everything shifted.

The First Domino: Accountability Over Motivation

There was no dramatic turning point.
No overnight transformation.
No “everything changed” moment.

There was one honest realization I couldn’t ignore anymore:

I can’t keep living like this and expect my life to feel different.

That was it.

No motivation.
No affirmations.
No perfect plan.

Just accountability.

One choice at a time.
One boundary.
One decision that didn’t match the old version of me.

That’s how real change happens.
That’s how dominoes fall.

Rebuilding my life wasn't some cushy fun project. It was damn hard and took a look a lot of work.

Change didn’t arrive as confidence.
It arrived as consistency.

I learned how to regulate my emotions instead of reacting to them.
I learned how to sit with discomfort instead of escaping it.
I learned how to take responsibility without drowning in shame.

Peace wasn’t something I “found.”
I built it through structure, honesty, and boundaries.

Money didn’t magically appear.
I worked my way out of debt, slowly and intentionally.

I became a mother who stayed.
A woman who followed through.
Someone who did what she said she would — even when no one was watching.

I got my insurance license.
I learned sales.
I started a business.

Not because I felt ready — but because I was willing to learn.

Each small win created momentum for the next.

That’s the domino effect.

Who I Am Today

Today, my life looks very different — not because I became someone else, but because I stopped running from who I was meant to be.

I am:

• A mother of two

• Engaged

• Actively working out of debt

• A business owner

• Licensed

• Emotionally regulated (not perfectly — intentionally)

I don’t live in chaos anymore.
I don’t abandon myself for approval.
And I don’t confuse survival with strength.

This isn’t the end of my story.
It’s the most grounded chapter so far.

You might be asking...why would I even share my story publicly?

It's ironic because if you would have asked me about my story 10 years ago, I would have either not told you or not gone deep. Because I was ashamed and embarrassed. I'm not that woman anymore.

I write this to keep myself accountable — to remember where I came from and why the small choices matter.

But I also write this for the woman who feels disqualified.

The woman who thinks her past ruined her future.
The woman who feels stuck, ashamed, or behind.
The woman who knows something has to change but doesn’t know where to start.

You don’t need confidence first.
You don’t need a perfect plan.
You don’t need to erase your past to deserve peace.

You just need the next honest choice. Because this is a journey, not a destination and you can't do it alone. I lean to God, my savior who put the Spirit in me and guides me in his wisdom.

I still fail.
I still struggle.
I still have days where it would be easier to check out than show up.

But I don’t quit on myself anymore.

There is no finish line here.
Just direction.

If you’re reading this, you are not late.
You are not broken.
And you are not alone.

Pull one domino.
Then the next.

I’ll be right here — walking it with you.