Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Tika, the founder and herbalist behind a beautiful brand called THE WOOED. Our conversation was transformative, one of those exchanges that leaves you feeling deeply inspired and reconnected to your own inner wisdom.
Tika shared beautiful insights on purpose and her perspective was refreshing: we don't need to be endlessly seeking because we already possess that knowing within us. The key is learning to tap back into that wisdom, tuning in with ourselves, and creating space to truly listen.
What struck me most was how she illuminated the universal nature of our challenges. The obstacles we face—self doubt and limiting beliefs—are shared human experiences. Yet we have incredible capacity to overcome them when we pause, tune back in, and trust our inner guidance.
I left feeling energised about what we can create together in community. Tika's work beautifully embodies this through her herbal oils, honeys, and supplements designed to support us through modern life's stresses.
I hope you enjoy this powerful conversation about finding our way back to ourselves and our innate sense of purpose.
Ruby: What does purpose mean to you, and how has your understanding of it evolved over time?
Tika: It’s interesting, because I was looking over your questions again this morning and chatting to my partner about it — and for me, I’ve never actually thought about purpose as something I needed to search for. I’ve always had an inner knowing towards what I wanted to do or what I was passionate about, I guess that’s just what I have always followed.
For me, purpose is that feeling that lights me up inside. It brings me joy or excitement, that sense of “I have to go do this now.” It shows up as this pull toward something I’m passionate about.
Looking back over my childhood, I’ve always just been like ‘what is that thing that I'm so passionate about, I need to go do now’. So that’s how it shows for me.
I’ve been looking into my Human Design chart lately, and my life path is all about transforming oppression into transfiguration — turning darkness into light through joy and excitement. And honestly, that’s always been how I’ve seen life. It was really affirming to have that reflected back to me.
Ruby: Can you share a moment or experience that was pivotal in helping you discover your purpose?
Tika: Yes, although I’ve always followed that sense of excitement, there was a really pivotal moment for me that gave me clarity.
I used to work in fashion sales for a high-end brand, and while I had loved fashion from a creative perspective, the job I ended up in was very sale-focused. One day, a business consultant came into our office to sit with the team for a number of weeks and later sat down with each of us. In our one-on-one meeting, the first thing she said was, “You're very analytical, very data-based.” And I remember when she said that it felt gut wrenching. It was like — oh my god, how did I get here? It felt so far away from who I was at my core.
That moment made me realise I was so far from my purpose. Not long after that, I quit my job without a plan. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew I couldn’t keep doing that. That was when I started studying herbalism, which eventually lead to me starting The Wooed. It was a big redirection in my path but also a lesson I had to learn - it did serve a purpose showing me I wasn’t in alignment.
Ruby: How do you balance pursuing your purpose with the demands of everyday life?
Tika: This is something I’m still learning. I come from a very fast-paced background, and I’m naturally a fast-moving person, but I’m learning that my power, especially as a woman, comes from softening, slowing down, and doing things differently.
Right now, I’m travelling and running my business from the back of my car, literally shipping orders between lunches with my partner’s grandparents. But I’m seeing how business can look different and that’s really beautiful.
We get to create our own way of running a business and what that looks like. It doesn’t have to fit into society’s current structures.
If we want to live a slow life and have a purpose-driven business, we can marry those two things in a way that doesn’t feel like they are contradictory, instead they can complement each other.
What I am really learning is: there’s no rush. I used to think I had to reply to emails immediately, but now I ask: What do I really value? What matters most? I still get things done, just not at the expense of what’s truly important to me. I’m still learning for sure but that is the world and business that I am trying to create.
Creating that spaciousness to allow everything to coexist.
Ruby: Do you think purpose is something we find, or something we create? Why?
Tika: I believe purpose is something our soul already carries. I believe in reincarnation, in karma — that our soul has incarnated for a reason. So for me, purpose isn’t something we need to search for or even create. It’s something we need to tap in to, listen to, tune into, because it’s already within us.
Ruby: Are there any daily practices or habits that help you stay aligned with your purpose?
Tika: Yes, movement is really important for me, but ultimately what all the practices come back it is nervous system regulation. When I feel grounded and balanced I can receive the downloads that allow me to stay in alignment with my purpose.
Whether it's yoga, meditation or a walk in nature. Being in nature is a big one. I honestly receive all my downloads when I’m walking among trees. I’ll come back from a walk and be a different person - so that’s a huge one for me.
And I’m really passionate about body oils. I think they’re one of the most underrated supports for our nervous systems. The reason why is our nerve endings live just beneath the skin, and nourishing them with herbal-infused oils is incredibly calming and immediately regulates our nervous system. Using those herb-infused oils, it delivers that herbal medicine straight into our nervous system and blood stream so it works instantly. That’s something I do every day - I lather myself in our herb-infused oils.
Ruby: What challenges have you faced in living with purpose, and how have you overcome them?
Tika: The biggest one that comes up for me is self-doubt - because it has always been this intuitive feeling towards what I want to do… but often I wondered ‘Am I being unreasonable? ‘Are my dreams too big?’ ‘Is this a life that people can have?’ because I couldn't see it being modelled around me. So that self-doubt has crept in a lot.
Overcoming that self-doubt and having enough belief and trust in myself but also in the greater picture, in my intuition which is my purpose. And just remembering and knowing this quote which always stuck with me - which was something like - “what you desire, desires you too.” I really clung onto that kind of thinking, which helped me push through the limiting beliefs.
Ruby: Who or what inspires you to stay connected to your purpose when things feel overwhelming?
Tika: Well, one of the main catalysts behind The Wooed was my connection with my grandmother.
She introduced me to plants, she always had me in the garden. She passed away when I was 16, and though we weren’t close in her final years, I’ve felt really connected to her ever since her passing and I think of her a lot in so much of what I do.
I often think of her and my mother, what they went through, what they didn’t have the opportunity to do. In many ways, I feel like I’m doing what they would have loved to do but just couldn't because of the time and the generation. And it just wouldn't be possible for me to be doing what I am doing without both of them for so many different reasons. They are my driving force in a lot of ways.
Ruby: If you could give one piece of advice to someone searching for their purpose, what would it be?
Tika: I think ultimately, just stop searching. Stop trying. Stop efforting. And instead, ask yourself — what brings me joy? What lights me up? What do I want to research or explore when I have nothing to do?
Those are the things that you are being called to for a reason, so I would encourage people to follow those little hints and keep digging deep. Follow more of your joy and trusting in that, that thing that you are interested in desires you as much as you desire it.
