I’m a recovering over-achiever. Not that I don’t still try to do my best, and still regularly push myself beyond my limits (note the “recovering” in the description), but over the past few years I’ve become more aware of both the behaviors that lead to that pushing, but also the mindset from which they originate.
I know I’m not the only one. Read More
I live in the southern U.S., where spring begins in February, and by now it’s already summer. Last week, I traveled to the northern part of the country, and was reminded that the transition happens at different times in different places. No matter the timing, some years it’s a gradual process, full of backslides into full-blown winter followed by surges forward into summer heat, only to drift back into chilly rain, crushing souls along the way. Other years, change happens more quickly and confidently, each step taking us closer to summer without doubt or hesitation.
You never know how change is going to work. Sometimes you just have to let it unfold. Read More
We all want to be seen for exactly who we are. Yet, when we step out into the world, we’re afraid to show who that is. We focus outward, and ask ourselves, “Who do I need to be in order to succeed in this space?”
Adaptability is a survival skill. It helps us belong, which reduces the odds that we’ll freeze or starve to death, in a primitive sense. But as Brené Brown said in her recent Netflix special, belonging and fitting in are two different things.
Fitting in means molding yourself. Figuring out what “they” want, and giving it to them. Standing outside of your story, and trying to validate your worthiness based on what “they” need.
Belonging is owning your shit and being accepted for it. ALL of it. Yup, this is me, and this is all of my stuff, and take or leave it. This is my story. I’m gonna walk inside it, and know my worthiness is BECAUSE of it, not despite it.
So…what if you’re in a space where you have to adapt to thrive? Can you make being there a choice instead of an obligation? Can you preserve yourself in the process? Or, is it time to find a new space?
When we have the strength to own our story and present ourselves exactly as we are, looking for people and spaces where that true self is valued, we burst wide open, in the best possible way. Our potential becomes limitless, because we are operating with all of our personal power.
The truth is never good or bad, it’s neutral. It’s how we see it that makes it one or the other. As you wake up this Monday, how do you see your beautiful self? Spoiler alert, I just gave you a clue. ;-)
