How do we cultivate authentic relationships? How do we allow room for those in our lives to grow in the way they need? Are we entering relationships with too many assumptions and pre-judgments?
The False Safety In Being Someone Else
Tolerating the Fear of Visibility
Think back to a time when you were truly unafraid to be yourself. For me, my mind often finds my eleven-year-old self. That quirky little preadolescent was exuberant, joyful, and unconcerned with the judgment of others.
Back then I was a goalie for my local soccer team. I wasn’t the best. But every game, I stood in goal and I tried. And I owned being a goalie–it was a core part of my identity. I allowed myself to be this thing, without qualification or judgment.
The thing that made me a goalie wasn’t my skill, it was my courage. My willingness to keep trying. My ability to recover after goals scored on me. My ability to tolerate visibility-both in good and hard moments.
I didn’t need to be the best. I just needed to be.
I’d like to think my eleven-year-old self is cheering me on now, is saying it’s okay to keep trying. To remember a time when I wasn't the best, but I was joyful and courageous. That short little gumdrop I used to be is part of me—and I can breathe and smile and access the power from those moments anytime I need.
How can you integrate past moments of being in your power to help you now & step into a deeper, more joyful, judgment-free self-understanding?
