“You laugh too loud.”
So you bring your hand to your mouth to muffle the sound.
“Your nose is too big.”
So you learn makeup tricks, daydream about someone else’s face, and dodge profile pictures.
“Your voice is too high.”
So you stop speaking up.
“Believing in that is stupid.”
So you put away your magic wand and doubt your intuition.
“Your chest is too small.”
So you wear padding or cover yourself in layers.
“You’re a know it all.”
So you bite your tongue and refrain from raising your hand.
For many years you’ve been hiding. Some part of yourself has been labeled or made fun of or criticized. And you responded by covering up, tucking away, and hiding parts of who you are.
It makes sense. We all want to be normal, liked, and accepted. And when we are young, we want this more than we want to be separate. We are socially taught to blend in, fit in, be cool, be like everyone else. And over time, like the yellow words on an old recipe card, the essence of you begins to fade. We believe the LIE that we are TOO much of something and we begin to hide our uniqueness.
Your divine light gets covered by a residue of shame that whispers… “If you really knew who I was, what I thought, and what I do, you wouldn’t really like me. You would know I’m not good enough.”
And to escape the rejection, we hide ourselves in plain sight. We play small. We hide behind other people. We try to be like “someone” who has what we want. (If only I could write like her… then I would…) We think we aren’t ready, aren’t enough, or aren’t deserving of real success, love, recognition. We want to make a difference, but we are scared of stepping into it. Like Rapunzel, our deepest desire is that someone will find us, save us from our banished tower, and accept us (and our freakishly long hair). But we can’t wait for someone else (no matter how charming they are).
The acceptance we seek begins in our own heart.
Stop hiding. Reveal who you are. All that muffled, dodging, silencing, closeted beauty is costing you so much precious energy, time, and authentic living. It’s not true what you’ve been told.
You’re beautiful.
Here are some questions to ponder. (Yes, I know, you say you don’t have time. So consider it a 10-minute investment in personal growth, power, peace and happiness, and write the answers anyway.)
- Close your eyes and think about the parts of your physical body that you hide?
- What part of your personality have you been taught to be ashamed of?
- What part of yourself do only a few people know?
- What has hiding or covering up that part cost you?
Now, I invite you to shift the perspective that you are TOO anything in a way that needs covering up. Focus on what is special, bold, badass, and beautiful. Recognize your truth. I invite you to claim who you are.
Don’t tell yourself that you laugh too loud. Claim that you are vibrant and passionate and your laugh reflects it. Claim that your skins glows and your eyes sparkle. Claim that you are enthusiastic. Claim your faith and your magic. Claim your worth, your knowledge, your brilliance. Claim that you are a difference maker, family nurturer, messenger, writer, light worker, or badass visionary.
Stop hiding. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
It’s time to be olly olly oxen free.
