“I guess I’m afraid of being seen—as my imperfect self. I’m afraid I’m not good enough.” Those were the exact words I received during a client session yesterday. It was the third time this week that the idea of “being seen” has come up with clients. And, to be honest, I’ve had my own struggles in the viewing department. So, I started thinking—why is everyone hiding? There are downsides to being “seen.” When you’re not noticed, people don’t bother you. They don’t write you nasty comments. They don’t say that you’re a quack. They don’t make you feel bad about yourself. Being hidden is safe. You don’t have to take chances when you’re hidden. You can get away with saying anything. I mean, if you’re a blogger, staying hidden means you can write some nice stuff, and your friends and family will love you for it. But the more you are “seen,” the more you have to write for an audience—now that’s some pressure. As a business owner, it’s the same thing. If you keep operations tiny, you might get away with working with friends, friends of friends—maybe the local community. It’s safe. It’s easy. Opening up to the bigger stage is scary. Nationally, people don’t know you. Nationally, people might criticize everything you do. I get it. I totally get it. The bigger you get, the scarier things get. You’re put on a stage and told to perform. You’re one of those people that we all look at and snicker about. Because we’re not up there giving it our all. We’re in the safe place—the audience—and we can laugh about the failings of the stage actors. Now, I know you didn’t come here to take a backseat on your own journey. You’re driving this expedition to success and happiness. Sure you’ll fail. Sure people will totally disagree with you and criticize you and mock you. But you’ll survive. You’ll keep going. When we get down to it, being “seen” is really about self-esteem. It’s about loving and accepting yourself as you are—in your entirety. It’s about casting a light on all of your quirks and idiosyncrasies. It’s about admitting that you might be really spiritual or you might be a little bit goofy, and the world might not be ready for that—but you are. It’s about accepting and exposing all of you, not just the parts that you think are acceptable. There are over seven billion people out there. Not everyone’s going to get you. Not everyone’s going to love what you say or think or do. But a lot of people will get you. A lot of people need what you have to share. And you’re not even giving them a chance to decide on you in the first place. You’re not even letting them see you enough to decide for themselves. In honor of you all, I took a step forward in being seen—at least in showing a hidden part of myself that I haven’t revealed yet. Yesterday, I posted a video to my Facebook page of myself dancing. Something we all know I do on the daily. But something that I’ve never quite shared with you all. Because I was a little scared and a little embarrassed to be seen that vulnerably. But I’m stepping up to the challenge. I know that I deserve to be seen in every way, shape, or form because I accept all of me. Will you step up with me? Will you let yourself be seen in new ways? Will you put yourself out there? Take that risk? Do the thing you’ve been afraid to do? Will you give the world a chance to receive what you’ve got to give? We’re all desperately waiting for you to give us a chance to get what you’ve got. And, at this point, holding it back because you’re scared just seems selfish. The stage is waiting for you. You’ve just got to decide to get up and dance.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 12:52:00 +0000
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