It’s Time to Stop Playing Small

I used to play small in everything I did. I kept my words to myself. I rehashed conversations over and over again. I was terrified to take up space.

I knew I needed to do something different, but I didn’t know how to show up as myself. It felt scary, daunting, and overwhelming, just to consider being my real self because I didn’t know who I was. I’d hidden myself away so I wouldn’t get hurt. 

All that changed when I became a yoga teacher, because my yoga teacher training reconnected me to journaling and gave me a safe space to explore who I might be. It took time. 

In each yoga class I teach, I share wisdom, much like these emails, and the message I share is exactly what everyone in the room needs to hear. That is my gift. That’s how I shine and serve the world. 

Then there was the moment when I realized, THIS is what I do for other people. I help you to understand and see yourself more clearly, so you can stop playing small and be your true self. 

When I feel like a channel for the words that come out of my mouth. I have my quote picked out, that part is set, the rest though, tends to come into my mind and I share it, even if it feels jumbled. And everytime that’s what the folks in the room needed to hear. 

Even when I had something planned, the exact words and story that I say get shaped in that moment to be what the folks in the room need to hear. 

That's so much of what my book began with, as a way of telling my stories. As a way of getting clear on my thoughts so that when I show up to teach I know exactly what I'm going to say. The truth is it gave me the confidence to show up and say what's true on my heart, to listen to my intuition, and adjust my plan on the fly. 

The weekly quote removes my doubt and gives me words to anchor into so I can find the rest while I teach. After class the true magic begins, when the students share how the story connected with them. 

I've had students come to me crying tears of realization after class, the words I said clicked with them so deeply that they felt a release of emotion. 

I had someone that was about to teach her very first yoga class who decided that she wasn’t going to invite her friends to her first class. When she took my class and I shared this week’s quote (the one above) the words hit home for her. She saw the importance of her shine and the value of inviting her friends to be there to support her. She decided to not play small and instead invite her friends to cheer her on. 

This happens outside the yoga studio too, when I connect with a coaching client, much of my job is to reflect your words back to you, so you can hear the brilliance in your own words. You get clarity and deep understanding that makes it easier to show up as the real you. 

When we hold ourselves back we hurt both ourselves and the world because we're denying ourselves who we truly are which means our life purpose isn't happening. 

Inside each and every one of us is the ability to make this world a better place. That might sound totally cliche, and it’s also true. I see the value in finding our purposes because when we do, we bring joy, goodness, and hope into this world. That's what this world needs right now.

Whatever your unique purpose is, it's valuable, necessary, and it’s time to shine your light.

​
​Journaling Prompt: What might your purpose be?

Get the FREE Thoughtful Journaling Guide and start connecting to your deeper self in a matter of minutes (and feel good about the process).

Get the Free Guide HERE.

---