Braver, Stronger, Smarter: Giving Yourself Permission to Be Amazing
It’s easy to lose sight of how amazing I am.
(And my instant reaction to that statement is, not to brag).
But it’s true... why do we feel like we aren’t allowed to say that about ourselves? Everyone one of us is amazing. As one of my favorite quotes says:
So why then do we tend to think of ourselves as struggling, mediocre imposters? We do things with trepidation, wanting to fall into conventional and social norms, afraid of being too different or outrageous or idealistic. We stop ourselves before anyone else gets the chance. I have a lot of ideas, a lot of experience, and I’ve done a lot of cool shit. At almost 38 years old, I have stories to tell, wisdom to share, and expertise to give. But I still feel 19 sometimes, caught up in self-discovery, doubt and loathing.
There are some people who know exactly what their dreams are and it’s a pretty direct path. Most artists tends to wander, so I doubt there’s much of a strait and narrow for the creatives. The one dream I’ve had all my life was to be a writer. Somewhere along the way that dream became a hobby. Because the path is wide and varied and distracting. And because I forgot to remind myself how amazing I am.
It may be true that every artist feels subpar at their craft, so even in times we don’t believe it, we just need to tell ourselves how amazing we are, that we are the Special. Go ahead. Take a minute to review your favorite thing you’ve made or done... and then do the next thing better.
We’re all a little scared to put ourselves out there, to dare greatly, to do the thing we want to do the most. People prove the impossible can be achieved all the time. Why not you? Why not me? Because I am the most talented, most interesting, most extraordinary person in the universe, capable of amazing incredible things. And so are you.