This often comes up with clients (and is a good one for me too)…
Do you know the real value you’re creating in the world?
Or are you caught managing and packaging how you present your value based on what you fear others might think?
There’s this instinct many of us carry.
It looks like managing other people’s feelings.
Trying to second guess their reactions or manage what they might say about us.
Unchecked, it’s quite subtle. Quiet. You could almost call it reasonable.
We tell ourselves we’re being considerate or measured. Or at least that’s the story that ran me for a long time.
But underneath, there’s often insecurity or doubt about what it is we’re really offering.
And when that doubt is present, something predictable happens.
We find ourselves pulling back, making ourselves small.
Or shrinking from really owning the impact we create.
I’ve done this more times than I’d like to admit. Sometimes I’ll catch myself softening my language, or second-guessing the clarity of what I see as possible for someone.
Other times it’s a hesitation, a pause where I’m trying to “manage” the moment rather than trust the truth of the work.
To catch it, though, is a blessing.
Because the moment we become aware of this habit, we can choose differently.
What opens up is a possibility: to stop managing or performing a watered-down version of ourselves.
On the other side of that it the possibility of showing up with more presence, clarity, and a quieter mind.
From there we can let the value we create be what it is. Fully expressed rather than reduced, or diminished.
The world really doesn’t need smaller versions of us.
It needs the vibrant, honest expression of what we’re here to bring.
So a question for you today.
Where might you be managing rather than expressing?
Where are you shrinking the value you already know you create?
If something in you stirred as you read this, do reach out.
Sometimes a simple conversation helps you see how much impact is already waiting to be claimed.
Photo by Damir Samatkulov on Unsplash