I have been working very hard this week to let go of some paradigms that have really been weighing me down. My mistaken belief that I don’t have something of worth to contribute is doing nothing to aid me in my work. Reaching 10,000 views on this blog yesterday was huge, and it served as a reminder that however difficult things sometimes feel, I am making a difference.

Although I have enjoyed many accomplishments in the last month, I’ve noticed myself shying away from behaving as the confident person I know I am for fear that others will judge me. Let’s face it, it’s easy to be shy. It’s easy to say “no” and protect yourself from the big scary world. It’s easy to hide behind the label of timidity. It’s a much more difficult feat to stand comfortably in a place of pride and self-assurance when in a group of people – especially if it’s a group of people that you’ve never met. I find myself continuously reminding myself that if others judge me for being proud and comfortable in my own skin, then they aren’t the type of people that I want in my life anyway. Yeah, we’ve heard that saying a thousand times, but that doesn’t stop it from being true. So then how do you reach a place where you genuinely aren’t bothered by what other people think?

Well, I could be wrong, but I don’t know that such a place truly exists. I think that no matter who you are, a bad review or a negative comment will always have the potential to get under your skin. You can’t control this input, but you can control the output. How you respond to the negativity. Develop the ability to honestly listen to what others have to say, and decide for yourself whether what they’ve said is useful to your growth. If it’s meant to hurt you, then learn to let it go, and recognize that it has nothing to do with you. In school I am surrounded by like-minded individuals. What better environment is there to truly spread my wings and embrace those aspects of my personality that I have grown accustomed to hiding.

What do you hide from the world? It is such a great injustice to yourself to hide your greatest strengths. Why? Because they cause you to stand out? because “showing off” makes you uncomfortable? There is absolutely no reason why we should be ashamed and embarrassed by those things which make us powerful. Own that power within you, and please don’t be afraid to share this power with the world.

I don’t hide my love of fitness and the arts, but I do find that I don’t fully acknowledge how much I have learned in both fields. When you do make the step from student to teacher, you must be prepared to have people come to you for answers. Eventually you will make the transition from mentored to mentor, and you must be ready. It’s scary to participate in a conversation with a group of people who you consider to be experts in their field, but this is the next step. Be okay with people looking up to you, because guess what? You’re worth it, and you have a voice.