Why I don't necessarily recommend hiding your anxiety, insecurity, or fear

A question for your weekend:

What would you gain if you let them see you accurately?

So many of us are holding up facades — facades that prevent the world from seeing our anxiety, our insecurity, our imposter-ness.

But what if you just... let other people see? I know it's a big ask, and perhaps one that is scary or complex to implement.

But the rewards are big, too. On a personal level, my coaching got a lot better when I decided to just let my clients see that sometimes I was nervous or unsure. In fact, I think I seemed a lot less nervous or unsure when I wasn't also trying to hide that from them.

And, perhaps even more importantly: it was so much less tiring. Holding up a facade takes an enormous amount of energy. You may have forgotten how much energy it takes if holding it up is your life-as-usual.

How much energy would you get back if you just let them see you accurately?

As always, I know you’ve got this.

Katie

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Another reason to be more genuine

I seem to want to share this little story with everyone I meet lately:

Rabbi Zusya, when he was an old man, said, “In the coming world, they will not ask me: “Why were you not Moses?”

They will ask me: “Why were you not Zusya?”

So let us all be reminded: In the final reckoning, it will not matter whether you were Moses or whoever you compare yourself to. In the final reckoning, what will matter is whether you were yourself.

"Why were you not Zusya?"

(This lovely story is in Parker J. Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak, a book that is dear to me.)

As always, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this.

Katie