show up and show out (12/100)
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot, lately:
Years ago, a friend of mine said to me that she decided she was going to write her own story about who she was, and not let other people write her story for her. When she said this to me, I took it as a wonderful statement of self-empowerment: of course you shouldn’t let other people tell you who you are. Of course you should own your own story.
But over the past week, I’ve been thinking about how owning your own story is actually an act of kindness and generosity to those who want to support you. Because friends, mentors and well-meaning colleagues who consistently bring adventures, opportunities or possibilities to your feet do so on the basis of the story that they hold about you: you’re an accountant, so here’s an accountancy position. You’ve worked in a non-profit, so here are some non-profit opportunities. You’ve always done abstract painting, so here’s a new gallery to check out. But what if you don’t want to be an accountant anymore? What if you want to start your own for-profit business? What if painting no longer brings you joy, but your modern dance hobby now fills you up?
You owe it to other people to fully inhabit your story, and share it. People want to help you. Mentors want to support your work. Friends want you to live a life of meaning. You need to show up and show out.
Take the lesson of Maya Angelou, and use it to your advantage: show people who you are. They will believe you.
a reminder of cadence.