ever felt invisible? 🙇♂️🙇♀️
Ever felt invisible?
A while ago, I was at an event with my friend.
OK, so I need to give you some context because so far the story isn’t that remarkable.
So, this friend of mine is pretty well known. The person leading the event was (obviously) also a pretty high profile person in that sphere.
However.
The person leading the event (let’s call him Gary) had spent all day with me earlier in that very week, I had been leading his senior team through a workshop and so had got to know him pretty well over the course of the day.
Here I was, in his presence again, just a few days afterwards. With my friend.
‘Gary’ came over to us, I thought to say hello. He proceeded to dive into a full-on conversation with my buddy without even a nod in my direction. I felt like a child on the playground again, that was sidling up to the popular girl, hoping someone might let me in.
It actually felt a little bit shaming.
My lovely friend became aware of the awkwardness and tried to include me but it was all a bit too late by then.
Invisible.
An also-ran.
Not really any point in me being there.
Nothing to contribute that anyone is remotely interested in.
To be fair on ‘Gary’, it may not have been intentional. But it felt exclusive and tapped into that little voice that likes to tell me that I needn’t be there and no one is interested in what I have got to say anyway. We all have these voices, and many of us listen too loudly to the one suggesting that there just isn’t room, or need, for our contribution.
Today’s message is quite simple.
There is room for you.
BUT WHAT IF SOMEONE HAS ALREADY DONE IT?
They probably have, to be honest.
There’s nothing new under the sun.
BUT WHAT IF SOMEONE DOES IT BETTER THAN I DO?
They probably do, to be honest. But you do it better than at least 10,000 others.
BUT WHAT IF I GET IT WRONG?
It’s absolutely fine and one hundred percent necessary and highly likely to happen.
BUT WHAT IF IT ACTUALLY WORKS OUT?
Seems like a strange question but I think many of us are subconsciously impacted by this fear, too. Marianne Williamson sums this up beautifully (faith or no faith the content has meaning):
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
One final point. You are not validated by what other people think. Of course, to make a living, people have to buy what we do. It would be madness for me to start a business selling cakes because I am pretty sure nobody (except my mum) would buy them. But - when our purpose and passions align, we find we are actually pretty good at something. So we invest in it, practice it, and do it our unique way.
Who is anyone else to say we shouldn’t?
Find that spacious place and occupy it.
Until next week,
Hannah x