Let Yourself Out Into the World

First published on November 29, 2016

Here's an idea: let yourself out into the world.

Not just any you, but the you underneath.

The one hidden by expectations, by pressure, by what you think other people think. By what you thought someone thought you should think, long ago. The one clouded by tactics and strategies and winning. And losing.

That's where the magic is. It's underneath all that.

It came to me today in a session with my coach. These sessions often or always contain magic, but this was one of the moments which has had the most profound affect on me. My friend Nicole said that she thought I was floating, and tried to tread on the corner of the magic carpet carrying me.

And that's what she saw, some kind of shift. The kind of shift which is at once instantaneous, and the product of months and months of work.

This piece is about letting myself out into the world. This whole series is. That's where it comes from. What could I do that is about creativity, not about the pressures of trying to grow my business? I could write an article. But there was too much pressure on that. I could write it in LinkedIn where no one might read it. But still... I could write it and post it straight away. But there was too much opportunity for Resistance to get the better of me there. I could write an article on my train journey, and post it with (almost) no edits, as soon as I can.

And in that practice there is very little space for things to get in the way: no time for Resistance, or expectations, or nerves, or tactics, or what I think someone thought I should think, many years ago. There's just me.

And it's me that led to the opportunities that beckon, as part of this journey to find the things I am good at, the things I love doing, and the contribution I want to make to the world. That journey has been about understanding me, and finding the places where I can let myself into the world.

I found some of that at the Coaching School. My friend Sarah described being part of a Coaching School group like leaving the house without a jacket, and the temperature being the same inside and outside. No need for any jackets to distract you there. You just need to let yourself out into the world.

And I've continued to do that more and more ever since I studied there, and before, too. Last week Nicole and I did a talk to about a hundred people about Personal Brand. Our main message was Be Yourself. Be You.

Being yourself can sound hard. It isn't easy. We aren't used to doing it.

But try this: let yourself out into the world. It doesn't have to be in a big way. But let yourself out. A little bit. Today.