I’m not sure exactly when it happened but at some point in the not too distant past, I slipped back into the habit of telling myself that I wasn’t good enough, that I didn’t have much to offer the world and that perhaps being invisible was preferable to be being seen.
According to my inner demon, I have nothing interesting or useful to share with the world; nothing to say that will inspire or intrigue people and I had even started to believe that perhaps it’s easier to hide than to shine, to keep myself in the shadows so that I don’t feel too naked, too exposed or too accountable. I felt certain that success was beyond my reach and that my possibilities were limited.
Well today I call bullshit.
My dearest friend recently sent me this quote by Neil Gaiman, which I read days ago but only just truly felt the truth of:
“The moment that you feel that just possibly you’re walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself, that’s the moment you may be starting to get it right.”
Today I’ve decided that it’s time to get naked. Time to be seen and time to shine. Hold onto your hats people and watch this space for details. In the meantime take a moment to have a listen to what you have been telling yourself lately and if it’s anything less than encouraging, supportive, constructive and complimentary then I suggest that you call bullshit too.
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Hi there, I'm Caroline. Welcome to Life is Limitless, my blog about personal development with a focus on facing fears and living a life without limits. Check out my about page to find out more and pop your email in the box below to subscribe for regular updates.
That was one of my favorite quotes from his commencement speech. I also loved ‘When life gets rough, make good art.”
Very inspiring speech. Keep up the good work! The world needs your story and your art.
Thanks Taylor! It really was a great speech and I’m grateful to my buddy for sending me a link to it. Thanks for your lovely words of encouragement, they are much appreciated!
Blog soon to be rated NC-17?
Haha now that I understand what NC-17 means, I can categorically state that any future exposing that occurs on this blog will not be harmful to children!
Great quote and great decision! Been feeling the exact same way and it’s horrid! I’m going to follow your example and throw out the negative self-talk and get naked
Thanks for sharing the demon and the wisdom!
Steph recently posted..Connection and Conversation: The Questions Worth Asking
Hi Steph, thanks so much for your comment. I’m delighted my words have encouraged you to do the same. I just read your latest post and really loved it, so timely for me right now. Thanks for sharing
Nice to see you back in action. As long as you give your craft the purpose of “helping others”, you will never feel this way again.
Rock on!
Hi Momekh, thanks for your comment, I feel as though I can only hope that my writing does indeed help others and I’m always grateful when people tell me it has, thanks for your encouragement!
Glad you’re back! Looking forward of more to come Caroline! We all need to ‘reset’ every once in awhile to get back on track.
Thanks Vishnu for your words of encouragement. I think you hit the nail on the head because I certainly have felt the need to reset recently and it’s good to back
Terrific. I just watched this speech, started searching for a transcript, and found your site. Everyone seems to quote the above… and yet I found the very NEXT bit the one that tore me open — “The things I’ve done that worked the best were the things I was the least certain about, the stories where I was sure they would either work, or more likely be the kinds of embarrassing failures people would gather together and talk about until the end of time. They always had that in common: looking back at them, people explain why they were inevitable successes. While I was doing them, I HAD NO IDEA.
I still don’t.
And where would be the fun in making something you knew was going to work?”
Indeed. Thanks for getting the word out – I’m reading some of your other posts. Get naked!
Hi Ian! Thanks so much for sharing that next bit of the speech, I have to admit that bit also resonated with me as did most of what he said. But as a blogger, I can definitely say that my most successful posts have been the ones I felt most hesitant to publish. I hope you enjoy the blog and thanks so much for your comment!
This is very cool and honest Caroline
I think there is only one way to be unique in this world and that is to be ourselves. I look forward to seeing the crazy changes that come your way.
Izzy
Izzy recently posted..Turning A Dream Into a Reality
Hey Izzy thanks for your comment, I think what you say about being ourselves is absolutely spot on!