Overcome the Fear of Being Visible

Being visible is essential to owning our inner authority.
The picture below is a past version of me, who I now affectionately call “Hidey”. Despite my being a generally outgoing person, starting both of my businesses uncovered visibility blocks or fears around being seen that took me by surprise. I was in my comfort zone putting systems in place, planning, running numbers, etc. but when it came time to lead, teach, speak and coach (the actual services my businesses provide) I felt incredibly vulnerable.

We call this a “new level devil”, when stepping more fully into who we are meant to be feels, at first, like the first day of junior high. Thankfully, my coaches and mentors helped me shake Hidey out of the bushes. If you had told me 5 years ago that I would love doing live videos on Facebook I would never have believed it...but now I am having so much fun!
Yes, it is true that being visible means that my mistakes and failures can be seen and I may be criticized in ways I can’t control. I have come to accept this risk because real and human and visible is the very way of being that allows me to authentically connect with and genuinely help my students, clients, and friends.
Ultimately, we have so much more to gain than lose when we step out to be seen. The truth is that our inner critic is often much louder than anyone outside of us and being visible allows others to support us, learn from us, celebrate us, and connect with us in all the beautifully imperfect, messy, human ways that really matter.