Do you trust yourself?

Trust in yourself is a sticky issue, especially as we get older. We start to have the experience we once craved and more of the things that we thought would lead us to trust ourselves. There’s more reason to trust and yet it can still feel elusive.

For a lot of my career, I’ve been an excellent chameleon. I’ve wanted to be liked in any room under any circumstances. I’ve tried to take up just enough space to have a voice in the room but not too much. I’m the queen of faking it until I make it. 

When lack of trust and imposter syndrome dominate our lives, that fear of being found out can feel overwhelming. We’re constantly anticipating the moment when we’ll be called out and spend a lot of resources trying to prove ourselves. 

I’m well practiced at telling the “perfect story” of my experience. That story that says so much about what I think the world wants to hear and less about who I really am as a person. In many ways, I think these qualities have served me well but increasingly I find that it takes up a lot of energy to not show up as myself. It’s draining to tell a story that feels created for me, rather than one I own.

But to own my story, I have to trust that I’m enough and that who I am is exactly who I need to be. To have the trust that being myself and showcasing what matters to me will attract the people that I want in my business and in my life. 

For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out how to access that trust. And then my partner prompted me to practice owning it. To practice standing up for myself and bringing the energy that says “fuck it, I know I’m qualified and deserving!” For the first time, I wrote my story in a way that fully owns my accomplishments and celebrates the things that reflect my values and who I am as a person. Have you ever seen a resume that says “creates the space for leaders to show up as themselves?” I didn’t think so.

Something about reading the authentic version of my story finally gave me the feeling of “oh, I can do this and I don’t need to fake it.” I’ve noticed that trusting myself brings forth an entirely different version of me. I’m more connected to my partner, have better conversations with my clients, and generally feel a lot less stressed. Who knew!

I challenge you: Write the story of your experience in a way that owns that you’re enough and celebrates who you actually are. Brag about yourself. Write about the things that you love that would otherwise never appear on a resume. See what it brings you.