Fear of the Journey

“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?’ Actually, ‘Who are you not to be?’…Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do…And as we let our light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

--A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson

When I saw this quote, it resonated with what I am feeling right now. I’ve spent my life learning that It’s much better to be humble about my accomplishments than to share them. I don’t think anyone ever told me that in those words, but I learned it from somewhere. I think it means that I am not sharing my best talents with the world. When I read the definition of ‘humble,’ I realize that as I am growing my business as a coach, this ‘humbleness’ is getting in the way. If I think of my gifts as being ‘low in rank, importance, and quality’ that others will not take me seriously. To market myself from a place of strength would be to believe that I am “brilliant, gorgeous, and talented” and that I can accomplish anything is new territory for me. The cost for me is that I have been stuck. Saying that I want to accomplish my dreams, but showing the world that those dreams are ‘insignificant.’ I now begin to understand what it means to hold myself as an offer versus an apology.


Humble
adjective
1. not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
2. having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home.
4. courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong.
5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy.

–verb (used with object) 6. to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.
7. to destroy the independence, power, or will of.
8. to make meek: to humble one's heart.