The Courage to Show Up

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”~ Goethe

Showing up can be the hardest thing you ever do. It takes great courage to show up exactly as you are and believe that you’re enough.

While we’re here to grow and expand, we’re here because we want to become more of our true selves, to experience the full glory of the wingspan we’ve forgotten we have. We’re not here to change ourselves−we’re here to change our habits and trade them in for better ones. Showing up is part of how we know what must go and what we want to stay.

The courage to show up is the courage to reveal your deepest self and ground yourself in that truth. It’s the courage to put down the mask, the public persona, the all-capable façade that hides your humanity and vulnerability. It’s the courage to bare your heart to yourself, your loved ones, your circle, and your tribe.

Why do you have to show up in the first place? 

Why can’t you keep doing what you’ve been doing so far?

Because what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working.

You’re here because you want to dare to prosper. You’re here because you’re hungry for something new, something different and fulfilling and thoroughly satisfying. And a necessary step to doing all that is showing up exactly as you are so you can move towards brighter pastures.

When you show up, you take stock of where you are and how you got there. You get clear on the habits, thought patterns, actions, and behaviors that fill your days, and you decide which ones to chuck ’cause they’re dimming your shine and blocking your flow. You decide what to cultivate, ask for help with, and tackle on your own every day. You’re cognizant of what’s going down, so it doesn’t bog you down.

So how do you know when you’re showing up?

You feel vulnerable and tender.

You know you’re playing a bigger game when you throw down your walls and show us who you really are deep inside. Exposing the soft flesh of your heart asks you to take your armor off and keep it off. Your tender underbelly is on display, and your lizard brain is in overdrive because you’re being so vulnerable.

Even though it feels uncomfortable, you stick with it because the drive to express your truth is bigger than the fear of expressing that truth.

You feel alive and on fire.

Showing up makes you feel alive and on fire because you’re stepping into your truth and owning it. This spurs you into action because you’re more aligned with your intentions and desires, so you feel brighter about your life and business.

This fire burns off your toxicity so you can make space for your goodness to bloom. And really, isn’t that why we do the work we do?

You’re willing to work hard because you’re inspired by what you’re doing.

When you fully show up, you tap into your Why and how you can make it happen. You willingly do the hard work to refine and polish your ideas and initiatives until they match the vision in your head.

And because you’re inspired by what you’re doing, you’re able to stick with it even when it gets challenging. This gives you the grit to do what it takes to grow and evolve in your life and business, and it frees you to tweak wherever and whatever you need to.

You trust the path before you even though you don’t have the whole picture yet.

When you have the courage to show up, you have the courage to start walking even if you’re not sure where you’re headed yet. You trust the general direction and leave the specifics to the Universe because the path feels right in your bones. You believe you’re following the Divine’s lead, so you relax and stay open to learning from every moment.

The courage to show up is the courage to wear your heart on your sleeve and keep it on there no matter how exposed or vulnerable you feel. When you’re comfortable in your skin, you’re plugged in to the power of embracing who you are and acting from a place of love, grace, and confidence. This frees you to be your truest self and live-in alignment with your deepest desires and values.

Show up. Make it count. Play in your power and don’t be afraid to shake situations up.