If you’ve been laying low and playing small to make other people around you feel comfortable, I want you to stop.
Right now, just stop.
Stop being small and shrinking to make them comfortable. Because you? You are worthy and valuable and deserve to be seen and known. You are somebody someone else may be looking to so they know it’s okay to be who they are and not who others want them to be. Your ascension and growth and progress are worth being shared, celebrated, and exposed. Stop shrinking and step into your spotlight, even if you have to do it afraid and unsure.
This might feel uncomfortable and sometimes lonely at first, but you will thank yourself for being courageous enough to do so. You may even learn there was nothing to be afraid of after all. The discomfort and insecurities or silence and disapproval from others is not your problem. You were never meant to carry the weights or concerns or criticism of what others think. Why should you care what other people think? What you think about yourself is ultimately what matters most.
If and when you shrink, you’re letting yourself down and probably letting others down who are looking at you and to you so they can believe they have permission to step into who they’ve been created to be too. Those who feel uncomfortable about you may say you’re arrogant, unworthy, undeserving, that you’re doing too much, or that you should be quiet and just stay in your place. But don’t allow their voices to guide you. Those stifling and disapproving voices are harmless. My guess is that the noise is coming from people who see and know how great you are and are only seeking to stifle and silence you because, quite frankly, they’re jealous and threatened by who you are and all that you’re becoming. Their words and voices can’t hurt you or throw you off unless you choose to allow them to.
So stop shrinking.
It’s fine to take steps forward.
It’s fine to work on yourself.
It’s fine to make better choices.
It’s fine to say, “I deserve better.”
It’s fine to want something more for yourself.
It’s fine to say, “It’s time for me to choose myself.”
It’s fine to be something more and someone more too.
It’s fine to celebrate yourself and your accomplishments. You have sacrificed and worked hard to get where you are and are actively preparing for where you’re going. Why wouldn’t you celebrate?
It’s fine to stand up for yourself and others.
It’s fine to let go of anyone or anything that brings unnecessary stress into your life.
It’s fine to tell the truth, even when you are afraid to.
It’s fine to be vulnerable. Especially when you intend to help others through some of the experiences you’ve had in your own life.
This is your life.
So please stop shrinking and shine.
You’ve got this. 
