Lily finished massage school less enamored with massage than when she started. Massage school is so clinical these days, and there can be little respect for massage as an art. But Lily found a place to work where she can be herself, and she loves massage again. I felt that in her hands.
Angela can’t stop smiling. She apprenticed in nutritional counseling with Bob. She has great respect for him. She is not like him. She can’t compete in his field with his approach. But recently, Angela dropped her comparisons and discovered her own voice. She celebrates her sense of being “free to be me.” She has her own approach and her work has become a joy since she came home to herself.
“It’s hard to shake of someone else’s model,” she told me. That is so true. In fact, SpeakStrong is necessary for that reason. It’s easy to say “be yourself”. But shaking off years of programming isn’t as easy as deciding to. It’s a balancing act to be enriched but not defined by others.
A lot of us are coming home to ourselves these days and feeling freer than ever to be who we are. It’s exciting to see it. It’s even more exciting to live it.
