"In this ever-busy world, there is still time and space for us to explore who we are beyond the messages we thought would define us."

2

For the one who is wondering if their presence matters:

If you have ever been made to feel that the other people in the room were more important than you, you may have backed into the corner and stayed there.
If you have ever been told or made to feel that you were unqualified or that you were just one of many, then you may have stopped offering your perspective.
If you have ever felt ridiculed or told that you spoke up too much, you may have shrunk down from that moment forward. 
These kinds of experiences have a way of generating messages that we may not even realize we're carrying with us:

"Maybe I need to learn how to be quieter."
"My voice does not matter."
"I'm not good enough."
"It's not safe to speak up."
"I won't be supported if I truly show up as I am."
"No one wants to know the real me."

These are the kind of messages that can hold us back, and they are also the kind of messages that can remind us of this: we have yet to fade away. We are still here. And even when there are areas of our lives where we feel like we're not able to be fully present, the fact that we are still in this life at all means that our story is not over. There is still time and space for us to explore who we are beyond the messages we thought would define us. And perhaps, if any of the above messages resonated with you, there is still room for new, alternative messages to resonate with you, too.

_

Initial message:
"Maybe I need to learn how to be quieter."
Alternative message:
"Maybe there are spaces out there where I will feel free to raise my voice."

_

Initial message:
"My voice does not matter."
Alternative message:
"Even in this noisy world, I am allowed to speak."

_

Initial message:
"I'm not good enough."
Alternative message:
"I don't have to be good enough for everyone. I know that I'm good enough, and I know that that matters."

_

Initial message:
"It's not safe to speak up."
Alternative message:
"It makes all the difference when a person feels safe to speak up. And I am worthy of that feeling."

_

Initial message:
"I won't be supported if I truly show up as I am."
Alternative message:
"When it comes to supportive environments, I have not seen all there is to see. I will keep my heart open to places where I feel free to be me."

_

Initial message:
"No one wants to know the real me."
Alternative message:
"There are so many layers to me that are worth getting to know. I will continue to get to know myself and others. I will continue to practice vulnerability and courage."

_

Notice how the alternative messages are longer. Notice how they take up a little bit more space. You are worthy of this, too.

Some of the messages we receive and the stories we tell ourselves are fixed and finite, and then that's how we end up seeing ourselves. But perhaps, even here, there is room for more. Perhaps, there is room for you to take a little bit more time to get your point across. Perhaps, in this busy world, there is still room for you.

More tomorrow...
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols