Do you ever:
worry about outshining your friends and family?
hold yourself back to make others comfortable?
focus on being nice and polite rather than going after what you want?
I’ve done all of these things in the past. Now, I realize it doesn’t work for me.
I went to Italy this month. It was an absolute blast. It was an extravagant trip. It took me an entire year to pay for, and it was worth every penny.
What I took away from Italy is: It’s time for me to shine!
You may say, “What CrisMarie?! I see you everywhere all the time - in my inbox, on Facebook, and on Instagram. You even started that Women with Mojo Facebook Group.”
I know, but I’ve had to work on being visible. I grew up believing that I better not outshine people or bad things will happen.
Growing up, I learned to listen to my dad rather than speak up for myself.
I realized my sister liked me better when I made her laugh by putting myself down.
When I competed for the Olympic team and my friend got cut, I sabotaged my own success by getting a back injury.
I erroneously believed the keys to my success were:
being invisible
putting myself down
holding myself back
Yes, I made other people comfortable. Other people liked me because I always focused on them, making sure I wasn’t taking up too much space. I even put myself down or hid my accomplishments for their benefit.
But the cost of being invisible is just too high now.
When I’m invisible, put myself down, and hold myself back, I stay stagnant. I lose my confidence. I focus on my faults and my failures. I spend time comparing and despairing. I literally sound like the character Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, always lamenting his fate.
In Italy I realized that was not what got me to the Olympics!
I had no business making the college team much less the Olympic team.
I wasn’t even an athlete in high school. As a college freshman, I showed up to row at the University of Washington with 110 other women. Only eight of us would make the racing boat.
The freshman coach walked up to me and asked, “Do you want to be the coxswain?” (The small person who steers the boat.)
I said, “No, I want to row.”
Without a word, she turned on a dime and walked away.
I made the freshmen boat, winning the Pac 10’s.
I made the varsity boat, winning Collegiate Nationals twice.
I made the Olympic team!
Sure, it might have been ignorance, tenacity, or blind confidence – whatever it was it worked.
I knew what I wanted and I was going to do anything I could to make it happen—even recovering from that back injury to secure my spot on the Olympic team.
How about you?
Where are you being invisible, putting yourself down, or holding yourself back? Ask yourself if it is really getting you the results you want. Sure, you may make other people comfortable, but what is the impact to you?
I know when I was holding myself back I suffered with a back injury, chronic fatigue, allergies, as well as a massive dose of LOW SELF CONFIDENCE.
Don’t let this happen to you. The cost of being invisible is too high.
You are not serving anyone by playing small, dampening your shine, being nice and polite.
I am certainly inspired by other people who are unapologetically themselves, shining brightly. I believe that when I shine I help others shine.
Why not you?
To support you, I’m announcing: Olympic Mojo Moments.
Olympic Mojo Moments will be a short event in our Women with Mojo Facebook group. Each week, I will show up in the group LIVE to offer tips on how to achieve your Olympic-sized dreams. The series is designed to not only be inspirational, but to offer you practical tools on how to align your life to bring your best self forward and shine brightly.
If you’d like to your weekly dose of Olympic Spirit, click here to join Women with Mojo, and it’ll drop into your Facebook feed each week!
How cool is that?
Hugs,
CrisMarie
P.S. Need extra, personalized support? Let’s work together to make sure you’re stepping into your full self, accessing your mojo, and shinning! Coach with me!
CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke
Coaches, Business Consultants, Speakers and Authors of The Beauty of Conflict
CrisMarie and Susan work leaders and teams, couples in business, and professional women.
They help turnaround dysfunctional teams into high performing, cohesive teams who trust each other, deal with differences directly, and have clarity and alignment on their business strategy so they create great results.
Check out their website: www.thriveinc.com. Connect with CrisMarie and Susan on LinkedIn. Watch their TEDx Talk: Conflict – Use It, Don’t Defuse It! Find your copy of The Beauty of Conflict: Harnessing Your Team's Competitive Advantage here.