Are You Watering Yourself Down?

I just started reading my buddy Case Kenny’s new book titled “That’s Bold Of You”, which inspired today’s reflection.

Do you feel like there’s any part of you that people don’t get to see enough? Interests that you’re embarrassed to practice, wisdom that you’re keeping yourself from sharing, or ambitions that you aren’t pursuing? If even the smallest part of you feels like that might be true, I want to tell you you’re not alone.

Many people struggle with an unconscious bias called social conformity. This is hardwired into us through evolution as a way to keep us safe. As cave-dwelling homo sapiens, if we fit in with the other people in our tribe then that meant we’d be taken care of, ensuring our best chance for survival. 

A bit more relatable - The evolutionary root of this bias is also responsible for our fundamental need to belong. The modern version of this is we want to be liked, appreciated, and a part of something. We don’t want to be viewed as weird, draw negative attention to ourselves, or put ourselves in situations where we could fail. It’s all centered around how we’re perceived by others and it connects to a very human need - to belong.

But what’s the cost of this? It means that you’re only allowing yourself to live at a fraction of your fullest potential. You slow down your pace to match other people. You delay your dreams because they seem too ‘out there’ or unachievable right now. You tolerate living at a level lower than what you know you’re capable of because other people are resistant to your transformation and project their own securities onto you, knocking you down.

To water yourself down is like putting water in a juice. The taste is sharp, sweet, and tangy… So much so that you need to dilute the flavor so that it’s more manageable to drink. But unfortunately this is exactly what happens to us as we relate with our dreams, our truths, and our missions. And that’s unacceptable.

If you were to give advice to a friend that you knew wasn’t showing up as the person they could be, what would you tell them? You’d tell them to go for it, to get on the road and never look back. Now the tough question is, are you willing to give yourself the same permission?

If you’re ready to step into the best, most energized, most productive, most ambitious and achieving version of yourself, I’d like to invite you to something. On Monday March 6th I am starting a live, 21 day challenge called the Best Self Breakthrough Challenge. In the challenge you will install the 2 habits that most rapidly and radically accelerate your growth. And the best part is, it only takes 5 minutes a day to add these habits to your life.

If you’re feeling inspired to step up to the challenge, click here to learn more about the Best Self Breakthrough Challenge!