Journal Entry: Taking Up Space
Please don't yell at me. I know it's been insanely long. But, it was insanely necessary. My last blog post was in April and that’s mainly because I hustled every week to get a post out so much that it, at one point, became more of a robotic routine than something I was genuinely invested in every week. Shortly after Ramadan hit, my 9-5 was crazy busy (with good things), I went on vacation (honestly, #finally) and decided I needed time to reevaluate my efforts and intentions with all things TSS dot com. But, I am back and determined to have the intention behind every post be because I am genuinely excited and engaged in the content I am putting out - because, that’s all that matters to me.
With that being said, I wanted to chat about something that has been on my mind lately and that I need to healthily get off my chest. This is surrounding the topic of taking up space.
One of my biggest and best lessons learned this year has been to not be afraid to take up space.
Here’s why: I grew up automatically feeling like I needed to make myself smaller, both literally and figuratively. All in an effort to make myself more acceptable, approachable, relatable, and “normal”. Spilled out sorries left and right. Did everything I could to make sure that my flaws were the last thing ever brought up, which meant hiding, limiting and lessening them. It’s been a journey AND A HALF unlearning that.
Please note: this blog post is not a solution. It’s more of a shared mental shift and goal that I believe all of us should collectively share.
A goal to…not be afraid to grab a seat at the table and make room for yourself. To stop saying sorry when it’s really not necessary. To not wait for someone to “allow” you a spot or space. To stop worrying about inconveniencing others - because, in all honesty, you’ll never stop worrying. To have the nerve. To give a damn about yourself. To stop stop bending over backwards to make myself more “palatable” for others. To not lessen me for the comfort of others, because, the truth is, I did myself (and them) a disservice by not bringing my most authentic and powerful self to the table.
All in all: let’s go get them, shall we?