Let’s talk about hiding today.
While this could potentially mean that you spend your time ducking behind a large object in hopes that no one sees you, I’ll venture to guess that there are many more subtle ways of hiding that you are engaging in on a daily basis.
Usually we hide to protect ourselves - from ridicule, from vulnerability, from a range of fears - which makes sense, because really putting yourself out there can be a scary thing.
But how much is that protection serving you and how much is it holding you back from accomplishing the work you really want to do in the world?
Hint: If you ever find yourself complaining that more people don’t hire you or know about your work, chances are you’re doing quite a bit of hiding and it’s not really serving you.
I want to share a few key ways that you might be hiding to help you identify your patterns and get out of your own way,
But first let me be clear about something:
I’m not saying that you need to jump out of the hole tomorrow and run around town naked. I’m not pushing you to do something you’re not ready to do. I’m not placing more value on outward appearances than inward process.
In fact, I want you to honor your self-protection first and recognize how it’s served you. I want you to dance with your fear of being seen before you make moves out of it. I want you to follow the natural cycles of your creativity so that you don’t force outcomes when they are not yet ready to be unearthed. I want you, most of all, to just be yourself and see how it feels to do more of that in an open way.
So take that in and then see if any of these resonate with you...
4 Ways You Might Be Hiding:
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Downplaying - Talking about what you do as if it doesn’t really matter to you. “Oh yea, I kinda dabble in making art but it’s not a big deal…”
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Diverting - Quickly changing the subject to talk about someone or something else. “But that doesn’t matter, tell me what do YOU do? Tell me more about THAT!”
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Omitting - Leaving out key aspects of who you are - in conversation, on your website, etc.
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Staying silent - Choosing not to put yourself out there - i.e. to not apply for grants or jobs, to not contact potential collaborators, to not share your work.
Here’s my confession -
I’ve been involved in the sin of Omitting for quite awhile, without even really noticing it until my amazing coach pointed it out.
There are many people in my social circles who either know me as a dancer or know me as a health coach and I tend to leave it at that. I’ve left out sharing more about the life coaching work that I’m totally passionate about, the work that has actually been my main focus for years: specifically working with people on unearthing their buried creative passions and helping them to reintegrate them back into their lives. I haven’t shared that the people I’ve worked with have gone on to start dance companies and other kinds of creative businesses, to make career changes, to perform or publish their art, and to finally own the title “artist.”
Why have I left this out?
Well, it can be awkward to rattle all that off to someone on a random occasion, and it’s also easier to be known amongst a small group of people who I know will “get it” and to not risk being looked at funny when you tell someone you’re actually a creativity coach.
So I’m taking steps to out myself in this way more and more and am already feeling a notable difference. (If you subscribe to my emails, you’ll even notice something new and different at the end in the “About” section ;)
So what’s yours?
In what ways have YOU been hiding?
Out yourself in the comments below with one specific way you’ve been hiding lately.
Do you feel ready to let it go? What needs to be said or done in order to do so?
How you choose to share - or not share - yourself and your work has powerful implications on the outcomes of your life. Choose wisely ;)
I can’t wait to hear from you! (Or am I the only one who was hiding?)
coming out,
Jess
