Stop Abandoning Yourself for Approval

That, that is powerful.

And, and that was how you got out of that very low moment, and then were able to, to come back.

Tell me about that process.

What did it taste like? What did it feel like?

Oh, God.

You know, it's so funny that you say this.

I, I just, I just wrote this to myself this morning when I was having my own ritual of hearing myself.

For me, it's always been pen to paper.

I always say, uh, that is how I, I got to learn about myself, 'cause the pen don't judge.

But it can be anything.

It can be your Notes app.

It doesn't need to be pen to paper.

That, that's what it is for me.

And this morning, JT, I wrote down, "I can see your strength and your resiliency, and it is just a beautiful thing to witness.

I never thought we would be here 10 years ago-

Mm

... leading a global movement for women, who you have found your own strength.

And I gotta say, I actually really like you, and I didn't know you for so long." So I had this whole moment with myself, and as you ask about what that feels like, it felt like freedom.

Mm.

And we so often give so much of ourselves away, and we look outwardly for validation.

And the real paradoxical shit is that that is an insatiable appetite that can never be filled.

But when you begin to give it to yourself in these micro moment decisions, and here's what I mean by this, is what changed everything for me.

Instead of no longer editing myself in the email, or if I had something to say in a meeting, but I thought, "Who am I to say it? I'm gonna sound stupid." Or if I was at one of the many beautiful conferences in the industry and the mic came out and they would say, "Anybody have a question?" And no one said anything.

If I had something in this brain, I just said it.

It's like Nike, just do it.