Does my face look like that?

“I am not who you think I am; I am not who I think I am; I am who I think you think I am”
Charles Horton Cooley

When we see ourselves through the eyes of those who love us, we feel valued. We like ourselves.

Unfortunately, we too often default to the worst case and ascribe the worst judgments of what we think others think of us.

How I believe that I’m being perceived by others changes how I perceive myself.

Which gets us to this week’s podcast with Aron Murch.

Aron discusses how video can be a key component in spreading your message and awareness of your work.

But, if you’re like me, the thought of using video to broadcast to the world is more than a bit cringey.

When I see myself on video, I can’t help the negative judgments: ugh, why does my face do that? Am I moving my hands too much? Why am I not looking at the camera enough? People will think I’m weird.

If I really stop myself, I can probably acknowledge that most people won’t think that.

Frankly, most people won’t think about me at all and the few that will won’t spend the brainspace to pick apart my video performance.

This is my brain’s way of staying safe by playing small.

Playing small means that nobody will notice you and therefore your setbacks won’t be public.

Playing small means that you won’t be criticized, judged or trolled.

Playing small also means never growing to the full extent of your glory and to fulfill your purpose on this planet.

What if we played big and decided that other people’s perceptions about us are not actually about us?

What if it’s OK that not everyone likes us, but that there are people out here who really need to hear your message?

I hope that this gives you courage to try out video and broadcast your beautiful, glorious selves to the world.

Let’s all be a little bit brave and dare to be seen this week.