A few weeks ago, I went to a dear friends wedding reception. I was sitting at a table, eating snacks and enjoying small talk, when the music came on. it started with the father/daughter dance, mother/son dance and then light background music. All of a sudden, the music changed to upbeat and loud. My sister and her sister-in-law (one of my really great friends) had taken hold of the music. They both started to dance, and pretty soon a small group joined them.

Those around were moving to the music. However, my sister and friend were really starting to get into it. They were laughing, dancing silly and just having fun. I could tell that others around wanted to dance like they were, but didn’t want to seem weird or crazy.

These girls were radiating confidence and it was contagious. There was a lady standing off to the side who had been talking and watching. Suddenly a song came on and she came running into the middle of the group. She yelled, “I have been wanting to dance all night!! I love this song!! You guys are so fun! I want to be like you!” We all welcomed her into the group and had a blast!!!

Are You Holding Back?

Watching my sisters (because really I consider the sister-in-law one of my sisters, she is the best!!) dance and truly love life made me think. How many times do we dance by ourselves in private? Our true selves come out when we are by ourselves. But once we get into public, we push our true self aside. We worry about what others around us could be thinking.

Listening to the music, we are dying to dance and let our true self loose. However, fear takes over and we end up holding ourselves back. We are not allowing others to get to know us.

However, the truth that night was that those two girls were beautiful, inside and out. They were being themselves and allowing others to see who they truly were. People around were getting to know them and there wasn’t even a conversation happening.

There is a well known quote that says, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” However, I want to change it to, “Life isn’t about holding back, it’s about letting your true self dance through.”

This week, I want to challenge you to allow others to see a small part of who you really are. It may be letting loose and dancing at a wedding. It may be wearing that one outfit that you love, but you think others might not like it. Or, you could sign up for a 5k or a singing competition. You don’t have to go big, but do something that allows others to love you a little bit more. And more importantly, allows you to love yourself a little bit more.

This is another great blog post about ways to build confidence and reasons why you should build confidence!!!