The thing that got me was the journaling prompt. "Who am I?" - and nothing came. Not because you're empty. Because you spent decades being so precisely what everyone else needed that the muscle for wanting something for yourself atrophied. That's not weakness. That skill - reading the room, building the thing, carrying the weight - that took everything you had. You built $30 million worth of proof that you can deliver. What you never got to build was the part where someone asks what you want and you don't flinch. The manifesto isn't you starting over. It's you finally turning that extraordinary competence inward. And honestly, given what you built when you weren't even doing it for yourself - I think the world should be a little nervous about what happens when you do.
love this- i’m a mental health clinician by day- and i didn’t fully heal- till the loss of a parent and for my defenses to come down- it was wild- same thing wasn’t for a lack of trying- and it’s deep soul level stuff- so grateful. and now I’m free from all the managing other people and fear thank god🙏
It’s the unexpected events that catapult into deeper meaning and healing in life. For us healers it is easy for us to help others on their journey but not so easy to turn that mirror on ourselves. But when we do, it’s life changing. Thanks for sharing your experience.
This is very real. Many people learn to become who they need to be for others, and over time they lose connection with who they are for themselves. The work is often not becoming someone new, but coming back to yourself.
The thing that got me was the journaling prompt. "Who am I?" - and nothing came. Not because you're empty. Because you spent decades being so precisely what everyone else needed that the muscle for wanting something for yourself atrophied. That's not weakness. That skill - reading the room, building the thing, carrying the weight - that took everything you had. You built $30 million worth of proof that you can deliver. What you never got to build was the part where someone asks what you want and you don't flinch. The manifesto isn't you starting over. It's you finally turning that extraordinary competence inward. And honestly, given what you built when you weren't even doing it for yourself - I think the world should be a little nervous about what happens when you do.
This is such a great reflection on what I shared in this article and completely accurate. Thank you for your kind words.
love this- i’m a mental health clinician by day- and i didn’t fully heal- till the loss of a parent and for my defenses to come down- it was wild- same thing wasn’t for a lack of trying- and it’s deep soul level stuff- so grateful. and now I’m free from all the managing other people and fear thank god🙏
It’s the unexpected events that catapult into deeper meaning and healing in life. For us healers it is easy for us to help others on their journey but not so easy to turn that mirror on ourselves. But when we do, it’s life changing. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Yes! I just wrote about that - it’s so true! We don’t stop to ask how we feel - we get mesmerized by the high of success!
Yes we do! We get addicted to performing and producing. It’s an adrenal rush and our bodies take the hit.
This is very real. Many people learn to become who they need to be for others, and over time they lose connection with who they are for themselves. The work is often not becoming someone new, but coming back to yourself.
That is THE work of a lifetime. Coming home again and again until we are comfortable and settled there.
“My identity had been formed entirely from the outside in” - captures it so beautifully. Love all of this!
Thank you 🙏🏻