What Are You Losing By Fitting In?

I had forgotten some of the person I enjoyed being and didn’t even realise till I got back in touch with a number of old friends during lockdown.

Talking to them over the months, a version of me resurfaced that hadn't been much around for years. Curious. Playful. Irreverent. The one I’d been more of before I felt I had to prove myself.

I assumed I had to choose between that person and the one I'd become, driven, wanting real impact, good at getting things done. Give up one to get the other back.

It wasn't the case. It took months, a slow accumulation of small nudges in the right direction. But what came out wasn't the twenty-five-year-old again. It was both that version and the one who had helped build the life I have.

Curious and driven. Playful and still wanting impact. Turns out those were never opposites, they were both parts of me and having them both gave me more of myself.

I think now that you don't have to give up the version of yourself that gets things done to get back the playful one. It's range, and you get to choose what that range includes.

Who were you before you learned to fit in, and what would it take to have both of you?

What Are You Losing By Fitting In?