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Most people are not afraid of failure, rejection, or humiliation. Most people are afraid of their own power. They are afraid of truly allowing their creative genius to be seen and heard. They're afraid of leaving behind their friends and family who aren't actively pursuing their goals and dreams. And, mostly, they are afraid of whom they can become if they truly allow all the parts of themselves to stop hiding and come out and play.

The impact of hiding parts of yourself is the ever-growing distance between the you that you show others and the you that you experience when you are alone with yourself. You've become a stranger to yourself and can't keep up with all the different versions of you that you outwardly portray.

You will continue to feel like a stranger to yourself until you are willing to create the space for all the parts of you to be witnessed and acknowledged out loud. You will always have a sense that something is missing when you allow only some parts of you to be seen.

All the things you think are unacceptable, unlovable, and unworthy about you are the parts that need to be given a voice out loud. Speaking in a new way to the parts of yourself that you've hidden and judged will gently guide you toward showing up as your most authentic self in any situation.

Instead of shutting down or watering down your responses to people, you'll express how you really feel, even though it would seem easier to hide your truth. Rather than keeping your mouth shut because you're afraid of coming off as pushy about that promotion at work, you will communicate your value and worth to your boss. Instead of replying, "Oh, it's fine, no problem" when someone crosses your boundaries, you will describe exactly how you feel and what your boundaries are. You will be straightforward and truthful. No drama. No resentment.

You have silenced and closeted some parts of you because you believed that these parts were somehow unacceptable or unlovable. These hidden parts are dormant and need a playful and creative outlet to express themselves. Consider this your permission slip to shine as brightly as possible and embrace all the parts of you. The key to creating space for your hidden parts to come out is to foster a conversation that is rooted in playful curiosity, just as you would when teaching something new to a child for the first time.

Here, you'll learn how to talk to the hidden parts of yourself by being playful and curious. When you do so, these hidden parts will reveal how they wish to channel themselves through various creative outlets. The extent to which your hidden parts reveal themselves to you and become comfortable and safe talking to you is determined by how you choose to engage in conversation with them, out loud.

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Next: Your Hidden Parts Are Superpowers

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©2023 by Vasavi Kumar. All rights reserved.

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Excerpted from the book Say It Out Loud: Using the Power of Your Voice to Listen to Your Deepest Thoughts and Courageously Pursue Your Dreams ©2023 by Vasavi Kumar. Printed with permission from NewWorldLibrary.com.

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