The Departure Gate - I Will Not Make Myself Smaller

I've been thinking lately about what happens when we allow ourselves to become more visible.

Not louder just for the sake of being loud.

Not because we think we know everything.

And certainly not because our way of doing something is the only way.

But because somewhere along the way, we finally become comfortable enough with who we are—and who we're becoming—to stop making ourselves smaller.

I've spent much of my life learning things by simply deciding:

I'll figure it out.

Sometimes I knew exactly what I was doing.

Sometimes I absolutely did not. 😂

But I've always been curious.

I've always wanted to know what else was possible.

And when something interests me, I'm probably going down the rabbit hole.

Technology.

Travel.

Business.

Storytelling.

AI.

Whatever happens to catch my wondering mind next.

Nothing is safe, apparently. 😂

And lately I've realized that curiosity may be one of my greatest strengths.

Growth doesn't require permission

There will always be people who don't understand the direction you're going.

Some may question it.

Some may criticize it.

Some may be perfectly comfortable with the version of you they've always known and become uncomfortable when you begin changing.

But here's something I'm learning:

Your path doesn't have to be wrong for mine to be right.

We can learn differently.

Build differently.

Dream differently.

We can even disagree.

There is room for all of us.

But respecting someone else's path doesn't require me to abandon mine.

And it certainly doesn't require me to make myself smaller so someone else feels more comfortable.

I don't know everything

Actually, the older I get, the more aware I become of how much I don't know.

And I think that's a good thing.

I don't want to reach a point where I believe I've figured everything out.

I want to keep asking questions.

I want to keep learning new technology.

I want to keep exploring new places.

I want to keep trying things that might work—and occasionally discovering things that absolutely do not. 😂

I want to remain curious.

Because curiosity keeps opening doors I didn't even know were there.

What else can she do?

There have been moments in my life when I've looked back at something I've accomplished and thought:

Good grief. Why did you think you could do that?

And the answer is usually pretty simple.

I didn't spend much time wondering whether I could.

I started figuring out how.

That's something I'm only beginning to recognize about myself.

And maybe that's why this season feels different.

I'm not interested in proving that I'm better than anyone.

I'm interested in discovering what's possible when I stop putting limits on myself.

When I allow myself to learn.

To experiment.

To be seen trying.

To succeed.

And yes, occasionally to fail in public too.

Because perhaps confidence isn't walking into a room believing you already know everything.

Maybe confidence is walking into the room knowing:

If I don't know, I'll learn.

So no, I'm not going to make myself smaller.

I'm going to keep learning.

Keep building.

Keep wondering.

Keep sharing what I discover along the way.

And every once in a while, I hope I'll look back at something I've done and smile.

Well, look at her.

What else can she do?

Until our next story,
— Gina Renee