So I was at an amazing wedding at the weekend. One I’d been looking forward to all year. I had my hair done, my beautiful silk dress on. And I felt amazing. But actually back in the day, I never used to feel confident. Now if you met me in real life that would surprise you. I’ve been called cocky and arrogant. But I wanted you to know something. Confidence isn’t a gift. It’s something you take.

Something you make your own.

I have a friend who is like the shyest person you’d ever meet. But they have an amazing personality. They’re just too scared to let it shine. And it breaks my heart. Because they think people like me are born this way. That its an unachievable goal for people like them. But it’s not.

Life has pushed me to be this way.

To step up.

To be seen.

To make my opinions count.

But it didn’t come naturally to me. I had to push myself constantly out of my comfort zone to achieve it. By wearing the clothes I wanted to wear instead of the ones I thought I ‘should’.

By having fun hair styles and my own sense of style. By speaking up when I wanted to hide away. For going out when I wanted to stay in.

And that’s what I wanted to speak to you about today. Are you being true to yourself? Are you allowing your amazing self to shine through? Or are you holding yourself back?

Our brains like to keep us safe. Habits, comfort zones, are all there to keep us small. To keep us protected. But that won’t help if you’ve got a big dream you wish to fulfil.

So I want you to take a long hard look at yourself. To ask yourself where am I holding myself back? And more importantly what do I need to do to cross that threshold?

A lot of the time it looks like a huge mountain to climb, but that’s fear talking. Like my friend is terrified of talking to anyone new. I remember being that shy. Then I spent 20 years working with the public and had no choice but to talk to any random person. So now im really good at it. All because I ignored that voice that told me to hide and did it anyway.

As the books says, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway.’

Step out your safety zone dude. Pursue the life you’ve always dreamt of.

So what if you stumble and fall or get it wrong along the way. That’s how we learn. That’s how we grow. Life’s too short to not step into your best self. Whatever that might mean for you