Being seen. For most of us, it’s not an easy thing to do. For some, it can even strike a feeling of terror.
But to feel a sense of pride, accomplishment and reach our dreams, being seen is a necessity.
Being seen takes courage and a willingness to step out and be vulnerable.
Being seen requires you to make your mission and your message more powerful than your fears.
Being seen means not playing smaller than your potential.
There are many ways we might shy away from being seen, whether we are representing someone else’s business or we’re the face of our own. For example:
- Sitting in a meeting and hesitating to speak up with your idea
- Choosing to wear something you think you should wear instead wearing something you wish you could wear
- Sharing pictures of yourself on social media
- Posting what you really want to say on social media
- Writing a blog and willing to be vulnerable
- Scheduling a professional photo shoot
- Reaching out to let people know what you’re offering for sale
- Making the decision to leave your job and start a business
- Speaking on stage
As technology has become so sophisticated and accessible, it has made it too easy and comfortable for us to stay at our computers. It gives the illusion we’re stepping out and being seen and that can lull us into a false sense of connection. The truth is that real connection requires a combination of communication modes, both in-person and on screen.
I knew there were improvements I needed to make with my own visibility. In fact, I have a checklist of visibility to-do’s for 2014.
But when I read a blog from my friend and client, Lisa Steadman, it stopped me in my tracks. It made me take a deeper look at myself, to take inventory of where I’m at and how I’m addressing my own visibility challenges. I could see so clearly the many areas where I needed to step up. Truthfully, I had a lot of work to do!
Because my work focuses on the visual representation of the inner self, you might not think that visibility could possibly be an issue for me. It is, but for different reasons, which I intend to share in future blogs.
As I continued to read Lisa’s blog, I felt a twinge of discomfort. Lisa has a writing style that tells it like it is, I admire the way she puts herself out there.
But it was exciting. I thought, this is it, this is it the visibility roadmap I needed to show me where I can fully engage and be seen. It lists 20 steps to be seen fully as your highest self. It’s presented in an easy to digest, simple checklist format. It’s a helpful diagnostic tool to keep you conscious of what you’re doing and where you can use improvement to become more visible to reach your goals.
I found it so inspiring that I wanted to share it with you. I printed it, taped it to the wall in front of my desk so that I will see it every day and begin to go down the list, evaluating and improving my performance, one step at time.
Here’s Lisa’s blog. http://lisasteadman.com/brandyourassetschecklist/
Where are you doing a great job of being visible? Where can you make improvements to show up bigger, and brighter to reach those who need to know about you and your gifts?
Enjoy!
Sybil