“Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Quoted by Nelson Mandela,

Marianne Williamson – A Return to Love

This is pretty powerful stuff, made even more powerful by the man who quoted it. It turns our normal thinking upside down. It turns my thinking upside down. The British way is to be self deprecating, to be shrinking. To criticise oneself even. Women, myself included, can refuse compliments. We can be scared to admit our strength and our gorgeousness.

Yet letting our light shine gives others permission to shine. What does that mean for you?

ACTION CHALLENGE: Open a new document on your computer and note down what this means to you for you and your life right now. Reread this every day for a week and ponder each day what it means for you to shine. At the end of the week, look for themes in what you have written.

If you’d like some support in being even more brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous, drop me a line.