While on a conference call last week, somewhere mid way through the presenter speaking, someone had inevitably forgotten to mute their phone. 

In the dark abyss that is conference call hell, we suddenly heard a voice other than the presenter. 
😱😱😱

So of course, almost immediately, the presenter 
stopped speaking and said...”If you could mute yourself, that’d be great.” 

Now in this scenario, valid request. But that seemingly “normal” request got me thinking...🤔

It got me thinking about those times in my life when someone has requested I do the same...“mute myself”... because it would make them more comfortable. 

Whether it was me speaking out against something I didn’t agree with, me laughing too loud (I mean is that even a thing?!), me sharing an experience, me feeling a certain way about a certain thing, me talking incessantly about running when I was, well, running ALL the time. 

You get the picture.

In some of those instances, I’m sure I became self-conscious, felt embarrassed, or questioned if I should be speaking up or laughing more quietly. But in many of them, I know that I did not feel or do any of those things. I know that I refused to be “muted”. I know that I continued to use my voice, speak up, and simply put, BE ME. 

I’ve learned in life that if someone wants to “mute me”, they’re not my people. Sometimes I realize this during my first interaction and in other cases I’ve realized this after years of friendship and years of feeling as though I had to water myself down to make someone else more comfortable. 

The muted version of me is not the full ME. And if I have to be anyone other than THAT, it’s just not worth it. 💥

Bottom line is this...
🚨 Never water yourself down because someone can’t handle you at 100 proof. 🚨

Use your voice to stand up for what you believe in or to speak out against things you do not agree with. Turn UP the volume when you need to. Do not turn it down simply because someone else can’t appreciate your viewpoint, experience, or god forbid...your laugh. Do not dilute the big YOU to make someone else accept a smaller version of you. 

Laugh as loud as you want to in the moment. Let all the joy and happiness come flooding right out of you. 💕

Embrace YOU. 
Let YOU shine. 
Let YOUR voice be heard. 

✨BE 100% YOU✨