How often do you hear yourself say “I can’t do this” or “I should do that” every day?

Whose voice is that? Who gets to decide what you can do or what you should do?

It’s so easy for us to find ourselves trapped in prisons of our own making – we buy into the myths around us, we look at what everyone else is doing, and convince ourselves that there’s no other way of being.

But what if we questioned this?

What if we started breaking the “rules” that we’ve made for ourselves?

How would our lives be if we stopped adhering to a rigid set of requirements, and actually allowed ourselves to just be who we really want and need to be?

“Everyone fails at who they are supposed to be. The measure of a person, a hero, is how they succeed at being who they are.”

Frigga, Queen of Asgard, Avenders: Endgame

In leaving the corporate world, I took on a brave new way of being – letting go of my safe, successful career, and embracing a new, more authentic way of showing up in the world. But even in this new space, there is still so much pressure to conform with other non-conformists. There are so many people trying to share their way of succeeding, and how you need to follow them if you want to survive.

But, again, what if we question this?

We can learn from people around us, without rigidly adopting what they say or do as gospel.

We can be inspired by role models, without trying to become them.

We can become our own role models, and inspire others.

But we can’t do this if we’re living by strict rules, and trying to become someone else.

Everyone fails at who they are supposed to be – but you cannot fail at being your true self.

I know it’s scary to take brave new steps, and they won’t be easy, so don’t take them lightly. But, someday, you will be ready, as long as you keep looking out for the signs, and testing the rules you live by.

“The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Anais Nin

What rules are you living by? How could you test breaking them today?