True story. Ok, so boom…(*in my New York storyteller voice) I was on Twitter the other day, and I came across an article that Marissa Evans wrote for the television section of the Los Angeles Times. She interviewed Oprah about the documentary she executive produced, “The Color of Care.” In the interview, Oprah said something that made me forget that I was supposed to be focused on reading about racial inequities in the health care system (don’t worry, I did read the entire article). But her words grabbed me so unexpectedly and sent me on a spiral of self-reflection. Oprah said:
“I see everything as an offering…I learned to do all my work as an offering that either could be received or not be received. And you do the work and then you let go of any attachment to how it’s going to be received, or what people are going to say or whether or not they’re going to like it. You just do the work with the intention.”
Oprah Winfrey
That stopped me in my tracks. Why? I’m glad you asked…
That quote from Oprah answered the question that I have been asking myself for a while now. “Why do I start writing/blogging/podcasting/posting/showing up, etc., and then just stop so abruptly?” Full disclosure, I get great feedback when making my offering to the world. (So grateful for that, by the way) But it seems that just when I push passed the inner-critic shouting at me that it won’t be good enough (recovering perfectionist here) and try to just put it out there, I fall into the trap of attempting to manage people’s feelings about what I share. Will they like this? Was it shareable? Was it good enough?
When I read “you do the work and then you let go of any attachment to how’s it’s going to be received,” it was as if I breathed a sigh of relief and gave myself permission to show up in the world without wondering, wishing, or hoping that the world would be kind or just as eager to receive as I would be to give.
The voice of my inner-encourager finally spoke louder than my inner-critic and she said, “It’s okay”.
I really believe I ran across that article for a reason. It was a signal that I had been holding myself up! I had missed the point of the work I was doing. My work, my offering, is to show up in the world and show what being unstoppable looks like. My work is to shine my light. My work is to be myself and show others that being unstoppable starts with making a decision. Being unstoppable starts with the decision to stop shrinking, rise up, and stand in your power.
So I wrote Oprah’s quote down for when I need to be reminded to let go. I will continue to remind myself that who’s supposed to be reached will be reached. The truth is there will always be some people that like you, or your offering, and some that don’t. The most important thing is that YOU LIKE YOU, and YOU are proud of what you offer to the world.
So here’s to letting go of attachments and doing our work. Here’s to showing up in the world. Here’s to making our offerings with the purest intentions and shining our lights brilliantly!
Talk to me in the comments. What work are you going to put out with the purest intention? I’m cheering you on all the way!
Love, Crystal.
Unstoppable Woman 