What lights you up? What completes you? What spurs you to live fully and ecstatically as you centre yourself in the present and bubble with possibility?

Your answer = your soul juice.

There’s currently a lot of talk about self-care, being good to yourself, and acknowledging your achievements even as you strive for more; about looking in the mirror and smiling at what you see. Why? Because doing all those things jazzes up the soul and fuels your engine like you wouldn’t believe. Truth.

Interestingly, though, it’s all too easy to fall into toxicity and self-flagellation. “I shouldn’t have done that. Why did I do that? I’m such a dumbass, I can’t ever get it right.”

We berate ourselves when things go wrong, and out of a misguided sense of modesty, don’t take nearly enough credit when things do go right. After all, isn’t it uncool to blow your own trumpet and tell the world just how magnificent you are?

It isn’t, actually. It’s very cool to express your magnificence. It’s necessary to admit your awesomeness. You have the right to own your fabulousness, dammit, and be proud that you do. Why? Let me ask you this: why not?

Why not water your soul with loving and empowering words? Why not nourish your spirit with praise for your triumphs and understanding for your setbacks? Why NOT root your identity in fierce belief in yourself and your abilities?

No one else can do it for you, and no one else will benefit from you. They may be able to take advantage of your playing small, yes, but they won’t be blessed by you. They won’t be moved to tears of wonder or jolted out of complacency or spurred to knuckle down and just do it.

Instead, they’ll see you as a doormat because you simply lurk in the corner and keep your gifts to yourself, leaving your light on low and your passion on lukewarm.

Enough! Enough with the self-sabotage and deprecation and spirit-shrinking. Enough with selling yourself short and toning down your brilliance so you don’t stand out too much. Enough with forsaking your dream because someone punched a hole in your confidence and made you feel incapable of living it. Enough.

Hear me when I say this: You are exquisite. You are powerful. You are a soul of energy and fire.

You can turn your life around. You can get clear on what’s really important to you and go after it. You can live a life of purpose by finding your purpose, your calling, your dream. You can. You CAN.

I need you to hear me. I need you to absorb this message and take it to heart. I need you to accept it,  believe it, act on it.

I need you to hear me when I say this: Own your power. Own your truth. Stand tall. Stand strong. Shine. Brave the doubt and put your soul out there. Brave the fear and put your skills out there. Brave it. Brave it.

Quit the toxicity. Water your soul instead. Free your soul instead. Go.