Carol's Corner

Give yourself permission to believe in the validity of your own narrative – Bill Zinsser

This quote made me stop and think. Can I honestly say that I believe in the validity of my message? I speak on topics of inclusion – I believe this is important, valid and necessary to share so others will have knowledge to help them overcome the fear of the unknown. I speak on having hope in spite of and during tough times. This topic touches the lives of everyone at some point. Sharing stories of hope helps offer comfort and a flicker of hope to others who are less far along the path than I am. Yes this is a valid message! I share tips to help others improve communication skills – a necessary and valid message as well. I have stories that have touched the lives of others in positive, meaningful ways. Yes I believe the messages I have are valid.

But I am working on finding my voice, my style as a storyteller, both written and oral to give the messages. My previous blog post mentioned how I have been reading various books and styles as research which is great but I am not these writers and my style, my voice needs to be my own.

I listen to others give speeches, presentations, sermons. I know what I like and what detracts from the presentation. I learn from each encounter. Webinars, conferences and books on writing and speaking give many suggestions to write the best seller, market your work and get speaking gigs. Yet simply copying others will not help me be myself and use the abilities and gifts I have to the best they can be.

We each need to study, learn and grow in whatever area we work in, are gifted in and enjoy. Yet we need to be authentic above all. For me this means accepting who I am and what God has gifted me to do and realize it does not have to and should not look like someone else.

This battle continues in my life. I need to make sure I do not simply procrastinate instead of trying something new, embracing the stories and sharing them with others. If I hide them inside myself, no one else will hear them, enjoy them or maybe even have them speak to them where they are at that moment. I believe I have found my voice. I just need to keep using it and know that it is uniquely me.

How about you? Have you given yourself permission about the validity of your messages? Have you found your voice, your style to accomplish the telling?