There’s a quiet pressure most of us carry, often without realizing it. The pressure to soften our opinions. To dilute our personality. To round off our edges so we’re easier to accept, easier to like, easier to keep around. It shows up in meetings when you don’t say what you really think. In friendships whereContinue reading “You’re Not Here to Be Liked. You’re Here to Be Real.”
Tag Archives: authenticity
Doing the Right Thing When It’s Inconvenient
There’s a strange comfort in numbers. When everyone around us is doing the same thing, it starts to feel safe. Normal. Almost justified. We tell ourselves, This is just how things work. We stop questioning it. We stop listening to that quiet voice that nudges us when something feels off. That’s how “wrong” slowly getsContinue reading “Doing the Right Thing When It’s Inconvenient”
More Than We Ask For
There’s a quiet truth about people that we don’t always want to admit. Most of us can tell when we’re being “handled.” Not in a dramatic, movie-villain way. But in the everyday way—when someone is trying to steer us with pressure, guilt, fear, flattery, or incentives that feel transactional. When the message is less aboutContinue reading “More Than We Ask For”
Noise From the Cheap Seats
There’s a quote that floats around a lot: You’ll never be criticized by someone who is doing more than you. You’ll always be criticized by someone doing less. I’ve seen it attributed to famous names, but honestly, I don’t know if any of them actually said it. What I do know is this—whether the quoteContinue reading “Noise From the Cheap Seats”
Still Becoming
There’s a quiet sentence I keep coming back to lately, one that doesn’t shout or demand attention. It just sits there, steady and honest: The only comparison worth making You one year ago You today Not the version of someone else you see online. Not the highlight reel that shows up uninvited on your screenContinue reading “Still Becoming”
Black Coffee Lessons
Black coffee isn’t trying to impress anyone. It doesn’t hide behind foam or sugar or clever flavors. It shows up exactly as it is—bitter to some, comforting to others, and completely unapologetic about it. And that’s where the lesson quietly sits: you don’t have to be sweet to be liked by everyone. Some people takeContinue reading “Black Coffee Lessons”
The Quiet Kind of Magic
We spend a lot of time chasing the loud version of magic. The kind that sparkles from a distance. The kind that photographs well. Lights strung just right. Gifts wrapped with precision. Homes that look like they belong on a holiday card. It’s easy to believe that magic lives there—on display, waiting for approval. ButContinue reading “The Quiet Kind of Magic”
No Finish Line, Just the Feeling
Somewhere along the way, life started feeling like a race we never signed up for. Not a fun one either. No cheering crowds, no clear track, no finish ribbon waiting at the end. Just an invisible clock ticking louder every year, urging us to move faster, do more, be more. We sprint through mornings, power-walkContinue reading “No Finish Line, Just the Feeling”
The Rarest Thing We Carry
We live in a world where everything looks polished, filtered, edited, and staged. It’s almost funny how often I come across perfectly curated moments online—sunsets that look like they were painted by AI, “candid” smiles that were obviously rehearsed, quotes that sound deep but mean nothing when you really sit with them. You don’t evenContinue reading “The Rarest Thing We Carry”
Kenrick Vaz 