I’m Reid! I write about my life experiences and how we can all live in brave new ways. Dare You is a reader-supported publication. To receive weekly posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The other day, my boyfriend called me brave. I laughed in his face. “In what way?” I asked. “You just aren’t afraid to put yourself out there,” he replied.
Huh… that’s interesting. The topic of conversation was my weekly Substack posts, where every Tuesday I release a piece of writing, a commitment that has now turned into a joyful necessity, and my newest venture that I launched May 1st… a Youtube channel. Putting myself and my work out there feels insanely vulnerable yet empowering all at once. Although I am flattered that he thinks what I am doing is brave, personally, I just think it’s because I have adopted the mindset of living unapologetically. By being unapologetically myself, I feel confident in my perspective and trust that if I have the craving to share my work, no matter how vulnerable it may be, it is a craving I should honor.
Be unapologetically you.
Living unapologetically sets you free from the fear of judgement and rejection. You take risks regularly and understand that failure is a necessary part of achieving success. You aren’t afraid to be who you are and show up as your most authentic self. You ask for what you want and know that when you embrace your uniqueness, you become magnetic. You no longer seek validation from others and aren’t afraid to set boundaries and speak your mind. By being your most unapologetic self, you have the courage to put yourself out there. I believe this is a happier way for everyone to live and especially vital for artists or person who wants to do big things in life.
Most unapologetic people aren’t born into the world this way… I sure wasn’t. Having the courage to live unapologetically is a skill that you inherit over time by overcoming the colorful spectrum of circumstances life is bound to give you. For instance, I used to deeply care about what other people thought of me. I wanted everyone to like me and was terrified of not being likable. My fear of rejection was running the show and holding me back from showing up as my true self. But over time, I realized that being liked by everyone was impossible, and connecting with the people I had the most in common with, required me to stop dumbing down the parts of my personality I felt might be “too much.” So I began to let go of my fear of judgment and rejection, with the hope that despite being judged by some, I would ultimately find my people…. And I did.
Putting yourself out there consistently takes a well of courage… but it gets easier the more you do it. Like in dating. I feel that the people who live unapologetically are more likely to meet their “person” in life because they show up on dates as their true selves and don’t attempt to morph their personalities into being what they think the other person wants. Part of the reason I was single for so long in my twenties probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was trying to be perfect rather than my authentic self.
If you are an artist or innovator of any kind, living unapologetically will change the game for you. I think of how many incredibly talented people there are out there who never share their gifts or ideas with the world out of fear of failure and rejection. It’s devastating. In fact, I’m of the mindset that every single person on this planet has a unique gift that is worth sharing. There is a ripple effect throughout our own lives and the lives of others when we unapologetically share our work and creations with the world.
Today, ask yourself, what is the one skill, talent, project that I would feel confident sharing if I was living unapologetically? Now go share it.
-Reid
In the spirit of showing up as my most unapologetic self, I am excited to announce that I have started a YouTube channel! I like the idea of keeping this Substack as a home for my writing and my YouTube channel as a home for longer videos where I may expand on topics that I write about here. I won’t be advertising my YouTube here much going forward, so if you are interested please check out my channel and hit the “subscribe” button to check out new videos every week.
Here Is a video I made about the same topic I wrote about today!