When I’m coaching my color guard students, I invite them to take up space, to have strong posture, and be fully expressive with their body language.

But when they’re learning, they tend to be afraid of doing something wrong.

Their first instinct is to shrink themselves. To keep their arms in tightly, to bring their shoulders up to their ears and slouch.

They try to hide from the danger of being seen.

When I brought in a trainer to work with my team, he told them, “The sillier you feel, the better you look.”

And he was right.

If the shrinking and the slouching and hiding were all gone, they would look so impressive and strong.

If they could see themselves in that light, they would never want to shrink themselves again.

The more outrageous and energetically they performed, the more powerful that performance would feel to the audience. And if all of them could be silly and outrageous together, they would be truly show stopping, jaw dropping, amazing.

In other words, taking up space looks GOOD.

For my students, I know allowing themselves to be seen can be really scary.

But I also want them to know that taking up space is not an embarrassment.

It’s a way to access greater confidence.

It’s a way to look and feel amazing.

And when they finally let go…

When they allow themselves to be silly and fully expressive...

They’ll feel free like they’ve never felt before.

As you go through your day, ask yourself, “Where am I shrinking myself? Where is the place where, if I were to take up more space, spread my arms, and put all my energy into it, I would love it so much that I’d never want to shrink again?”

Imagine giving yourself permission to be silly and outrageous in our own unique way.

It could feel so good, you wouldn’t even have time to worry about how you look.

You’d be having too much fun for that.

Much love,

Morgan Rita Barbret

Certified Life Coach

P.S. Do you want to boost your confidence so you can take up space and be more unapologetically yourself? I can help. If you have any questions about what it would be like to work with me as your coach, hit reply and ask away!

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