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Leaders are allowed to have messy days
I’ve written about this before, but I think it’s important to revisit, especially considering everything that’s happening right now. Leaders, teachers, helpers, those who give from their hearts can have messy days too.
We’ve labored far too long with the stereotype of the automaton leader, who never shows any emotion, always tries to have the right answer, never shows weakness. It’s quite frankly, a bunch of crap.
This past week, several people reached out to me, expressing their appreciation for how I’ve been showing up inside my community and publicly online during these past few months. Because I’m practicing being a gracious receiver, I thanked them for their compliment and then got real.
I shared that two days before, I was sensing so much coming up in the collective energy — anger, sadness, grief, regret, loneliness and fear that I was completely overcome. I just sat at my computer and cried on and off for about an hour. Exhausted, I made my way to the couch and slept. I didn’t work, couldn’t communicate with anyone, didn’t even want to.
I wasn’t trying to be strong or be a role model, I was having a very human, visceral experience. And I allowed myself to do so without shame or worry that I wasn’t being strong at that moment. Shit is hard right now.
