Can I be honest?

I woke up the other morning and realized that I wasn’t saying what I really wanted to say. 

Sure, I’m someone who speaks my mind. I tell people what I think. And I tend to be open about how I’m feeling, yet something deeper was rising up to meet me.

For much of my life, I was a people-pleaser.

I didn’t know it, but I made an art of tip-toeing around people’s feelings just to make them like me. It wasn’t until I was called out (and offended) for being a people-pleaser that I began to realize that what I thought was an innate part of me wasn’t supporting the person I was becoming.

The uninstallation of this part of my human operating system was cringe-worthy and painful, yet SO necessary for my growth as a person.

My charismatic way of selling or making friends or getting what I wanted disappeared and in its place I found that I was a deeply honest person who demanded honesty from others.

That led to one of my personal core values: Radical Honesty.

The only problem with radical honesty is the delivery of it. And when I swung the opposite direction of people-pleasing, I started being a little too honest and cutting with people. A little too straightforward. Which felt awful for the people who were used to me sugar-coating things and walking on eggshells.

I had to go back to the origins of myself. To who I was at the very beginning. To the love I showed up to embody and give. The love we’re all originally born with. Before the world gets to us and tries to make us someone we’re not.

Once I stabilized and softened my ability to deliver (and invite) honesty through the lens of love, I began to see just how much I had been hiding before. How much most of us are hiding and keeping to ourselves. 

Why?

Because we’re afraid of what others will think of us if we’re honest with ourselves or them. If they see behind the curtain. If they see that we’re not as perfect as we’d like them to think.

And how FREEING! To not have to be some shiny veneer of a person. To be fully embodied in our truth without fear. THAT’S where living begins!

My life has shifted a lot since this awakening and coming back home to myself. Now I surround myself with truth-tellers and growth-minded people who desire loving feedback. I have developed deep relationships with myself, my husband, friends, and chosen family. 

It feels as if I’ve been calling in the Soul Family I’ve always desire. Because I’m being 100% me. Because when I’m 100% me, you can be 100% you.

That leads me to a commitment I made to myself this summer.

I'm going to be Feral AF for the next 10 weeks.

I turn 45 mid-September and decided to take the next 10 weeks to get my shit together and step more fully into this sovereign being that I am. Choosing to be radically honest—to a fault. And giving literally zero f*cks while caring SOOOO much about people.

So, if you watch my social media, I’m going to be letting it all hang out. My newsletters are going to be more honest than usual. And you’re about to hear about my own journey of healing, growth, and stepping into this Melanie that I am today. 

In doing so, I’ve decided to start a weekly Ask Me Anything and you’re invited. 

Yes, this is free consulting, questioning, brainstorming, and “so, what are you going to do about it?” Just you + me + whatever you’re working on personally or professionally and me guiding you to your own answers.

I promise to be radically honest with a whole buncha love no matter what you bring.