Week 2: Reclaiming HER Series
There’s a moment most women don’t talk about.
It’s not dramatic.
It doesn’t come with a breakdown or a breakthrough playlist.
It usually shows up quietly.
In the middle of a normal day.
And suddenly you realize something that’s hard to unsee: I’ve been playing small.
Not because you lack confidence.
Not because you aren’t capable.
Not because life beat you down.
But because somewhere along the way, playing small felt safer than wanting more.
Playing Small Doesn’t Look the Way You Think
Playing small isn’t hiding in the corner.
It looks like:
Saying “I’m fine” when you’re not
Keeping opinions to yourself to avoid rocking the boat
Dressing for comfort instead of desire
Talking yourself out of things you want
Shrinking dreams so they feel more “responsible”
It looks like being wildly competent while quietly unfulfilled.
And the hardest part?
You get praised for it.
You’re dependable. Low-maintenance. Easygoing. Strong.
So you convince yourself this is just adulthood.
When Did You Decide This Was Enough?
Most women don’t choose to play small.
They adapt.
After kids.
After heartbreak.
After exhaustion.
After being needed by everyone else.
You learn to mute yourself just enough to survive.
And then one day, survival starts to feel like suffocation.
That’s when the restlessness creeps in.
You can’t name it.
You just know something feels off.
That’s not dissatisfaction.
That’s your truth tapping you on the shoulder.
Playing Small Isn’t Humility. It’s Habit.
Somewhere, we were taught that wanting more made us ungrateful.
So we minimized ourselves to stay likable.
Palatable.
Acceptable.
But here’s the thing no one says out loud:
You can be grateful and crave more.
You can love your life and want to expand it.
You can be a good mom, partner, friend and want to feel alive again.
Playing small doesn’t protect you.
It slowly disconnects you from yourself.
The Moment Everything Shifts
Reclaiming HER doesn’t start with a plan.
It starts with awareness.
The moment you realize:
You’ve been dimming your desires
You’ve been choosing safety over alignment
You’ve been living a version of yourself that’s… tolerable
That moment changes everything!
Because once you see where you’ve been playing small, you can’t unknow it.
And you don’t have to blow up your life to stop.
You just have to stop abandoning yourself in quiet ways.
This Week, Notice Where You’re Holding Back
Not to fix it.
Not to judge it.
Just notice.
Where do you silence yourself?
Where do you settle?
Where do you tell yourself, “This is just how it is now”?
That awareness is power.
And it’s how reclaiming HER deepens ✨
If this made you uncomfortable, that’s not a problem.
That’s awareness waking up.
This week, don’t change anything.
Just notice where you’ve been playing small.
And if you want to keep walking through this January together, I send one honest note each week for women reclaiming HER.