The Yes I Didn’t Feel Ready For

One moment. One decision. A shift I want to remember.

I got invited to be featured in a magazine, and my first thought wasn’t excitement.

It was: “Are you sure it should be me?”

Not because I don’t know my work.
Not because I didn’t want it.
But because visibility has a funny way of making you reach for proof you’ve already earned.

I let the email sit for a few days. I reread it like there was a hidden catch. I did the whole internal dance: gratitude, skepticism, then the quiet urge to decline so I wouldn’t have to manage anyone else’s perception of me.

The Choice

At first, I said no.

And then I remembered something I once told a teammate:
If you dim your light, it doesn’t make anyone else shine—it just makes it harder for you to be seen.

That line came back like a mirror.

So I went back to the moment and asked a better question—not “am I worthy?” but “what does my work require of me right now?”

And the honest answer was: it requires me to be visible enough for the right rooms to find me.

I said yes.

Here’s what I’m learning in real time:

When a “no” shows up first, it’s not always discernment. Sometimes it’s self-protection dressed up as humility.

And I’m trying to get more honest about the difference.

Because purpose doesn’t shrink.
Time doesn’t wait for permission.
And the people who need what you carry won’t benefit from you staying small.