There are billions of people in the world, but just one you. Your combination of experiences, genetic traits, and individual thoughts make you a unique person with unique viewpoints. You may feel that others have already expressed what you feel or created all the things you could think of creating, but no one has made them the way you are able to.
Sharing your voice with the world is so much more than just the words you speak. It is the art you make, the emotions you express, the music you play, the written words you share, and so much more. Your voice is any parts of you that you choose to share with the world. It is you own and how you share it and with whom is up to you.
You may feel that you don’t need to express your opinion because others feel the same way, or that you don’t need to ask a question as everyone else already knows the answers, or that you shouldn’t make art to put out into the world because you have nothing new to offer. But you do have so much to offer, more than you know.
If you are overthinking putting your voice out there, let this be the encouragement you need to share yourself with the world.
If you feel you don’t have anything to say
Maybe you’ve seen amazing travels and accomplishments that others posted online and have thought to yourself “I don’t have anything to share because I haven’t done anything like that”. While the world needs stories of people taking 6 months to backpack through Europe, the world also needs stories from people who used every bit of their physical and mental energy to get up and brush their teeth in the morning.
The things you are struggling with, others are struggling with as well. The interests you have are interests that others share. The questions you ponder are ones pondered by people half a world away. There is so much we can connect with others on if we allow our voice to be heard.
We are all living separate lives with different priorities, struggles, and interests. Some people want to know how to become a millionaire and retire at 26. Others want to hear what book can help them feel heard and understood. Don’t dismiss what you have to say even if you feel it is ordinary, there is beauty in the mundane. We need to hear more about the small joys and accomplishments that happen everyday. We need to celebrate not just big moments, but the smaller ones as well.
There is someone out there who is similar to you, trying to make their way through life and working to understand who they are and how they fit into the world. Every time you share your voice you have the chance to connect with someone else and help them feel a little less alone in the world.
If you’re scared to share your voice
Know that you are not alone. There is a reason public speaking is a commonly held fear. Even if you are not speaking words, but instead sharing written words, art, or music, a similar fear may still have a hold over you.
When we share we are allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and that’s not something that comes easy for many people. Sharing your thoughts, fear, ideas, or art with others can be scary. It’s scary because what we are sharing is important to us and we hope others will see it that way as well, or at least respect the importance it has to us.
It is often easier for us to see the risk in doing something rather than the reward. We feel we risk being judged, made to feel not important, or being embarrassed. What we don’t focus on nearly enough is the reward that can come from sharing. We are allowing ourselves to put out something into the world that only we can. We have created a reason for someone else to smile. We have given a voice to someone who had thought theirs was lost. We have allowed the possibility of deep connection as we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
It is also often easier for us to be compassionate towards others than it is for us to be compassionate towards ourselves. When we think about sharing our voice it is easy for out inner critic to come out to berate and judge us. By practicing self-compassion we learn to get in touch with our inner self, figure out our needs, and be kind to ourselves. The kindness we show ourselves gives us power over the fear that can overshadow and control our life. When we take the time to sort through our feeling and thoughts we are able to make a path forward filled with love for ourselves.
When you find yourself feeling scared, think about all the others that came before you who shared themselves with you. Think about those that have inspired you, helped you live a more meaningful life, or allowed you to better understand yourself. If they had decided not to share their voice, your life would look very different. When you share your voice you have the chance to positively impact someone the ways that others have positively impacted you.
If you’re afraid what people will think
When we share parts of ourselves we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We open ourselves up to possible comments, advice, and judgement from others. Sharing can also open up parts of yourself that others haven’t seen and it can make us worry what people will think. But fear of other’s opinions of us can hold us back from being the person we want to be and doing the things we want to do.
One of the best and hardest decisions we can make is to allow ourselves to be ourselves, and that can mean we need to be vulnerable. To live our truest and freest life we should work to become the person we want to be. Not what those who raised us made us feel we should be, not who society tries to make us, and not what our friends have decided we are.
As humans we have a tendency to assume others will focus on our perceived failures and misfortunes. But, we often overestimate how much we think others will judge us if something doesn’t go as we planned. We worry so much about what others think, but in reality they are not thinking about us nearly as much as we believe they are. Instead we should work to spend our time focusing on ourselves and if we are happy with what we are putting out into the world. And while that is often easier said than done, identifying your true priorities acts as a reminder of who you want to be,
If you don’t know where to start
If you don’t know at this exact moment what you want to put out into the world, that’s completely fine. Take the time you need to figure out what you want to share, how you want to share it, and with whom you want to share.
There isn’t some deadline by which you need to have shared yourself with the world. this is your story, you get to do things in your own time.
You may want to share your voice with the world but what is holding you back is that you don’t know where to start. If you’re feeling stuck or uninspired, get your thoughts together by writing them down. Don’t hold yourself back, brainstorm any topics or ideas that interest you. Let your mind wander to the things you want to do or all the things you have done.
Final thoughts
When you are ready, the world needs to hear your voice, in any way that you want to share it. The thoughts, ideas, art, and words you share are important, they are what connects us as people. Your voice can help others learn about themselves, it can make people laugh, make them think, make them question, or simple provide comfort.
Do not dismiss the thought of sharing your voice because you think it’s not worth sharing. You are in fact the only one who can share your voice and for that reason it deserves and needs to be heard by others.