Speaking up is the first topic I want to talk about on Motivation Monday. I found the quote “If you are not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist?” in my archives. I remember screenshotting almost every quote I came across on Instagram and Tumblr. Actually, I still do it sometimes. I thought it would be a good idea to start sharing motivational quotes with you. Ever since I’m back in the Netherlands, I have not felt really motivated or inspired. Therefore, I would love to motivate you while I am trying to motivate myself. Does that excite you? Let’s talk about why speaking up is essential to our success!
Speaking up
“If you are not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist?” is in my opinion the best quote to start off #MondayMotivation with. Our existence is essential and should therefore also be central, at least to ourselves. When thinking about it, speaking up can therefore take many forms. For some, letting the world know they exist literally means speaking up, for others it might be sharing their ideas, posting their own art etc. Honestly, I don’t think it matters what you do or who you are, speaking up is important. I think that by speaking up, you are setting boundaries, you are letting people know what you’re good at and not only giving people a glimpse into who you are but what you could be.
the void between what you show and who you are
I think that we often might think that we are “putting ourselves out there” or we are “speaking up”. However, all we actually do is create this idea of how we think other people see us, based on what we think to be our potential. Sounds weird right? Meaning that there is this void between what we are showing (not speaking up enough) and what could be our potential. Did that get you thinking? Just think about it though. When networking, you have only a fraction of time to not only give a good impression, but also an idea of who you are essentially. Of course, sometimes we might forget to share important things about ourselves, just because we already know. At least, that is how I experience it. All in all, I think the important things also lie in the things we cannot say or we forget to say.
Depriving yourself from opportunities
Think about this statement: every time you don’t speak up, you are depriving yourself from opportunities. It’s true! Let me show you how. A lot of times I see people doing amazing things and sharing them on Instagram. For example, speaking at events, being invited at amazing events or creating cool and important projects. However, each time I think about how much I want that, I also ask myself: “How will I ever get this or that is nobody knows who I am?”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I never speak up or reach out. I definitely have a lot of things due to my curiosity and determination to want more. All I’m saying is that you will never perform at the main stage if you never dare to take the microphone.
learning how to speak up
One way to let people know I exist is to slide into the DM’s of people similar to me, or people I love following on Instagram. Normally, I introduce myself, compliment their content and share words of encouragement. I do so, because it is (usually) highly appreciated. Also, you never know what people are going through, your words might motivate them to continue. Besides sliding into DMs, there are plenty of events you can go to and just talk to people and let people know who you are and what you do. An even better thing to do is to create ways to take the main stage without asking permission, like building a platform. All in all, there are many ways for you to speak up and let the world know you exist. Watch the video below for a preview of what Mondays will look like from now on!
Senegalese Twisted | Youtube | Instagram | TikTok | Photography | Facebook | See you in my next post!