Some people suck the life out of you.
While others help to remind you who you are.
Having grown up on another continent and moving to the US at 8.
For decades, immediate family was all I had since everyone else was an ocean away.
But since 2018, I've been actively connecting with family members I never knew or don't remember as a kid.
My last days in Paris have been a great time to do just that.
ALONE IN A CROWD
Most of us have people around us.
Yet somehow, we still manage to feel alone.
As dyslexics, we’ve spent years expecting criticism, correction or misunderstanding from the people around us.
So we adapt by suffering in silence.
We hide our confusion, minimize our needs and stop asking for help altogether.
Eventually the isolation becomes so familiar, it feels totally normal.
THE PEOPLE
Your people aren't necessarily the ones who've known you the longest or live closest to you.
They're the ones who don't weaponize your weaknesses against you.
They leave you with more energy than you showed up with and make you feel calmer, not smaller.
The people you spend time with shape how you see yourself.
Being around people who dismiss or doubt you only reinforces negativity.
With the right folks around you, you speak more freely and take more chances.
You stop stressing every word before it leaves your mouth.
NO HOMEWORK
You might be thinking…
“Shit, here comes homework”.
Nope…
You don’t need to create yet another social profile on some random app or start going to church 8 days a week in hopes of making new connections.
Chances are, you already know who your people are:
Who do you feel lighter around?
Who don't you have to explain yourself to?
Who already knows what you're capable of even when you forget?
BUT!
If your instinct right now is "I don't have anyone".
Life says otherwise.
People consistently underestimate how much others actually like them.
It’s called the liking gap.
It explains how people rate themselves far lower than the other person actually rated them after a conversation.
This happens because we're too busy replaying everything we think we said wrong, to notice the positive signals coming back.
Imagine just how much connection you're missing out on…
If you're walking away from 50% of your conversations thinking badly about yourself?
As dyslexics, we’re three steps ahead of the judgement.
We expect criticism for no reason and scrutinize our conversations in real time.
Distracted by your own doubt, you miss the evidence that someone could actually be in your corner.
You dismiss the thought that people who genuinely want to see you win, do exist.
Your people are already there.
You’re just too in your head to see it.
RECOGNIZE
These last nights in Paris, I’ve sat across from family members I barely knew existed for years.
People who are now genuinely glad anytime I show up.
Whether it’s friends, family or coworkers….
That's what having your people feels like.
Not having to constantly shrink yourself or brace for judgment.
Recognize them.
They've been waiting on you.
Know someone who’d appreciate this? Share it with them.
More Powered to the People!
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