#99: “I really don’t feel like it.”
Over the weekend, as we were leaving a restaurant, my family and I passed one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.
She was probably in her early 60s, wearing a hot pink two-piece summer set with matching gold jewelry and a handbag that could've stopped traffic all on its own.
She looked stunning.
Not just because of what she was wearing, but because she carried herself with the kind of presence that made everyone else take notice.
As she walked by, I smiled and said,
"You look absolutely beautiful."
She smiled back, almost surprised, and quietly replied,
"Well...thank you. I really don't feel like it, so that means a lot."
I reached over, patted her arm and made sure she knew she was turning heads.
But her words stayed with me long after we left.
Because from where I was standing, she looked like the woman everyone else wanted to be.
Confident.
Elegant.
Composed.
The kind of woman who looked like she had nothing left to prove.
And yet...
The woman everyone else admired couldn't receive what everyone else could clearly see.
I've thought about that moment over and over because I don't think she was the exception.
I think she was all of us.
I've met women who have built incredible businesses while quietly wondering if they're good enough.
Women leading teams while questioning whether they belong in the room.
Women raising amazing families, changing lives, and showing up for everyone around them...
...all while carrying around the same quiet thought:
"I don't feel like it."
Moments like that remind me why I've become so passionate about belief.
Not confidence. Belief.
Because confidence rises and falls.
Feelings come and go.
Some days we wake up ready to take on the world.
Other days, we don't.
But belief allows us to receive what's already true, even on the days we don't feel it.
Because it's difficult to move toward something you've never first allowed yourself to believe.
Yesterday reminded me of something I'll carry for a long time.
The evidence of our lives isn't always enough to convince us to move.
Sometimes everyone around us can clearly see our beauty...
Our impact...
Our gifts...
Our leadership...
...while we're still questioning whether they're really there.
So today, don't assume the person you admire has a full cup.
Don't assume the leader has it all together.
Don't assume the creator feels confident.
And don't keep the compliment to yourself.
Tell people what you see.
Encourage them.
Celebrate them.
Remind them of what's already true.
We don't always have the power to change someone's circumstances.
But we do have the power to remind them who they are.
Because sometimes your belief becomes the evidence someone else needs to borrow...
...until they have enough belief to make one move of their own.
Maybe that's one of the greatest gifts we have. Belief shared has a way of becoming belief multiplied.
PS Next week marks the 100th Unapologetic Edit, and it's your last chance to be entered to win one of three prizes (A Free Virtual Webinar, Cassy Happy Box, Membership to the Tribe). To enter, simply forward today's Unapologetic Edit to a friend and copy me on the email.
Every forward is another entry, there are multiple ways to win, and I'll announce the winner in next week's 100th edition.
I truly can't wait to celebrate this milestone with y'all.
Big hugs & so much love,
Cassy
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