The phrase that helped me shut up when all I wanted to do was scream

Six words for letting go and moving on

Kim Witten, PhD
ILLUMINATION

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A white egg sits in a clear plastic tray. It has a face of frustration painted on it.
The Struggle to be a Good Egg. Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

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I’ve struggled to keep my mouth shut for over four decades. Then somebody offered me a way to do it that didn’t feel like silencing myself or compromising my values. And things turned out infinitely better.

The silent cost of speaking out

I’ve always been a passionate advocate, a proactive communicator, and a deep overthinker. This trifecta has drawn me into many overshares, boundary missteps, and countless other communicative blunders.

It’s also helped me enable meaningful change and positively disrupt the status quo.

Regardless of outcome, speaking out takes energy. It’s not always worthwhile or even the right thing to do.

Leaving loudly vs. leaving quietly

There have been two major events in my professional life where I felt conflicted about speaking up. They both involved leaving jobs. One situation I handled somewhat dramatically; the other with more grace.

I gained valuable lessons from both of these experiences. I also learned a phenomenally useful…

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Kim Witten, PhD
ILLUMINATION

Helping overwhelmed creatives and small business owners make sense of things. Get unstuck every Thursday with Hold That Thought at www.witten.kim/subscribe