Coming Out of the Closet

When I saw this video, I just knew I had to share it with you all. The amazing Ash Beckham talks about the "closets" we hide out in -- which she breaks down as the hard conversations we avoid.

As survivors of abuse, we hide. We hold back. We struggle to express ourselves, to ask for what we need -- particularly because we perceive a threat and so shut down, resulting in dire consequences for our body on emotional, neurological, and biological levels.

Take it from Ash -- "hard is hard" -- we all have things we have to say that are difficult. I love that she and I share a particular perspective that our hurts are not comparable or quantifiable. Every hurt matters to the same degree.

My favorite part is when she shares some great tips for how we can have those hard conversations that everything in us wants to avoid but that will bring the most reward at the end of the day. She calls it:

3 Pancake Girl Principles

#1 Be authentic, be real

#2 Be direct, just say it, rip the band-aid off -- don't be vague

#3 Be unapologetic about who you are -- never apologize for speaking your truth

So, I welcome you to be authentic here, be real, say it straight, and be unapologetic.

What's the hard thing you need to say?