Embrace Your Awesomeness to Start Living a Happier, Healthier, & More Fulfilled Life

And welcome back to Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

I am your host, Kevin Lowe, bringing you episode number 188.

On the podcast today, my goal is to have you looking in the mirror.

Now, of course, if you're like myself and you don't look in the mirror because, well, you don't see anything because you're blind, well, then you know what?

Skip the mirror and uh you just know that I'm talking to the sighted folks in the crowd.

But for the rest of you who actually use a mirror, I want you to be looking at yourself in the mirror by the end of today's episode in a whole new light.

Because my aim with today's episode is to have you see things in yourself that you never saw before.

What am I talking about?

What I'm talking about are the things that make you you, the things that are unique about you, the things that you have been led to believe that you should try to hide.

You should try to cover up.

You should try to make blend in so that people don't notice.

Well, no, no, no, no, no.

But today, I want to bring light.

Now, I'm not talking about things like a pimple on your face.

Yes, goodness gracious, pop that thing, put some clear cell on it, or cover it up with some powder, whatever you gotta do.

I'm talking about the things that make you you.

I was inspired to dive into a topic like this based on the previous two guests had on the podcast.

One was Ryan Ray Harbig, a girl who, at 16 years old, would have her life completely flipped upside down in the blink of an eye.

And that came with a car accident that would leave her paralyzed.

Ryan was then forced to live the rest of her life in a chair, in a wheelchair, in something that she never wanted, never thought would happen.

But that wheelchair is not who Ryan is.

Instead, it's a part of her.

It doesn't define her, it's a characteristic of her.

And Ryan has been able to use it to her advantage.

She's been able to take what is different about her, unique about her, and turn it around.

That's what I'm talking about.

What about the guest inside of the previous episode?

That was Sean Foy.

Sean, a tattoo artist, a guy who was into art, but realized he'd rather draw on somebody's skin than he would a piece of paper.

Something unique, something different, something that went against the norm.

And yet, where is Sean Foy today?

Blowing up the scene.

Massively successful tattoo artist because he chose to embrace what made him different, what made him unique.

Both of these people, they realized that you know what?

I got some awesomeness inside of me.

I got some stuff that makes me different than others, and that's good because I don't want to be like everybody else.

I want to be the shiny crayon in the box.

When everybody else is going for the browns and the blues, I'm going for the hot pink.

That's what we're talking about today.

Embracing that awesomeness, bringing out your internal hot pink.

That's what today is all about.

So I want you to get ready to look at yourself in the mirror in a whole new light as we continue on with today's episode.

I'll see you inside.

I've come to realize that you're different, your uniqueness, that's your strength, that's the rainbow in the midst of the storm.

It's what sets you apart from the rest.

It's basically what makes you you.

And I want you to realize that that is enough.

It's more than enough.

Because being you is the only person you need to be.

I want you to embrace who you are, to embrace your personality, to embrace your quirkiness, your sense of humor, your goofiness.

Embrace it.

Love it.

Let it out.

Don't hide it, and darn sure don't let anybody ever try to squash it.

Because I want you to be you.

Because this world is full of way too many people trying to be like everybody else.

When if everybody would just be themselves, this world would be so much better off.

And here's the point in this whole topic I'm going to talk about today is that the thing that you might be holding off on letting shine, the thing that you might be neglecting to accept, to let shine through, quite possibly could be the key you've been looking for for the life of your dreams, for a life of fulfillment, a life of joy, of pleasure.

It may very well be inside of that thing that's a part of you that you keep trying to hide, that you keep trying to forget about.

We unfortunately live in a world that tries to fit us into a mold.

And this starts young as children.

Matter of fact, I think this is when it's probably the worst.

It's when we reach that age as children, when kids start noticing that other kids are different.

Now, what's awesome is when we're real little, we don't notice that anybody's different.

We're all just best friends.

That's why you see those stories on TV that warm your heart about the two little boys who come from completely different parts of the world, look 180 degrees different than one another, and yet they're convinced that they're brothers because they love each other that much.

But then the world gets in the way.

We begin to grow and get bigger, and we get to learn more, and we start taking in the sights and the sounds and the opinions around us.

And all of a sudden, we get to an age where we start to notice that other kids are not like us.

Some kids they don't wear the cool clothes that everybody else wears.

Some kids aren't as smart as everybody else.

And what do kids do?

Well, kids then pick on others.

Something that, for the life of me, I don't understand where that even comes from.

Why children come to a point where all of a sudden it's not just noticing that somebody's different, but now picking on them, making fun of them because they are different.

That's a question that I am not suited to answer, and I don't have an answer for it in any way, shape, or form.

But it's just the way it is.

It's life already trying to keep us all the same, to fit us into that perfect mold.

And we go through our childhood years, all going to school, all taking the same tests, all being based on the same criteria.

Even though it's a classroom full of unique and different kids, we teach our kids to be themselves, to embrace who they are, and yet we still try to fit them inside of the same mold time after time.

That leaves an impact as people get older, as they become adults.

And they realize that if they want to fit in at the workplace, well, they need to be sure that they don't let the others know who they truly are, or they won't fit in.

They need to try to be just like everybody else.

Because as we have learned as we've grown older, that the same kids who picked on others in kindergarten are still picking on others inside of the workplace.

Unfortunately, that seems to not grow out of those people.

So for everyone else, we try to blend in.

But blending in by depriving yourself of being you, it's no way to live.

No one should have to live this life pretending to be something they're not, or at least not letting shine who they truly are.

And I believe that your uniqueness, that's your awesomeness, it is in fact your greatest asset.

And that is because you are more than enough just as you are.

You are way more awesome because you are you and that you are not like everybody else.

You are incredible, not because you do what everybody else is doing, but the fact that you do what everybody isn't doing.

The fact that you chose to go against the grain makes you stand out in a good way.

And when you can learn to see yourself differently, to see yourself in a new light, and to start embracing who you really and truly are, it's at that moment that you can start to be free and that you can get to discover doors of opportunity that you didn't know existed.

I referenced the two previous guests at the beginning of this episode: Ryan Ray Harbuck and Sean Foy, both of whom have embraced what makes them unique and they've built a life around that.

Same thing goes for myself.

For so many years after becoming blind, I fought to remain in my sighted life.

I kept thinking that I enjoyed this hobby or liked to do that thing because, well, that's what I did when I was sighted.

And I felt like there's no reason why now that I'm blind, I can't enjoy those things.

But the fact of the matter is, is that I've grown.

I've become a new person.

I didn't just become blind, I became a whole new version of me.

And with that comes new likes and dislikes.

So as the years went by, and I began to not try to hide the fact that I am blind, but instead putting it out there, embracing it, letting the world know, yeah, Kevin's blind.

And that's why he's so freaking awesome.

Because Kevin has learned that he can embrace the thing that makes him different, that Kevin was able to turn a negative into a positive.

And that's exactly what I've been doing on this podcast.

The podcast lets me every single time I release an episode shine light on the fact that we can get to know people without seeing them.

Because you, my listener, you get to see the guests that I have on this podcast just as well as I do.

In fact, that we only see them through the words that they speak, the stories that they share, the inflection in their voice.

We can see that they're crying when their voice cracks.

We can see them smiling based on how they laugh.

And I think that's pretty darn awesome.

Embracing the oddity, the thing that makes me different, embracing it, to see it as a positive, to realize that it's my awesomeness.

That's what I'm doing.

That's what this podcast is about.

And that's what this episode is here to do for you, is to have you realizing right now what is that thing that I try to hide?

What is that thing that I don't like to think about?

And how can I now shine light on it?

Make myself feel free because I'm no longer trying to live in this world as somebody I'm not.

It could be something to do with your personality.

It could be a hidden disability that maybe people don't realize about you.

And maybe now it's time that you let the world know this is who I am.

I don't have to be ashamed of it.

I don't have to be fearful of what others may think.

No, I can just be me.

And that's okay.

And matter of fact, it's more than okay.

It's awesome because you are awesome just as you are.

So here's my last thought.

Let's make a pact.

You and I.

Let's make a pact to start embracing our awesomeness a little bit more each and every day.

Let us use it to write our own story moving forward.

Let's let our light shine a little bit brighter than it has ever shined before.

Let's do it together.

Two awesome people taking on the world, embracing our own little unique quirks about us because, well, we don't want to be like everybody else.

We want to be like us.

We want to be awesome.

We want to stand out above the rest.

Sound like a plan?

Awesome.

Now it's your turn to get out there, shine your light on the world by being you.

So stay awesome, be awesome.

Have an amazing day, my friend.

I'll see you inside of our next episode.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast to hear something that I have to say or that my guest has to share, and think, wow, I wish I could be like them.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing, but I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you're wrong.

You are capable, you are able, and you darn sure are deserving of having all that you can imagine in this life.

There's nothing special about me or any guests I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it in this life.

And so I encourage you to take a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it too.

Now, of course, if you would like help along that way, reach out to me.

Whether that's as a listener of this podcast, a friend, or if you'd like to work with me as a coach.

My contact information is inside of every episode's show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day with great, grace, and inspiration.