The Lion Does Not Explain Itself
There is a version of you that does not apologise for taking up space.
There is a version of you that does not apologise for taking up space.
That does not shrink before it speaks.
That does not add “just” and “sorry” and “I might be wrong but” before every sentence.
That does not wait for permission before it starts.
You have met this version of yourself. Probably briefly. Probably in a moment of crisis when there was no time to overthink it — when you just did the thing because the thing needed doing.
And then the moment passed and the apologising started again.
A lion does not explain itself.
It does not wake up and wonder if today is a good day to be a lion.
It does not look at the other lions and think: they seem more confident than me. Maybe I should wait until I feel more ready.
It does not send a message to another lion saying: I have this idea for a hunt, I might be wrong, just an option, no pressure, ignore me if it’s silly.
It just — is what it is.
Fully.
Without apology.
Without waiting to feel like enough.
I know this is easier said than done.
I know the reasons we shrink are real. We were taught them carefully over many years by people and systems that benefited from our smallness.
Shrink in the meeting. Shrink in the negotiation. Shrink on the page. Shrink when you want something. Shrink when you have an idea. Make it smaller. Make it quieter. Make it easier for everyone to ignore.
We learned this so well we now do it automatically.
We do not even notice we are doing it.
I notice it in my writing most clearly.
The hedge at the start of a sentence that is not a hedge — it is an apology.
I might be wrong but... This is just my experience... I am no expert...
As if the experience of living a life does not qualify you to speak about it.
As if needing to add a disclaimer before your own story.
The most powerful shift I have made in my writing — and honestly, in how I carry myself — is removing the apology before the sentence.
Not adding false confidence.
Not performing certainty I do not have.
Just removing the preemptive apology that was never required in the first place.
I think consistency is important becomes consistency is the whole competitive advantage.
It might be worth considering... becomes here is what I know.
Just my experience, but... becomes here is what happened.
The thought is the same.
The person delivering it is different.
A friend asked me recently what changed when I started building online.
I thought about it for a while.
And the honest answer is: I stopped waiting for someone to tell me I was allowed to.
Not allowed to write. Not allowed to build. Not allowed to have an opinion about things I had been living for fifteen years.
I just — stopped waiting.
And in the absence of waiting, I started.
You are allowed to take up space.
You are allowed to have a strong opinion.
You are allowed to say the thing without apologising for it first.
You are allowed to build the thing without waiting for someone to confirm you are qualified.
You are allowed to be the lion.
Not aggressive. Not loud. Not performing.
Just — present.
Fully.
Without apology.
Without explanation.
The lion does not explain itself.
It just shows up.
Show up.
— Bianca