We are human beings, navigating life’s messy ups and downs while trying to raise families, build businesses, grow careers, and keep it all together. And here’s the real talk, life happens to every single one of us.
We face loss.
We walk through heartbreak.
We experience tragedies we never expected.
And still, the world often expects us to show up with a smile as if nothing is wrong.
I know, because I’ve been there.
When I was just 32 years old, eight months pregnant with my youngest son, my mother passed away. The grief was crushing. I fell into a deep depression, yet every day, I still had to get up and run a business. When I reached out to a family member for support, I was told, “Just get up, everything will be okay.” Another told me not to cry. So, I did what so many of us do, I suffered in silence.
But here’s what I’ve learned:
✨ It’s okay not to be okay.
✨ It’s okay to cry.
✨ It’s okay to lay in bed when your heart feels heavy.
It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to grieve, to cry, to fall apart. What matters is that we don’t unpack and live there. Grief is a season, not a permanent home.
Your team, your colleagues, your clients, the people who truly matter, will understand. And if they don’t? Those aren’t the people meant to walk this path with you.
For years, I feared that if I wasn’t constantly in a “high vibration” state, I’d sabotage my success. But that’s toxic thinking. Avoiding your pain doesn’t protect you, it sabotages you. If we don’t give ourselves permission to grieve, those unprocessed emotions will sneak back up later and blind side us!
And let me be clear, just because you’re human and facing challenges doesn’t mean your career or business will fall apart. The truth is, when you give yourself space to process and restore, you actually build a stronger foundation for both your personal life and your professional success.
Gratitude and reframing are powerful, yes and they are not meant to bypass your real, raw feelings. Strength comes from allowing yourself to integrate what life is teaching you, not from pretending it doesn’t hurt.
Of course, there are seasons where we still have to “do what we have to do.” and in those moments, find someone safe, someone you trust and carve out pockets of time where you can let yourself fall apart. That release helps you regain your footing and move forward with more clarity.
So please, be gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission to feel angry, sad, broken, or tired. You don’t always have to be okay.
And I want to remind you, there are seasons in life and seasons are temporary. Even in our off seasons, we can still thrive by allowing ourselves the space to be human. It’s in those very seasons, when we’re cracked open, that we learn, grow, and cultivate the kind of wisdom only life can teach us.
Your business and your career won’t crumble because you’re human, if anything, they’ll grow stronger when you restore yourself and lead from a place of truth and wholeness.
And here’s the gift, walking through your own storms also gives you empathy the kind that lets you truly understand and hold space when others are going through it.
True leadership isn’t built in the easy seasons, it’s forged in the storms. When you allow yourself to be human you create a legacy of resilience, courage, and strength that inspires everyone around you.
With gratitude,
Grace 🤍