“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?...Your playing small does not serve the world...We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” — Marianne Williamson

Should you be afraid of letting yourself shine in the fear of outshining others?

Have you ever been told by others to stop "showing off" or "you are making it present that you want attention from others"? You want to just be yourself, but in fact, it is really hard to be yourself in a world where we are constantly told that if we act a certain way and hide our talents and be modest about our gifts our lives will go smoothly rather than showing the world what we can do. We are told it is better to be modest and not express to others our achievements than to boast our accomplishments because we may come off to others as being arrogant or having an ego problem. It is as if we can have our accomplishments but not make it known to the world that we have something to offer it, something that only we can give. We stay hidden in the world, our faces being buried and our uniqueness being neglected when it should be admired in the hope of inspiring others to do the same. What is the point of having a gift if you have no one to share it with? Should you limit yourself from achieving greatness if the are there those in your life that may not be able to reach new heights, or can you be a source of influence that he or she can persevere through any obstacle he or she may encounter?

What is wrong with wanting more out of life? Can you appreciate what you have, but want to reach for new heights? Is it socially acceptable to want everything that the world can offer?

The short answer is yes.

Do not let the light within you dim. We are on this planet to make a difference whether it being small or big. Hiding ourselves from the world and going through life unnoticed will only make us feel worse and hurt ourselves in the end. We only have one life to live, and it is a life that we are in charge of, not anybody else. Nobody can make us do anything or not do anything if we do or don't want to do it. We make our own choices, we have our own skills, and we have our own talents to show the world. If you ever feel as if you don’t matter and have nothing to offer the world, take a deep breath. Take a step back and look towards the horizon because the world is vast and filled with remarkable experiences not too far beyond our grasp. We were born to shine and stand out, so go and make your mark on the world. We have one life, so make it a good one.