Ever notice how being good at what you do can feel like you somehow entered a competition you never agreed to join… yet other people act like you're winning?

You show up prepared.

You follow through.

You don’t treat deadlines like suggestions.

And suddenly someone gets twitchy.

“You’re intense.”

“You are kind of a lot.”

“You can be… difficult.”

Translation: “Your competence is making me aware of my procrastination and I do not care for this self-awareness, thank you.”

It’s that old science-fair energy.

You built a functioning project.

They showed up with glitter glue, poster board and a vague idea.

And now you're the one who made it weird?

The funny thing is, you didn’t even know there was a scoreboard. You were just doing what you do: being reliable, capable, thoughtful, prepared. Yet somehow, someone decided your excellence was a threat in a contest you never entered.

The sneaky part is that when we start our own businesses, that energy doesn’t always disappear. Sometimes we carry it with us and turn it inward. Suddenly we’re not dealing with a Brenda in the office... we’re becoming Brenda in our own heads.

“I’ll just do it myself.”

“No one else will get it right.”

“If it doesn’t feel slightly exhausting, am I even trying?”

That isn’t ambition. It’s conditioning in sensible shoes.

But the truth is:

Your success doesn’t have to cost you your peace.

No shrinking to keep other people comfortable.

No invisible contests.

No apologizing for being good at what you do.

You’re not “too much.”

You’re simply done playing in an imaginary competition.

And that shift? It’s power disguised as permission.

If this whole “quietly carrying everything while pretending it’s light” thing rings familiar, I wrote a companion piece you might like. It’s called The Professional Woman’s Survival Guide: It’s Time to Rewrite the Rules. It looks at how many of us were trained to hold everything together with a smile and what happens when you finally stop doing that. You can read it here.

Until next week, shine without shrinking, ✨

🌀 Decoding the Shift

Old belief: If I don’t handle everything myself, I’m failing.

New belief: If I make things easier for myself, I’m evolving.

This week, try catching the thought “I’ll just do it, it's faster” and replacing it with “Is this actually mine to carry, or am I just afraid of looking like I’m not trying hard enough?”

Then choose the option that gives you breathing room. Maybe that looks like delegating. Maybe it’s extending a timeline. Maybe it’s closing the laptop instead of proving you can grind through it.

Ease isn’t the opposite of excellence. Sometimes it’s the reward for finally trusting your skill.

Try This:

Ask yourself, where have you been shrinking, over-functioning, or softening yourself so someone else doesn’t feel like they're “losing” next to you? And what tiny shift would help you reclaim your space this week?

Your competence isn’t the problem. The world is simply adjusting to someone who stopped apologizing for it.

🎟️ You get the secret price (because you’re loyal like that)

The $250 AI Persona Jumpstart deal?

Gone faster than the chocolate in your kid’s Halloween bucket.

And yes, that price really is gone forever.

I meant it when I said it was a one-time treat.

But here’s the thing…

I adore my newsletter community.

You show up, you read, you root for me, you experiment and grow.

So before we head into the last stretch of the year, I want to give you a second chance to get in at a lower rate. Because if AI is making you sound flat, stiff, or like you borrowed someone else’s LinkedIn voice?

That’s not on you.

It’s on the fact that AI doesn’t know you yet.

And when every AI draft needs editing to death, it stops being a time-saver and starts feeling like another job.

The AI Persona Jumpstart teaches your AI your voice — so it sounds like you from the first word:

·       Less rewriting

·       More flow

·       More confidence when you hit publish

·       More time back for the work (and life) you actually enjoy

For the next 72 hours only

🎟️ Use code SHIFTVOICE to get it for $350 instead of $500

This is my thank-you to you, my inner circle readers, before the price locks in for good.

👉 GET THIS LIMITED TIME OFFER NOW BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT

Your voice deserves to lead the way. Let's make AI your ally.

Do you know someone who carries the world on their shoulders and still gets labeled “too much?” Send this to them. Quiet strength deserves recognition, not exhaustion.