You show up. You listen. You lead. You hold space. You respond with groundedness. You nod at the right times. You regulate like a pro. But something’s missing. Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because you’re not fully there. You’re showing up as a version of you: the calm one, the stable one, the "present" one. But your system? It’s managing. Calculating. Subtly bracing for judgment, rejection, disappointment. That’s performing presence.

It looks like: stillness outside, tension inside. Eye contact with disconnected awareness. Saying the right thing while your gut feels off. Breathing calmly while your thoughts rehearse your next sentence. You’re not faking anything; you’ve just learned to be composed without being connected. And while it works… it costs you. You lose access to real intuition. You start second-guessing deeper instincts. You subtly perform in relationships, hoping to be received instead of actually being received.

But the solution isn't to stop "trying." It’s to learn how to re-enter your body—not as a concept, but as an actual felt experience. Because true presence isn’t about doing it right. It’s about dropping the armor that says you have to. When you do, everything shifts: You speak more clearly without rehearsing. You listen more deeply without effort. You feel more confident without performance. You stop using awareness to defend and start using it to connect. Presence isn’t something to master. It’s something to return to.

P.S: You can get the book below

https://go.justinegliskis.com