Shadow Work Prompt of the Day

The Art of Loving Myself is available on Amazon.

So let’s get into it with the question of the day. The first question is:

“What parts of myself do I try to hide or shrink in order to be loved?”

This speaks on the topic of love, relationships, and letting go.

The parts that I hide or shrink to be loved are the best parts of myself. It’s me being quirky. It’s me saying something extremely cheesy or just being, you know, just goofy. Gemini is very playful.

Over time… I’ve definitely downplayed my quirky, playful behavior because it just seems like, as fast as men are interested in me, it also loses their attention. I immediately shut down when I am heavily criticized for what I enjoy.

I think that is a part of me that is like—look at these things! When I tell you “Part of Your World” by Ariel? I resonate with that song so much.

Sometimes I think I try to suppress my knowledge, my intelligence, my understanding of things… I felt like, for a while, the men felt intimidated by how much I know on various topics, what can I say, Im a Mercuruial Gemini, I love information.

I do a thing called circling back. I’m going to go back to that question: What parts of myself do I try to hide or shrink in order to be loved?

I think that is a reflection of how I treat myself. If the person that I love is forcing me to shrink myself or to hide the best parts of myself, then I don’t love myself.

I truly do not care about myself. I am someone who is trying to please the other person in order for them to accept me, and I am no longer doing that.

I don’t want to be around someone who forces me to hide or shrink myself. I want to come in and sing karaoke at 5 am. Sorry, I’m just that person. I want to celebrate every tiny piece of life.

I shouldn’t have to find some form of escapism where I’m not welcome in my own space. How do you create such a negative environment for someone that they don’t even feel safe in?

I’m not ready to talk about a personal situation right now because it is still kind of raw and fresh for me, but like… I felt like I could not be myself.

Yes, I did have to hide and shrink—not just for my sake, but like, wow.

I had to learn that before I turned 30. Maybe if people cannot accept you for your weirdness and quirkiness, they are not for you.

I hope again, like whoever hears this or reads this one day, that you never have to shrink yourself to be loved.

I pray that you find someone who loves you out loud, who appreciates and admires everything about you.

I wish that for myself, too.

Before I close… in relationships as we get older, are y’all trauma dumping? Are y’all sharing trauma stories, or are y’all just healing in private and making sure that you're that person for yourself?

Let me know what’s tea, because I’m trying to figure that out.

Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I feel so comfortable in this space to share with you guys. I don’t know who’s going to hear this, or how, but I hope it’s a good day for y’all. Talk to you later.