Rock Your MOJO by Dropping Pretenses and Being You

by Kelly Beischel PhD, RN, CNE

My heart hurts for the victims and families of the mass shooting in Orlando.

In the wake of Saturday night’s shooting, I almost deleted the video I had already uploaded to post today. My video felt absurd, trivial next to the violence in Orlando.

I decided not to delete it though.

I expose my vulnerability to you in this video
and am transparent about a few of my insecurities.

I talk about loving ourselves and our bodies, aging and all. To stop hiding for fear of what others might think.

And this is why I didn’t delete it. We must stop hiding our true selves behind a shield of pretense. And through love and acceptance, we need to encourage others to do the same.

I cannot stop thinking about the lives that were snuffed out because they were no longer hiding who they were. But were not accepted.

Accepting people for who they are and loving them for it

– not despite it – is one of the greatest gifts you can give anyone being true to him/herself.
And one of the best benefits of giving the gift of love and acceptance?

The gift is reciprocal.

I know this to be true. How?

Because when our sons told us they were gay, we were devastated. We did not accept their truth at first. It even got ugly at our house.

But when we decided to love them was a better answer, we gave them the gift of acceptance and love for being true to themselves. Their MOJO rocked when they no longer had to shoulder shame and pretense. That’s when the reciprocity of our gift began.

Our sons’ role model for us every day what it looks like to be true to oneself.

And to live an authentic life. They love themselves and others. It shows in their words and in their actions.

I know that some who read this will think that being open about having gay sons may derail my business. It won’t. It won’t derail the business I desire to have with people who are accepting and true to themselves.

I do know that this will make some folks uncomfortable and they will unsubscribe from my MOJO emails and newsletters. And that is okay. Really.

You see, I truly mean it.

It’s a hill I die on. Being transparent and vulnerable is my true north. It’s who I am. What you see is what you get. I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not or hide something I’m afraid will turn people off so that they will like me. I’m so over that. Aren’t you?

Join me in dropping pretenses, dropping the worry about what others think.

And instead, simply work toward being the best version of yourself.
Now give yourself a high five for being you and rock your MOJO.

Watch the video to see which vulnerability I expose.

Love,