Do Not Dim Your Light : An invitation to live fully, bravely, and unapologetically

There are moments when a few simple words land with unexpected weight. During my Release • Renew • Rise class last night, one of my beautiful students, Ingrid, read aloud a quote that instantly shifted the energy in the room. It was familiar, yet hearing it spoken in that shared space made it feel new again, as though it was asking something deeper of all of us.

The quote, by Marianne Williamson speaks of our fear not being rooted in inadequacy, but in the vastness of our own power. As Ingrid read, there was a quiet recognition among us. Not resistance, but truth. Because for so many people, the fear isn’t about not being good enough — it’s about what happens if we finally allow ourselves to be seen.

The idea of dimming our light is something many of us have lived with for so long that we hardly notice it anymore. We soften our voices. We minimise our achievements. We make ourselves smaller in subtle ways, often without realising we are doing it. Not because we don’t believe in ourselves, but because somewhere along the way we learned that shining too brightly could make others uncomfortable.

From an early age, many of us were taught that confidence could be mistaken for arrogance, that celebrating ourselves might be seen as showing off, and that standing out could invite judgement. So we learned to blend in. We learned to say “it was nothing” when it was something. We learned to dismiss praise instead of receiving it. Over time, this became normal — even safe.

But safety and fulfilment are not the same thing.

When we dim our light, we don’t just protect ourselves from being seen — we disconnect from parts of who we truly are. There is often a quiet frustration that follows, a sense of restlessness or longing, as though something inside us is waiting patiently to be acknowledged. That feeling isn’t asking us to become louder or more dramatic. It is asking us to be more honest.

Shining your light doesn’t mean overpowering others or seeking attention. It means standing in alignment with your truth. It means allowing your experiences, your growth, and your achievements to exist without apology. There is a profound difference between ego and self-respect, and many of us have been conditioned to confuse the two.

Acknowledging how far you have come is not arrogance. It is recognition. It is honouring the journey that shaped you. When you allow yourself to do that, something subtle but powerful happens — not just within you, but around you. Your light becomes permission for others to stop hiding theirs.

As we look towards 2026, there is a sense that something is shifting. A quiet invitation to do things differently. Less shrinking. Less self-editing. Less waiting for approval that may never come. This isn’t about proving anything to anyone else. It’s about allowing yourself to take up the space you were always meant to hold.

Perhaps that is why Ingrid reading that quote mattered so much in that moment. It wasn’t just a reminder — it was a reflection. A mirror held up to a room full of people who are ready, even if they’re a little scared, to stop dimming their light.

And maybe that’s the real invitation before us now. Not to become someone new, but to finally allow ourselves to live fully, bravely, and unapologetically as who we already are.

With Love

TJ Higgs 💖