I was recently speaking with a fellow businesswoman. She is a rock star when it comes to client satisfaction. She is a great, accessible communicator, she stays in touch with clients for years after and does things like making them pies at thanksgiving and hand-delivering them.

I love these ideas, but told her that I’m shy when it comes to giving.

She said simply, and honestly, it isn’t for me. It’s for them.

I realized how much my daily life is mired in my own ego. I don’t want to post on my business page for fear of saying the wrong things. Sometimes I don’t reach out to tell someone I am thinking about them because I worry about their reaction (current self-talk example: it is too late, months after coronavirus hit, to ask someone how they are doing, I should have done it then and missed my window….).

I spend so much time worrying rather than acting. What if I just acted instead of worrying? What if I express myself (love, dissatisfaction, caring – all of myself and my true, honest emotions) rather than hiding?

Our current awareness of inequality for black people in america emphasizes how now more than ever it’s time to act and not worry. Playing it safe and quiet might be safe for us, but it is harmful to others. Let’s acknowledge our egos, but get outside anyway.