Here’s why we’re not ready. And what has to happen first. Recently, I sat down for breakfast with a senior leader. I was feeling proud of the work I’ve been doing around unhiding and excited to share it. And then they said, as calmly as they could, “I don’t want anyone on my team unhiding…
Over the past few years, more than 1,100 people in my audiences have answered a question I ask when I speak. Many of those answers look like the postcards you see above. What are you hiding? If something came to mind when you read that question, you’re not alone. When I ask it in a…
Can I unhide something to you? I remember thinking, That’s what I do for a living. So… yes. They took a breath. My partner is sick. And I haven’t told anyone. Then they said something I’ll never forget. Because you’ve shared parts of your story, it made me look at what’s been holding me back.…
I thought I invented hiding. I didn’t have language for it. I just had strategies. Tucking part of me away. Blending in. Overcompensating. And I honestly thought I was alone. The only one hiding anything. Then, in a random Walgreens in New York City, I met a woman with the same little hand. We talked…
This summer, I started painting—with the hand I hid for 25 years. Because sometimes the things we’ve hidden the longest have the most to teach us. Facing the Doubts Truth? I wasn’t sure what would happen. Maybe something beautiful, maybe something that looked like a preschool finger-painting. (Spoiler: some of it did.) And underneath it…
Lately, I’ve been noticing hiding everywhere, at a dinner with TIME, splashed across a full-page ad in The New York Times, and in a candid conversation on Mel Robbins’ podcast. You’ve been spotting it too, sending me articles, podcasts, and movie scenes (keep them coming). Hiding—and unhiding—are everywhere. Once you start noticing it, you can’t…
