What Does it Mean to Find Your Voice?
What does it mean to have your voice?
This question came up three times in the past month.
I was asked the benefits of finding your voice in a podcast interview and my mind went blank. I thought, ‘how do I describe the benefits?’ A person going through my Own Your Story Challenge said she wasn’t sure she could pinpoint a time when she actually had her voice, she needed examples of what that felt like. And a person in a writing group I’m in was hesitant answering my questions about what he was writing. After a few sentences he said he’d taken up too much time.
This got me reflecting on what it means to find one’s voice.
I came to see three indicators that signal you have your voice.
But first I want to talk about what it means to not have your voice.
When You Are Not In Your Voice
Here are some signs that you are not in your own voice. You
listen to others for guidance over your own intuition.
feel embarrassed about what you have to say.
find it difficult to hear other people’s point of view.
When You Find Your Voice
You own what you believe and you
what is true for you, even if others disagree with your point of view.
have energy and you want to share your work.
may not always be comfortable but you are willing to step through the discomfort.
Let’s find one time when you felt like you.
Here are three indicators that you have found your voice.
You find your:
Creative flow
Alignment (self-acceptance & purpose)
Your intention (meaning and feeling)
Indicator 1: Being in Flow
You start to understand the ins and outs of your own creative flow.
This starts with accepting where you are at. You know when you are not in flow steps you can take to get into flow.
Flow feels like
Not thinking
Words come to you when writing
You are filled with curiosity without judgement
Have you had these times? What were you doing? What were you working on? Why were you doing this?
Indicator 2: Being in Alignment
When you are in alignment you spend your time doing the things that align with your desire and purpose.
Alignment will feel almost effortless, even when you run up against roadblocks and effort is necessary.
Example 1: MOVING TO JAPAN
When I decided I was going to study in Japan I ran up against many roadblocks. My parents did not support my decision. I didn’t have the finances. I didn’t know where to study.
Somehow I found a program in my home state and a way to transfer and pay instate tuition which was less than my out of state tuition and I managed to convince my parents to let me go.
In fact, I didn’t see anything as a road block. I just saw I needed to find solutions to the steps necessary to get to the destination of studying in Japan.
My actions were in alignment with my goals and I had the belief it was possible so all the efforts I took to make my dream of going to Japan happen felt in flow.
Example 2: REDEFINING THE GOAL
Sometimes getting into flow requires getting into alignment first.
When I was working with Luis in The Story Lab Mastermind, he felt stress. In examining the source of his stress, creating special photos for his Patreon account, we were able ask a new question. Were his Patreon’s supporting his work because of the photos he sends them or because of the work that he is doing to help indigenous people in the region of Oaxaca?
Rethinking the reason his Patreon’s were supporting him and the stress that creating photos put on his day he was able to come up with a new Patreon reward and new Patreon story that aligned with his current efforts around partnering with indigenous entrepreneurs.
This freed up time for the work he wanted to do because he was no longer feeling the stress of doing work that doesn’t align with his goals. He received positive feedback and additional donations because of this shift. And now writing to his Patreons also feels easy because it feels like sharing.
Example 3: EMBRACING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
I did another quick hour long consultation with a marketing specialist and designer who wanted to move into the role of marketing coordinator where she would coordinate efforts for small businesses who do not have a marketing team but could benefit from strategic thinking and a team of creatives with who she could contract and manage.
She didn’t think she had the evidence to claim she was a marketing coordinator. We reframed her past experience, which did include these tasks for both paid and voluntary work, and within a few weeks she gained two new clients. She said she stepped forward on two opportunities that came her way because she now saw that she had the experience. These were opportunities she would have previously said no to–even though she desired doing this type of work.
Getting into an initial alignment is powerful, it releases new energy and new ideas.
Indicator 3: Knowing Your Intention
The third indicatory that you have found your voice is you know your intention.
We often find ourselves looking for clues in other people. We wonder, is what I want what I should want?
When you know your intention, what you hope to do in the world, what you want your project to accomplish, what impact you wish to make, then you know you have found your voice.
It is not easy to put a stake in the ground and say this is what I want to do. This is what I wish to achieve.
I think intention is an undervalued practice.
Intention is something we need to check in with every day, sometimes multiple times a day.
We need to ask ourselves, is what I’m doing in alignment with what I want to achieve? Or am I doing for the sake of doing? How can I do this with more flow and ease? Did what I share create the impact I was hoping to create or do I need to adjust as I move forward?
Intention keeps you moving in the direction you wish to move. Intention gives you guide-rails so you can stay in your voice and when you look outside you know how to decipher if the advice you receive makes sense for your goals.
How do you find your voice?
For me it is through thinking and writing.
It is through this process where I find places where I thought I knew something but I realize I need to go deeper, and then I do the work to deepen my understanding.
I used to be frustrated by documentary film grant proposals. Now I see them as an important part of the creative process because the questions they ask are structured in a way that helps the filmmaker clarify their vision.
Writing helps you gain clarity and clarity helps you get into flow, find alignment and identify your intention.
When I am clearer with my intention, I’m more apt to get a result I want, even if the end product is different than my original vision.
Finding your voice is some of the most important work you can do.
If you want help finding your voice so you can increase your impact, influence and income, my 8-week group program, Find Your Authentic Voice starts August 9. Learn more by clicking here.