Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

That line has been floating around for decades now, often quoted, often shared, often reduced to a pretty little Instagram square. But it is not a pretty thought. It is a dangerous one. It is a disruptive one. It is a truth that rattles cages from the inside.

Because if we are honest, truly honest, most of us are not hiding from our weakness.

We are hiding from our power.

We are hiding from the part of ourselves that knows we could speak up—and doesn’t. That we could leave—and stays. That we could change things—and chooses the familiar discomfort instead.

It is far more comfortable to believe we are small.

Small means not responsible.

Small means not visible.

Small means not accountable for what we tolerate, what we enable, what we walk past in silence.

Small is cozy. Small is safe. Small lets us say, “What difference could I possibly make?”

But here is the inconvenient truth: history has never been moved by “special” people. It has been moved by ordinary people who decided, at some moment, to stop betraying themselves.

The lie we are taught is that power belongs to someone else. To the rich. The famous. The connected. The loud. The men in suits. The people with titles.

But real power is quieter than that.

Real power is the moment you stop pretending you don’t see what you see.

It’s the moment you stop shrinking your voice to keep other people comfortable.

It’s the moment you realize that your presence, your words, your refusal to comply with what is wrong actually changes the field around you.

And that is terrifying.

Because once you know you matter, you can no longer hide behind “it’s not my job” or “what can I do?” or “someone else will handle it.”

Once you accept your own light, you become responsible for where you aim it.

And yes—this applies to politics, to injustice, to cruelty, to what is happening to our country and our world. But it also applies to your own life.

Where are you playing small because it feels safer?

Where are you dimming yourself to avoid conflict, or loss, or being seen?

Where are you waiting for permission that is never going to come?

Here’s the part nobody likes to admit: your fear is not that you will fail.

Your fear is that you will succeed—and then you will have to live up to who you really are.

But your light does not take anything away from anyone else. It gives other people permission to stop hiding too.

And that is how change actually happens. Not through saviors. Not through heroes. Through regular, imperfect humans who finally decide to stand in their own full size.

You were not born to be a spectator.

You were born to be a participant.

And whether you like it or not—whether you feel ready or not—you are far more powerful than you have been taught to believe.

The world does not need you smaller.

It needs you awake.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

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