Authenticity Mindset Recipe: Reclaim Your Voice (10 mins)

The 3-Step Experiment

Step 1: Locate the “silence” ($2$ minutes)

Set the timer for $2$ minutes. Open your journal or notes app and write fast. Write from your heart—no editing, no overthinking, no fixing the wording. Let it be messy and honest. When the timer goes off, stop writing and move to Step 2.

Fill in the blanks:

• “Right now, I feel the urge to stay silent about ________.”

• “If I spoke my truth, I’m afraid ________ would happen.”

• “Silence feels like ________ in my body.”

Step 2: Understand what shaped your voice ($5$ minutes)

Set your timer for $5$ minutes. Choose $5$–$7$ prompts and answer quickly (first thought, no editing). You’re not trying to be fair or polished. You’re trying to be truthful.

Remembering the silence

• “My earliest memory of not being able to speak my truth is…”

• “When did I first learn my feelings were ‘too much’ or ‘not allowed’?”

• “Who told me (directly or indirectly) to stay quiet?”

• “What happened when I tried to express myself as a child?”

• “A day when I swallowed my words—and what that felt like in my body…”

The emotional landscape underneath

• “What emotions live under my silence now (fear, shame, grief, anger)?”

• “When do I still feel unsafe to speak my truth?”

• “What do I fear will happen if people see the real me?”

• “What do I feel guilty about for not speaking up?”

• “What do I feel proud of for surviving so long in silence?”

Beliefs that shaped me

• “What did I learn about being ‘too much’?”

• “What did I learn about ‘not being enough’?”

• “How did I learn that authenticity threatens attachment?”

• “How did I learn to people-please to stay safe?”

• “How do those survival strategies show up in my relationships now?”

If you finish early, underline one line that feels the most true (or the most tender). That’s usually the thread to follow.

Step 3: Reclaim your voice ($3$ minutes)

Set your timer for $3$ minutes. Now we shift from insight into a small, safe action. Answer the questions below. If you’re done before the timer ends, you can keep writing but when the timer goes off, stop writing.

Answer:

• “What do I want to stop apologizing for?”

• “What boundary do I need to feel safe to speak now?”

• “A new story I’m ready to tell about myself is…”

• “One small way I will practice my voice in the next 2$4$ hours is ________.”

Now choose one “voice sentence” you can use this week (choose one):

• “That doesn’t work for me.”

• “I’m not available for that.”

• “I need time to think—I’ll get back to you.”

• “I’m willing to talk about this when we can both be respectful.”

• “My needs matter too.”

Write your chosen sentence on a fresh line $3$ times, slowly. Let your body feel what it’s like to take up space with one clear truth.

Closing: Integrate and Return to Your Voice

Place one or both hands over your heart, or one hand on your heart and one on your throat. Take a slow, steady breath in and out, letting your shoulders drop a little more with each exhale.

Gently remind yourself:

“This is my truth becoming clearer. I can go at my own pace."

Thank the part of you that learned to stay quiet for trying to protect you.

“Thank you for keeping me safe. I’m building safety in a new way now.”

If you feel tender, activated, or emotional, let your body do what it needs—maybe a sigh, a yawn, tears, shaking out your hands, or a gentle stretch. Let the wave pass naturally, without forcing or stopping it.

When you feel ready, bring your awareness back to the present moment.

Notice five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can feel (touch/temperature/pressure), two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

To close, say softly:

“Thank you, voice, for coming through today. I am safe enough to be honest, and I choose one small true step forward.”

Nurture and Integrate

If you can, take $2$ minutes right now to care for your nervous system: drink a glass of water, unclench your jaw, and gently roll your shoulders back and down. Let your body register, “That’s done. I’m here.”

Then choose one tiny “voice-support” action to integrate this practice: write your chosen voice sentence on a sticky note (or in your phone notes) and place it where you’ll actually see it today (bathroom mirror, car dash, fridge, lock screen). Read it once out loud—quietly counts.

Over the next week, notice what shifts. You might catch yourself before you over-apologize, speak one honest sentence sooner, pause instead of freezing, or feel less shame when you do fall back into old patterns. These are old protection strategies, not character flaws—and every small moment of truth builds self-trust.

Affirmations (Optional)

Choose one affirmation to take into your day or week. Write it on a sticky note and post it somewhere you will see it. Read it as many times as you can remember each day.

You might choose from:

• My truth matters, even when my voice shakes

• I can be kind and clear at the same time

• I am allowed to take up space

• I can go slowly and still be honest

• I don’t have to explain myself to be valid

• My needs are important too

• It’s safe to practice my voice in small steps

• I can pause before I people-please

• I can tolerate discomfort without abandoning myself

• Each honest sentence builds trust within me

Want to go deeper?

This is just a taste. In the FREE (2$0$-page) Reclaiming Your Voice guide, you’ll go deeper by:

• Identifying the patterns that keep you quiet (people-pleasing, over-apologizing, freezing, fear of rejection)

• Understanding where those patterns came from and what they’ve been protecting

• Practicing simple scripts and “voice sentences” that feel firm and safe

• Strengthening boundaries without harshness or guilt

• Building a daily, nervous-system-friendly way to stay connected to your truth

You can download the free guide here:

FREE GUIDE: RECLAIM YOUR VOICE

Peace & Love, Julie.
Emotional Release: The Missing Peace