The Mirror Question: The Contortionist
When you enter a room, do you immediately scan the environment to see who needs to be managed? Do you adjust your tone, your brilliance, and your physical posture to make sure no one is intimidated by your presence? If so, you are performing the ultimate contortionist act, twisting your architecture to fit into a box that was never designed for your dimensions. Look at the spaces where you feel the most drained. Ask yourself: "Where am I currently performing an accommodation reflex to ensure someone else's comfort at the cost of my own?" Are you answering emails at midnight so your client feels important? Are you softening your expertise so a colleague doesn't feel insecure? Expose the performance below. Your brilliance doesn't need to be diluted. They just need to adjust their eyes.