What My Rebrand Taught Me About Unmasking

Recently, I delved deep into my brand and what I wanted it to look like. This post isn't just for entrepreneurs (who are always thinking about what their brand should look like) but also the people who are branding themselves at work, in their social circles, and maybe even at home.

It is so difficult to trust your gut. To "find your people". When you're running a business, there's a constant tweaking of "how do I present this just right so I'm perceived in the right way?" Sound familiar? Because it did for me. When I was working a "regular" job- I was probably at my highest masked. If you've ever worked retail, you might know the customer service voice. I've masked in friend groups, anxious of being called a poser or weird. And I've stuffed myself deep, deep underneath everything else so I wouldn't be a "bad mom".

A Rebrand of a Business Isn't That Different From Unmasking

I took a course called Brand Camp by Kristy Black (they're awesome by the way!) And inside this course, they don't start with having you pick out color schemes and font styles. They're asking you about your values. And sure- you can google a list of the top 30 values in business. Guess what? They're boring as hell. Can they be good theoretically? Sure. But what if the business says: Our values are loyalty, quality and communication. Great! How does that translate into the actual day to day? Why are we being brazen enough to pick these in the first place?

I think this goes hand in hand with unmasking. You can pick any random word from a list of values. You can look at that top 30 values and say to yourself "maybe if I try this one, I'll finally fit in." But it's still not your voice. It's just another mask.

The first time you write something down that isn't intended to be the "correct" answer, it might feel wrong. But it isn't. It's a moment of vulnerability and visibility- even if the only person seeing it is yourself.

(psss- you can find the values I created for this rebrand here.)

The Rebrand Doesn't Exist Solely Within Business

It's every time you've toned yourself down or performed another persona because you thought the room you were in wouldn't welcome the authentic you. Like a music mixing station, you may have adjusted the sliders and turned the dials to see what was acceptable in certain places. And even if you're a successful musician (very difficult in this day and age), if you're playing music you hate- is it worth it?

My personal opinion- no. Stop performing the things you hate to perform, and embrace the you that creates joy. Even if other people don't get it. People are under-educated about neurodivergent minds all the time, so why would we continue to contort to their expectations? Why continue a narrative that isn't true? For yourself and the community at large, even the tiniest bit of unmasking can create more space for more people to become their full selves.

My Brand Has Been All Over The Place- Just Like My Unmasking Journey

My brand has been a lot of things. I've only run a blog. I've taught EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). I've held a workshop to create your own grimoire. Brand Camp pushed me to ask: "ok, but what's the most important here?" I'm not a massive creator with millions of followers making big bucks doing [insert thing here]. I could start applying for "regular" jobs (even though the job market sucks) and just give up on this whole thing.

But I'm the queenofgrit. And I don't give up.

Inside Brand Camp, I read my new about page to the fellow participants and started crying. Then- I didn't know why. But I know now. Because instead of trying to copy someone else's version, I saw myself on the page. This is what it's like unmasking- even in small doses. Finally getting to see who you are.

Unmasking Doesn't Always Look Like A Big Dramatic Revelation

Sometimes it looks like crying in a Zoom room full of strangers because you finally wrote something that sounded like you. Sometimes it looks like deleting the version of yourself you built for someone else's comfort and starting over. Sometimes it's just one sentence- one true thing- that let's you exist on the page without editing it into something more acceptable.

You don't have to be rebranding a business. You don't have to be diagnosed or self-diagnosed or even sure of anything yet. You just have to be willing to write one true thing down and see what happens next.

Want to try out more writing prompts?

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