Hi, my name is Joey.
Yep, just Joey.
I used to replay conversations in my head for hours. Not because I couldn't decide what I wanted. Because I was terrified of how I came across. "Did that sound rude?" "Did I seem full of myself?" "Was I too much?" So I'd shrink. Say less. Do whatever I could to not be noticed.
I said yes when I meant no. I put everyone's comfort ahead of my own, because being liked felt safer than being seen. And when I actually had something to say? I stayed quiet. The risk of seeming entitled (or a bitch) felt bigger than the cost of staying invisible.
If that sounds familiar, I'm not here to tell you how to fix it from some finished, enlightened place. I'm here because I lived it. I still catch myself slipping back into it sometimes. The difference now, I notice it faster. And I know how to find my way back to myself.
Before I became a coach, I was a preschool teacher. I spent my days watching small people try new things. Climbing higher. Sharing a toy. Saying how they felt, out loud. My job was never to do it for them. It was to see them, meet them where they were, and build their confidence to take the next step themselves.
I once worked with a client on the verge of burnout, from saying yes to everyone but herself. She was terrified that saying no meant she was selfish. What I did was ask a few questions and reflect back what I heard. By the end, she found her own answer. A walk in the woods, twice that week, just for her. I didn't hand her the solution. I stood beside her long enough for her to find it herself. That's the role I never had growing up. It's the one I show up for now.
I do this work for the over-thinkers.
The people-pleasers.
The ones who go quiet to avoid being noticed (judged).
I know how to hold space for that, because I know exactly what it feels like from the inside.
If this resonates, I'd love to hear your story. Schedule a curiosity call, and let's see what's possible.