There’s a good chance you’ve said something encouraging to someone else that you needed to hear too.
You’ve reminded somebody to give themselves grace.
You’ve told them not to be so hard on themselves.
You’ve encouraged them to trust where they’re headed, even if they can’t see the whole picture yet.
And somehow, when it comes to you, those same words can be harder to believe.
The same person who knows how to encourage everybody else can be the hardest person on themselves.
We know how to show up. We check on people and make sure everybody’s good. We remember the little things. We give people room to be human.
Meanwhile, we’re in the background telling ourselves we should be further along, doing more, handling things better, or figuring it out faster.
We keep pushing when we’re exhausted. We talk ourselves out of celebrating how far we’ve come. We even have the nerve to extend patience to everyone else, then get frustrated with ourselves for not having everything figured out.
It’s funny how much grace we can have for somebody else’s process while questioning our own. And I don’t think it’s because we’ve forgotten who we are.
Sometimes life just gets loud.
It gets loud with responsibilities, other people’s opinions, expectations, and comparison.
You start thinking about what you should’ve done, what you haven’t done yet, where somebody else is in life, or where you think you should be.
And somewhere underneath all of that, the things you already knew about yourself can become harder to hear.
That’s when the reminders matter.
Not because you need somebody to tell you who you are. You probably already know that.
Sometimes you just need something that brings you back to you.
That’s become a big part of what Raresoul Outfitters means to me.
Of course I want the clothes to look good. I care about the fit, the design, the colors, the details, and everything that goes into creating a piece.
But I never wanted to make something that just looked good and stopped there.
I like the idea that something you put on can carry meaning for you.
Even if nobody else understands it.
Even if the message is really just between you and you.
That’s part of what “Born to Stand Out” means to me.
It doesn’t always have to be an announcement to the room.
Some days, it can simply be a reminder to yourself.
Stop questioning every part of yourself because somebody else doesn’t understand it.
Stop giving everybody else patience while rushing your own process.
Stop putting yourself last like your needs are somehow less important.
You don’t have to shrink to make other people comfortable. Being different doesn’t mean something about you needs to be corrected. And you don’t have to keep becoming somebody easier for other people to handle.
Sometimes you just need something that catches you at the right moment and reminds you of something you already knew.
You deserve the same grace you keep giving everybody else, and you’re allowed to take up space in your own life too.
Maybe you won’t need that reminder every day. But on the days you do, I hope RSO can be one of the things that brings you back to yourself.
Because sometimes the message really isn’t for everyone else.
Sometimes, it’s for you.
— Danielle
Founder, Raresoul Outfitters