There’s a dangerous shift happening in how we create, speak, and show up.
It’s subtle — almost noble at first. We call it “building visibility.” We say we’re “being consistent.” But if you peel back the layers, most of us are really just trying to be seen — at any cost.

We’ve mistaken attention for connection. And it’s quietly killing meaning.

When you start chasing attention, your nervous system moves into performance mode. You stop listening inward and start scanning outward —
for metrics, validation, likes, applause. Suddenly your words aren’t coming through you — they’re being produced by you.

You shift from creation to performance. From mastery to mimicry. And what gets lost, is the weight of your voice.

Meaning doesn’t come from visibility — it comes from vibration – the quiet frequency your audience feels before they even understand your words. You can’t fake that, nor can you create a template from that.

It comes from the stillness you hold before you speak. From the clarity you cultivate before you amplify your message.

Every time I’ve felt the itch to post something “timely,” every time I’ve felt that pulse of “I should be showing up more,” I’ve learned to stop and ask:
“Am I being guided or goaded?”

Because there’s a world of difference between the two. Guidance comes through alignment. Goading comes from anxiety. And anxiety has a sneaky way of dressing itself up as ambition.

I’ve worked with enough leaders and teams to recognize the pattern. The louder the noise, the thinner the truth. The slicker the message, the weaker the meaning.

Attention-chasing is adrenaline.
Meaning-making is rhythm.

Adrenaline gives you a high.
Rhythm gives you a life.

You can grow an audience on attention,
but you can only grow a legacy on meaning.

And legacy doesn’t happen when you speak louder —
it happens when you speak truer.

So if you’re tired of being “seen” but not felt, if you’re exhausted by the content treadmill that rewards noise over nuance, here’s your permission slip to:

• Step back.
• Breathe.
• Reroot in why you began in the first place.

Let meaning lead again.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

Where are you performing your truth instead of embodying it — and what would shift if you stopped chasing applause and started practicing alignment?

About Giselle

I’m Giselle Hudson — writer, possibility thinker, musician, Organization & People Development Sensemaker™, and MCODE Legacy Coach. I help leaders and soul-driven professionals decode the deeper patterns shaping their business, work, identities, and results especially when it look like a performance issue but it’s really misalignment in disguise.

If something in your life or business feels off and you can’t quite name it, message me. Sometimes one conversation is all it takes to see what’s really going on.