You Don’t Have to Pick a Lane. You Get to Invent One
What If the Version of You That You’ve Been Resisting Is Your Next Level?
I knew how powerful and effective visualization was, but I was recently reminded, and the lesson it came with surprised me.
I was doing some inner work over the weekend because I’ve been noticing recently how I’ve been rejecting my beach bum identity. I love to surf. I love the beach. But I had all these negative connotations in my head about beach bums, like they’re lazy and broke.
I didn’t want to accept that identity for myself.
I started visualizing what this version of me would look like if I fully embraced my inner beach bum. And what I came up with was a bougie beach bum.
A bougie beach bum still has a bathing suit and surfboard, and, of course, I’m wearing my statement designer eyewear. But the finishing touch is diamonds: earrings, statement diamond rings, and a stack of tennis bracelets.
Not in a tacky way. Simply wearing really classy diamond jewelry layered on top of the beach bum aesthetic.
I got really into envisioning what this would look like, and for the first time, it actually felt like me. But then the tightness in my chest hit, and the doubt crept in:
How does this even work? Could I ever make this a thing?
The very next day, I went surfing.
As I was pulling my board out of my beachside surfboard locker, a woman approached me. And normally, that kind of thing irritates me. Not because I don’t want to help, but because surfing is my ‘me time.’ It’s where I go to restore my energy, which is hard to do when people are pulling on it, usually without even realizing it.
But this woman was wearing statement Tom Ford sunglasses, and as a statement eyewear collector, I was immediately drawn to her. In all fairness, she was probably drawn to me, too, because I was wearing my statement Gucci glitter sunglasses.
She asked me about the beach chair and umbrella rental situation on the beach, and as we were talking, my eyes were drawn to her outfit. She had on a bathing suit and coverup…and she was wearing diamond earrings. I felt a rush of excitement in my chest.
She was moving her hands while she was talking, and her beautiful statement diamond rings glimmered in the sun, which led my eyes to her gorgeous diamond bracelets. It wasn’t gaudy. Her entire aesthetic was very tasteful and elegant.
Her presence is what struck me the most. Some people are flashy and feel the need to announce their wealth or status in a way that feels imposed and assertive. But she had a very magnetic quality to her. Her powerful aura was the announcement. The glamour was the byproduct.
And then it hit me.
Oh my God. This is a bougie beach bum.
I didn’t need external validation to prove that Bougie Beach Bum was possible for me. But the fact that she appeared literally the day after I did this visualization exercise reminded me just how powerful it is.
This is not just about visualization (although the fact that she appeared the day after I did this exercise is not lost on me).
It’s about this: You don’t have to choose between the different parts of yourself.
We are so conditioned to believe that we have to pick a lane. That you’re either ambitious or laid back, polished or earthy, the woman who surfs or the woman who wears diamonds. As if we have to deny certain parts of ourselves to embrace the others.
We are also conditioned to accept society’s definitions, like a beach bum is always lazy, broke, and directionless.
Says who?!
The bougie beach bum is way more than an aesthetic. It’s a philosophy. It’s the permission to be two things at once.
We aren’t meant to fit neatly into a box that society built. You can look at the parts of your identity that seem like opposites and say, “Actually, both of these are me. And I’m not shrinking either one to make the other more comfortable.”
The visualization gave me an identity that didn’t ask me to repress or deny any other part of who I am.
So whatever version of you feels like a contradiction right now (the one you’ve been talking yourself out of because it doesn’t fit the mold of society’s arbitrary rules), I want you to sit with it and visualize it. Let it be real before you have proof.
If your identity doesn’t reflect who you really are, it’s not the truth or your purpose. It’s conditioning to conform to something outside of yourself.
What if the version of you that you’ve been resisting is actually just waiting to be expanded?
You don’t have to choose between identities. You get to invent them, elevate them, and make them your own. And say:
This is who I am.
We don’t dim our lights to fit in anymore. This is your reminder to turn it up a notch.
Glow Tip:
This is something simple you can start implementing in your day-to-day life.
Notice the next time a part of you comes up and your immediate reaction is, “wait, that’s not me.”
Maybe it’s:
· A version of you that feels “too much” or “not enough.”
· Judging yourself for liking something you think you “shouldn’t.”
· A thought like, “That’s not really me” or “I can’t be that kind of person.”
· A part of you that you’ve judged based on what you were taught it means.
Before dismissing it, pause. And ask yourself:
Is this actually not me… or have I just never given myself permission to be it?
Instead of rejecting it or caring about what other people would think of it, visualize it. Let yourself see what that version of you looks like when it’s fully expressed and on your terms. Not based on society definitions, but based on what feels true to you.
This is the shift from forcing yourself to be something you’re not to unlocking authentic radiance as your new baseline (where dance parties in your kitchen are the norm on a random Wednesday night).
You’re expanding your identity, not limiting it.
And that’s what it means to shine from the inside.
If you’re starting to realize there’s a version of you that you haven’t fully stepped into yet…
This will show you exactly where that gap is.
The 80% Life Detector is a quick self-check to help you see where you’re still filtering yourself, settling, or playing smaller than you actually are, across relationships, money, career, and self-expression.
👉 Download it here and meet the version of you that’s waiting on the other side: https://www.runninginslippers.com/innerglowup
Want to Go Deeper?
If this story resonated, you’re not looking for more information.
You’re ready for an identity shift.
My Identity Upgrade Series on YouTube breaks down exactly how to recalibrate the version of you that’s still operating from fear, overthinking, or subtle self-abandonment and step into the woman who can actually hold her next level.
Inside the playlist, you’ll learn how to:
• Stop playing small without forcing confidence
• Rewire limiting beliefs around money, success, love, and worth
• Move before you feel ready
• Leave environments that no longer align
• Regulate your nervous system for expansion
• Navigate the grief that comes with outgrowing your old identity
Through real-life stories like moving to Hawaii and leaving Corporate America, I show you how identity work becomes real, embodied, and non-negotiable.
Because growth is about becoming the woman who no longer tolerates less.
If you’re ambitious but still shrinking, capable but still bracing, this series is for you.
I’m Angie Hawkins, The Inner Glow Coach. I help high-achieving women stop overthinking, recalibrate their nervous systems, and embody the confident, grounded version of themselves who already knows she’s ready.
Your next level starts with a new identity.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/UW-C6OQa63A?si=32yTrTeZcn-qR6KC
