Get Free Fam,
Greetings from 30,000 feet in the air as I head out for a couple of weeks of downtime because, LAWD, I is TIIIEEERRRD. When I realized on Friday that I'd be out for two weeks, I was GIDDY - buzzing with the excitement of no meetings, no Teams calls, no notepads of to-do lists, no one picking my brain, none of it. I mean, you can try, but my brain is a wasteland right now, well and truly vulture picked over. Just bones, y'all…
But I ALWAYS have time for the GFFs, so I’ll still be dropping in with the newsletter. If you’re new here, HI! Take a minute to check out the archive if you’re trying to get unstuck and Get Free. We don’t gatekeep here. Got questions? Email us at [email protected]
The Get Down
So this week's The Get Free Guide comes courtesy of the best prime minister in the world, Mia Amor Mottley. If you don't know her, please do yourself a favor and start following her on IG and do a little search on Google (do we still do that? Wherever you do your searching, get into it.)
Mia Mottley is the prime minister of Barbados (my island and so, my prime minister.) Yes, Barbados is a tiny island in the Atlantic, 166 square miles in size, but when I tell you Prime Minister Mottley punches above the island's weight? Let me break it down:
She's the island's first female prime minister
She navigated transitioning the island to a republic, removing the last vestiges of colonization under British rule
She's recognized as a leader in global climate solutions policies, advocating for small islands and countries
In 2022, Mia Mottley was named one of Time's 100 most influential people
In 2025, she was named the Global Chair of UNICEF's Green Rising initiative - engaging young people in climate solutions
The list really could go on. She's an INCREDIBLE orator, delivering a beautiful eulogy to Sir Garfield Sobers, one of the most successful cricketers of all time (of course, also a Bajan) who died recently just days before his 90th birthday. And when I tell you she will cut nonsense DEAD with her words, I would never want to be on the receiving end - like in the case of this exchange with journalist Zainab Badawi when she asked about Barbados' relationship with China
"So for you to focus on the Caribbean or Africa with China, without recognising the role that China is playing in Europe or the north Atlantic countries, is a bit disingenuous and really reflects more that we're seen as pawns, regrettably, rather than countries with equal capacity to determine our destiny and to be part of that global conversation to fight the global issues of the day such as climate and the pandemic."
In other words, she don't play.
The Get Down
So here's what all of this has got to do with getting free. July and August in Barbados is carnival season - Crop Over - and Prime Minister Mottley is OUTSIDE. Here she is with performer Edwin Yearwood HAVING A TIME. Please let me know when you have seen a political leader get down like this. I'll wait…
I saw this post and it reminded me: we all get to choose how we show up. Yes, she's a political leader, a policy maker, a voice for her island. But she's also a human, a daughter, a sibling, a friend, and someone who loves to party up herself. She has chosen to live life on her terms and show up in ALL dimensions of herself. What a lesson for us all.
It's so easy to show up differently depending on where you are and the situation you're in, but honestly, this is exhausting. So what does it take to just show up as you in all situations? How can we all be more like Mia?
The Get Through
Even before seeing this clip of the People's PM getting her boogie on, I was thinking a lot about choosing how you show up - how I show up. My default is kind, inclusive but with a heavy dose of side-eye for BS and nonsense. But in a recent situation, I had to literally talk to myself before jumping on a call and deciding how I would turn up. I had to decide that, no matter what was said, I wouldn't react. The more I try to make it make sense, it makes even less sense. And as I said at the top, I IS TIIIEEERRRD, so I had to choose to let it go, and to do so, I had to show up, smile and just move on. That choice helped me maintain my peace and also made the conversation 1000 years shorter. It's like cutting the wire to the shenanigans and a shortcut to some kind of normal. Praise freaking be.
So let's break all of this down if you're thinking about how you show up as yourself ALL THE TIME
Assess the situations you're showing up differently in. What pieces of you are you hiding? This might take a little while to figure out. Try to make a note of actions you take (or don't take) in different situations and take a moment to think about why.
If you DID show up fully as yourself, what do you think would happen? This is where we think about what's holding us back.
Try it: Sometimes showing up as yourself can be saying no when you really don't want to do something. Recently I've been saying no to any additional meetings and explaining why. Never rude, always solutions-oriented, but in choosing how I show up, I want to be fully present for meetings, otherwise everyone's time is being wasted, and what's the point of that?And a bonus example: it's performance review season and usually I would write a little more formally - you know, it's a permanent record of work - but in recent years I started to write how I speak (a bit like with The Get Free Guide.) Doing so means I don't spend HOURS agonizing over words and phrases because I'm not asking my brain to do something that doesn't come naturally. The words flow, the reviews sound like they come from a human and not a cyborg boss, and hopefully the reviews are a little easier to read and land as intended because they sound like me.
So what are you going to try? What have you done in the past to help all parts of you show up, no matter the situation? Email [email protected] or you can reply to this email
🚀Get Your Life: Things to read, listen to, enjoy🚀
📚What I’m reading: I picked up Spare by Prince Harry at the airport - my sister said “ohhh, it’s really good!” I’ll report back next wee
🎵 Soundtrack for the week: Enjoying the tail end of Crop Over and carnival vibes with Edwin Yearwood’s Why Ah Here. If it’s good enough for Mia Mottley, then it’s good enough for the rest of us. Put a little jump up into your week!
✨ If you’ve got a recommendation drop me a line at [email protected] ✨
THANKS FOR READING!
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See you next week!
