Choose to Rise: Breaking Free from Shame, Fear, and the Lies That Keep You Stuck
- Sep 17, 2025
- 3 min read
By Elizabeth Meigs
Founder of Elizabeth Inspires, Creator of the Roadmap to Resilience- & The Pathway to PEACE- Method
Have you ever smiled through tears, nodded in agreement while your insides screamed for help, or buried your struggle under busyness so no one would ask, “Are you okay?”
You’re not alone.
In today’s world—where image is everything—so many are silently suffering behind polished appearances. They feel pressure to “have it all together” while they’re falling apart inside. And in that silence, they convince themselves of the lie: If I hide it, maybe it will go away.
But I’ve learned firsthand—hiding isn’t healing. And running doesn’t make the pain disappear—it only delays the breakthrough.
I used to be the queen of hiding. After surviving a traumatic brain injury at 14, I became a master at pretending I was fine. I performed, I achieved, I wore the mask of strength. But underneath, I was scared. I felt behind, broken, ashamed of who I was, my mistakes—I felt like a complete failure. And the truth was, I didn’t want anyone to know how much I was struggling.
The breakdowns always happened behind closed doors. I was empty inside, grieving the life I thought I would have and the dreams that died the night my life was nearly ripped away.
For years, I believed asking for help was weakness—that admitting I was hurting would disqualify me. I thought if I let anyone see my wounds, they’d question my worth. So I buried it all.
And it nearly cost me everything.
That’s the lie so many are trapped in: believing your pain makes you less valuable, or that if you don’t talk about it, it won’t hurt as much. But silence is not strength. It’s a prison.
Here’s what changed everything for me:
I stopped hiding.
I let the light in.
I stopped running and began choosing to rise.
When I finally allowed others in—when I invited God into the dark places of my pain—I began to experience the very thing I had been chasing all along: peace. Not just the absence of chaos, but deep, soul-settling peace.
I realized healing wasn’t about pretending everything was okay.
It was about getting honest, raw, and real with what wasn’t. That’s when transformation began.
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “But what if they judge me? What if I’m too far gone?”
Let me tell you the truth:
You are not too broken. You are not beyond repair. And you are not alone.
Your breakthrough begins the moment you stop hiding.
The moment you say, “I need help.”
The moment you decide: I’m done running.
Hiding may feel safe, but it keeps you stuck. Healing, on the other hand, requires courage—but it leads to freedom.
And here’s the good news: there is a way out. Not around your struggle—but through it.
I’ve walked that road. From silence to surrender. From shame to strength. From broken to bold.
And you can too.
Let today be the day you stop pretending and start pursuing healing. Let today be the day you trade isolation for connection, fear for faith, and silence for truth.
Because the very thing you’ve been hiding may hold the key to your greatest transformation.
You don’t have to run anymore.
You just have to be willing to rise.
Ready for your breakthrough? Download my latest ebook, The Burnout Cure, at ElizabethInspires.com today. You deserve to live with peace, freedom, fulfillment, and abundance you were created for—starting now.
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