52 | From Invisible to Empowered - How to Reclaim Your Voice After Years of People-Pleasing and Self-Doubt

 You don’t have to disappear to keep the peace. Learn the first steps to rebuild confidence, calm your body, and live like you matter again. 

You’ve spent years blending in—keeping everyone happy, avoiding conflict, and calling it peace.

 But underneath the calm face is exhaustion, resentment, and a quiet ache that whispers, “When is it my turn?”

In this episode of Overwhelmed to Empowered, Lisa opens up about the season she went from invisible to visible—and what it really takes to find your voice again. You’ll learn:

🔹 Why people-pleasing keeps you stuck in self-doubt

🔹 How invisibility shows up as over-functioning and emotional shutdown

🔹 The body-based shift that helps you feel safe to be seen

🔹 Simple faith-rooted practices to rebuild self-trust

🔹 The difference between “keeping the peace” and living in peace

If you’ve ever wondered where the confident, grounded version of you went—this is your reminder: she’s still there.

Listen in for a gentle conversation about healing from criticism, rejection, and the fear of being too much—so you can finally be seen as you are.

If this episode speaks to you, hit ⭐ follow and share it with a friend who’s learning to find her voice again.

👉 Grab your F R E E P.A.U.S.E. Guide: 5 Triggers Keeping You Stuck (and How to Break Free). ✨ Click Here Now. ✨

✨ Click Here Now to Sign Up for the Bootcamp!✨

🎶 Instrumental Acoustic Guitar Music by Viacheslav Starostin (original_soundtrack),

W E B S I T E - LisaCovert.com

I N S T A G R A M - @lisamcovert

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

And that's when I changed everything, when I decided that I wasn't going to do this anymore. I had to be true. I wasn't going to live in shame. I was going to be true me. You just heard a clip from today's episode of the Overwhelmed to Empowered Podcast. And friend, this one cuts deep. Hey, I am Lisa Covert. Welcome to the Overwhelmed to Empowered Podcast, where we stop pretending we are fine and start leading lives we are proud of. No more to-do list, no more burnout, just real talk, real tools, and the reset your heart has been asking for. Let's talk about it. Have you ever noticed or realized that being invisible sometimes feels safe? Or maybe used to feel safe? Like if you stayed quiet or just stayed small enough, didn't get noticed, or maybe agreeable enough, just agreed with everyone, you could avoid rejection or being judged or someone misunderstanding you. I am here to tell you, I used to think blending in was peace. But it wasn't peace. It was survival. And the cost was me. If you've ever felt like you've disappeared inside your own life, in motherhood, in marriage, even being a daughter and your family or your health, this episode is for you here right now. Because somewhere along the way, we got the message that being humble meant being hidden, being grateful meant taking what was given, that taking care of yourself was selfish, that peace looked like silence. Or that if you didn't make waves, everyone would love you. But really, if you look at your life, has that really been true? What if all of these are lies that keep you stuck? Let me tell you, for me, invisibility really kind of showed up as control. I thought if I just kind of stayed quiet, stayed behind the scenes, didn't ask for too much attention, don't ruffle too many feathers, or didn't need too much, definitely, I'd feel safe. But why did I always feel like I was surviving? Because all that did was isolate me. I'm telling you, even in my health habits, the routines, the perfection of trying to make up for all the mistakes I made in my childhood, it became another way to disappear. I didn't paint my nails. I didn't dye my hair. No boldness. Because invisibility felt easier than being misunderstood. And I'm telling you, everybody has their thing that makes them feel good. I don't know about you, but if my nails are painted, I'm like, okay, I got a little bit together here. Like, I'm okay. I look at women and I love when they have their nails painted. No matter what happens, I'm like, oh, they got at least something together. Whether they painted them, whether they got them done, whatever. Well, one of those things was my hair. And I have very dark hair. And I wanted to be go the natural. I didn't enjoy dyeing my hair either. However, I didn't wake up to the fact that by not dyeing my hair, I started resonating more with an older version of myself. Which, again, that's fine if you feel that way, but that's not where I wanted to be. So why was I not dying my hair? I was hiding behind the chemical free or having chemicals in my hair. When in reality it wasn't aligning with me. My best version wasn't coming up. I would be running around the house and doing chores and things, but that little thing of seeing my nails painted wasn't done. The little thing of seeing the gray hair shining through. It made everything feel heavier. Peace doesn't mean disappearing. I am here to tell you that. Peace is being fully present. Be in your skin. Be in your choices, be in your truth, not hers or somebody over there, or your parents, a friend, nobody. Here's the biggest thing. Invisible women raise invisible daughters. They marry emotionally unavailable men. And they also raise boys to expect women to be invisible. And these invisible women carry the world quietly until one day they can't do it anymore. I'm here to tell you that if you do not break the rules and define them the way you need them to be, you're gonna one day be enough. That's how relationships end. That's how we completely break everything and start over. You can't keep holding your breath, pretending it's balance. You can't keep numbing your voice and call it calm. Because that's not calm. That's disappearing. When I finally told my story, I realized something. And this was a story of feeling invisible as a child and actually, like I said, from control. I almost saw it as my superpower behind the scenes. I could figure out and see people's moods when they walked into a room. I could tell. I knew their body language, their tone of voice. I knew when to exit and be out, or be with and have fun, when to ask for something I wanted, when I knew to stay clear. But as I grew up, that invisibility power in my teenage, young adult felt like a prison. And then in adulthood, it became survival. And that's when I changed everything. When I decided that I wasn't gonna do this anymore. I had to be true. I wasn't gonna live in shame. I was gonna be true me. Not offensive, not hurtful. That is not true. A true person is coming from love. And if someone has a different opinion than you or they live life differently, that's their truth. I'm happy for them being in their truth. But I realized from my story when I told it that I wasn't broken. I was hidden. And every scar on my back and in my heart was proof that I survived what was meant to bury me. So if you've been playing it small in your house, in your health, in your happiness, if you've been dimming your light because it's easier, I want you to hear this. Your invisibility is not vanity. It's victory. It's you showing your kids, your partner, the world, what wholeness looks like. Can I share something real for a second? It's not easy to say, but I think someone listening right now needs to hear it. There was a time in my life, honestly, more than once, where I was so burnt out. I couldn't even be around my own family. I remember lying in bed so drained, so overwhelmed, that even my kids felt like one more thing on my plate. And it broke my heart. Because I love them deeply. But I was completely empty. I was stuck in survival mode, numbing my way through the days. And somewhere along the way, I started disappearing from my own life. And then, life reminded me how short all of this really is. I lost a dear friend. Whether that loss was through heaven or simply distance, it changed me. And I saw so clearly how easy it is to pour everything into everyone else and leave nothing for yourself. But your story? It doesn't have to go that way. You are meant to show up for your people with joy, peace, calm, and energy. But more importantly, you're meant to show up for you. That's exactly why I created the Empower Living six-week course. It's the reset I wish I had sooner. A simple, step-by-step way to move out of overwhelm, out of burnout, and back into your life with intention. If it's hitting your heart, I want to invite you to take that first step. Your peace, your purpose, and your story matters. Head to LisaCovert.com slash empowered living because you deserve to be present for your life. And only you get to write how your story unfolds. Okay, so here's my challenge this week. Do one small thing that makes you feel visible again or for the first time. Maybe it's wearing that red lipstick you've stopped wearing. Or maybe it's painting your nails. Or maybe it's posting a photo even if you're not filtered or perfectly posed. Maybe you're with your family. Maybe it's saying what you really think. Gently, clearly, truthfully. I don't like when you do this. It bothers me. It triggers me. It makes me feel not in my best. Can you do this? If you have something to say that you don't really like or I'm offending you, can you come to me directly before it comes out as criticism? Talk to me. Can you do that? That's honest. Visibility isn't shouting, it's showing up whole, unfiltered, and honest. It's being okay with who sees you and who doesn't. Because I'm here to tell you when you are choosing to be who you are, your authentic, your real self, sometimes it's not about people being offended. You just have to be aware that we live in a world where people enjoy hiding. They enjoy hiding the parts of themselves. Or they enjoy posting their story of victim on social media, and they only want to share those parts. But we live in a world where people want to hide things. Some people want to hide the good that has gone in their life. So, because they don't want to miss out on that attention or the people that are helping them, or other people might hide from experience they've gone through. Nothing is wrong. There are so many versions of it. That's their story, that's their journey. You can still be around someone and just understand that if you're showing who you really are and you're being visible, and that offends someone, that's less about you and it's more about them. And instead of taking that and attacking them, that's when we go inside and we break the rules. Break that rule that you've had that everyone needs to like you. Break it. Do you know that song? I don't know, it's something about beauty and the scars. I can't remember her name. But it was about breaking that shell. Just cracking it open and saying, you know what? These are wounds, but those wounds have become scars. They have healed. That's where I want to live from now. I don't come from the wound anymore. I come from the healed places, the ones that remind me what God and grit can do when you stop pretending. And you know, here's the truth, Bomb. You don't have to prove you're perfect to be worthy. You were never called to be invisible. You were never called to be perfect. You were called to be a light. And let that light shine. Stop being ashamed of it. Don't share yourself with everyone. And that comes from a girl on a podcast, but I don't, I share this. But if someone doesn't like this podcast, then why are you listening? The people that resonate, the people that understand, the people that are feeling like they have permission to be visible. When they feel connected, like, wow, I get that. That's who's listening. If someone else is listening, that then that's their journey. Because I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to waste any time listening to something that they didn't like or made me feel not good. I want people here. I hope you feel safe. I hope you feel healing in what I talk about. I hope you feel that you can give yourself permission to be the real you, the light that you were meant to be. Okay. Can't believe the episode's already over. If this episode hit at home at all, if you've been living like invisibility was your safety net, then this is your moment. And I'm always going to remind you to step out of the shadows and come join and be ready for the boot camp that is coming out very, very soon. And I'm really excited for it. Yes, it's going to be a free, it's going to be about a three-day boot camp. And we're focusing on preparing you to fly. So all you have to do is go to LisaCovert.com/slash bootcamp. You got to get on the waiting list because that's how you're going to be known once it is ready to go. But we're only going to do a limited amount of people in the beginning because I really want to get your feedback on it. And if you're ready to start things off too right now, don't forget to grab my free five triggers guide. That's at LisaCovert.com slash triggers. And you can click the links up top if you just go to LisaCovert.com. It's going to help and you will spot the habits that are keeping you hidden so you can start showing up as you again. Okay, my friend, I'm so glad we got to spend this time together, and I will be with you in the next episode. Did you have fun with my mom, or did you you learn something from my mom? Then hit subscribe because we've got way more coming your way. If this episode made you pause, reflect, or even breathe a little deeper, would you do me a favor? Take 30 seconds and leave a quick review for the show. It helps more women who are stuck in the same overwhelm we've talked about today actually find this podcast. I'm not here for everyone, but I am here for the woman who's tired of holding it all together and ready to live a life that finally feels like her own. And hey, if you're feeling brave, take a screenshot of your comment and email it to me at Lisa at LisaCovert.com. Every month I do a little giveaway drawing for listeners who share or review the show. You never know, you might get something special. Thanks for listening, thanks for being here, and most of all, thanks for choosing to keep showing up for you.