Still Standing: When No One Claps, Clap for Yourself

By Lerato Brown

This week nearly took me out! But I’m still here, still standing and still showing up…

It’s Friday, and as the day started, I felt a familiar wave of panic as I realized how much is still unfinished and the week is coming to an end. I reached into my bag to find my notebook; my lifeline, my compass and realized it was gone. Along with it: my thoughts, my checked-off tasks, my to-do list, my plan for the day. 

I froze…

I sat at my desk, staring at nothing for a moment unsure where to begin. I knew I had a lot on my plate; but now, without that notebook, I didn’t know where to start. That notebook is my anchor; it tells me what matters, what I’ve done, what’s still pending and without it, I felt lost.

So, I did something I hadn’t done all week. I paused…

A Pause I Didn’t Know I Needed

I closed my eyes and tried to remember. I started retracing the steps of my week; stories, meetings, interviews, media relations, content collection, travel, shifting priorities, team dynamics, assignments, deliverables, deadlines, emails, silent battles…; and as I did; slowly, the fragments came together and, in the remembering, something unexpected happened, something even deeper surfaced.

In that moment, I realized that I’ve been pouring out without pause. I have been moving non-stop; giving everything; pouring out every ounce of energy, attention, creativity without a single moment to stop, to breathe, to feel.

Surviving the Details

Like many of us, I’ve been moving on autopilot, I’ve been running on fumes, carrying invisible weight, performing emotional gymnastics while juggling expectation, holding tension in my body and expectations in my hands, juggling deliverables, navigating people, managing unspoken dynamics, while trying to remain both productive and present when I was barely holding myself together. And sitting there, trying to collect myself, a thought hit me:

We don’t give ourselves enough credit.

We normalize our ability to perform miracles under pressure, and then punish ourselves for being tired and exhausted, we pour from an empty cup, bending stretching ourselves thin, and still wonder if we have done enough: “Was it enough?” And just as those thoughts overwhelmed me, a song I’ve been playing all week began to play softly in the background:

 “God, I’m still counting my blessings, all of that You have done in my life. The more that I look in the details, the more of Your goodness I find…”

I paused again… That was it! I had not been looking at the details! I had just been surviving them. Losing that notebook became a gift because it forced me to pause and to finally acknowledge what I’ve been doing, what I’ve been carrying and what I’ve been holding together.

I operate like a superhuman most days, resilient on the outside and cracking beneath the surface. From multitasking, managing people, mending relationships, mitigating risks, mentoring, showing up with solutions, even under pressure and keeping the vision alive when no one else can even see it.

 And yet… I’m still here!

• Still waking up.

• Still showing up

• Still holding space.

• Still delivering.

• Still creating.

• Still leading.

It’s easy to overlook the quiet power of survival; the unseen labor of keeping things together while you are falling apart, the way we keep going despite the noise in our minds, the tears we wipe before a meeting, the ball stuck on your throat when you see that offensive email from your boss, the weight we carry in silence while showing up for others in strength, the emotional CPR we perform on ourselves just to get through the day.

This week!

 It was heavy; It was me wearing multiple hats and still trying to walk tall beneath them.

• I managed multiple complex project; each urgent, each intense.

• I delivered on deadlines that didn’t make sense, with grace that no one saw.

• I supported colleagues, held space for their burdens, while carrying my own.

• I adapted to shifting expectations, unclear briefs, and moving targets, a toxic boss.

• I navigated office politics with maturity, choosing peace over pride.

• I mentored, mediated, and motivated while barely sleeping.

• I averaged 3 hours of sleep at night yet kept everything from falling apart.

Some things slipped. Yes! some tasks moved down the list, some deadlines shifted, some moments of self-care sacrificed; But I held the center; And still… I questioned if 'it was enough?'

 When You feel Unseen, Speak Your Name

But today, I say this to myself: “Lerato, well done.”

Not because I got everything right, not because I finished every task; but because I didn’t give up!

• Because I led with heart.

• Because I kept going when no one was watching.

• Because I stayed the course under a toxic boss

• Because I am doing the work of many, with the soul of one.

 A Declaration of Identity

 So today, I declare and give praise to Lerato; to remind her of who she is:

• ✨ A visionary with the courage to build, even when the ground feels shaky

• ✨ A woman of integrity, whose work speaks loudly, even when others are silent

• ✨ A leader who carries others, but never lets that dim her own light

• ✨ A creator whose passion stretches across fatigue and uncertainty

• ✨ A survivor of invisible storms, who wakes up and still shows up

• ✨ A living testament that grace is what holds her when nothing else can

This is who I AM, I have earned every word, and I will wear this truth in my walk, in my work and in my quiet strength. This is all the evidence I need, proof that even in chaos, I am becoming, even in exhaustion, I am still radiant, and even in silence, my presence speaks volumes.

 To the Quiet Fighters

 I want to speak now to you, Yes YOU! who’s reading this and nodding silently.

• You, who wakes up early and sleeps late.

• You, who carries invisible weight but still shows up with a smile.

• You, who gives everything and rarely hears “thank you.”

• You, who’s fighting silent battles while performing public miracles.

I see you, I honour you and I want you to know

You are doing better than you think. You don’t need applause to be valid. You don’t need perfection to be powerful. You don’t need to collapse to justify why you’re tired. You just need A moment. A breath. A pause. To whisper to yourself:

“Well done. You gave it your best. You’re still standing. And that’s everything.”

 What I am Learning in this Season:

• Grace holds us when strength runs out.

• Showing up imperfectly is still showing up.

• When no one claps, clap for yourself.

• There is power in pausing and saying: “You are enough.”

We live in a world that rewards the outcome and ignores the cost, but you know the cost, you have lived it, felt it in your bones, carried it in your silence. So today, don’t wait for someone else to validate your effort. Do it for yourself.

Still Here. Still Becoming.

 Today, I choose hope.

Because I believe it won’t always be this hard, I believe joy is still possible, I believe rest is holy, I believe leadership can be strong and soft, I believe healing starts in small moments of recognition. And today, I see myself, I honour my process, and I choose to lead not with perfection, but with presence because I’m still here:

• Still standing.

• Still soft.

• Still strong.

• Still becoming.

So if no one has told you this lately, let me be the first: Well done!. You made it through another week, you’re not alone, you are deeply, deeply seen by YOU.