Inse sat in his classroom, staring at his notebook. His teacher had just asked a question, and his stomach twisted into knots. He knew the answer—but what if he said it wrong? What if the teacher frowned again?
“I shouldn’t raise my hand. I’ll just mess up,” the voice of insecurity whispered.
At lunch, his big sister, Curity, found him picking at his sandwich. “You look worried, Inse. What’s up?”
Inse sighed. “My teacher always calls on me, and I freeze up. Even when I answer, she doesn’t seem happy.”
Curity nodded. “Sounds like your voice of insecurity is talking a lot today.”
Inse groaned. “I wish it would go away.”
Curity smiled. “But what if, instead of ignoring it, you became friends with it?”
Inse frowned. “Friends with my insecurity?”
“Yes! That’s the fifth transformation—Befriend Your Inner Voice,” Curity explained. “Your insecurity isn’t trying to hurt you. It’s just scared. If you listen, it might be telling you something useful.”
Inse thought about that. “Maybe it’s saying I need to talk to my teacher.”
Curity grinned. “Exactly! You can say how you feel and ask for help.”
The next day, after class, Inse took a deep breath. Even if I feel nervous, I can still act.
He walked up to his teacher. “Um… can I talk to you?”
His teacher smiled. “Of course, Inse.”
“I get nervous when you call on me. I want to answer, but sometimes I freeze. Could we try something different?”
His teacher nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t realize that. How about I give you a little signal before calling on you? That way, you’ll have time to get ready.”
Inse blinked. “That… would actually help a lot.”
Later, Curity found him outside. “How’d it go?”
Inse beamed. “My teacher’s going to help me! I think my voice of insecurity just wanted me to say something.”
Curity gave him a high-five. “That’s 5 TFM, Inse—when you learn to work with your inner voice, you grow stronger.”
Inse felt lighter than he had in weeks. Maybe insecurity wasn’t his enemy after all.
This story focuses on 5 TFM – Befriend Your Inner Voice, helping Inse recognize that his insecurity isn’t the enemy—it’s a part of him that, when listened to, can guide him toward growth! 😊
