Reflect & Rise: If you’re the smartest person in the room, get out.

There’s a well-loved saying: “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”

While no one knows exactly who said it first, the message lingers for a reason. It speaks to the part of us that’s ready for something more — not out of ego, but out of alignment. Not because others are “less than,” but because your spirit may be whispering, “There’s more for you… if you’re willing to reach.”

This quote, when viewed with compassion and clarity, becomes a powerful checkpoint on the path of growth. It’s a reminder — not a reprimand — for those who feel stuck in cycles of caregiving, problem-solving, or being the constant source of light in spaces that aren’t nourishing their own.

If you’ve been feeling the urge to break through, to breathe deeper, to rediscover joy, energy, or expansion — take a moment. Look lovingly around you. Consider the people and places you move through most: your family, friends, workspaces, text threads, and habitual routines.

Are they mirrors that reflect your future… or are they comfort zones that keep you tending to everyone else’s garden while yours quietly waits?

This isn’t about cutting people off. This is about coming home to yourself.

You may be the one others look to — the one with the answers, the patience, the generosity, the insight. You may even feel a subtle sense of guilt at the thought of stepping into circles where you’re the student, the beginner, the one who asks for help.

But let’s reframe that: What if stepping into new spaces is the most loving thing you can do — for yourself and for them?

Because when you’re constantly the one fixing, uplifting, leading… it’s easy to unknowingly delay your own evolution. It’s easy to carry others in ways that keep them dependent instead of empowered. And it’s even easier to forget how much more you’re capable of when you’re being stretched instead of simply standing strong.

You were here. You showed up. You gave. You loved. You learned.

And now…?

Now it may be time to realign with what growth means for you.

Not necessarily by changing location — but perhaps by changing vibration, intention, or direction.

So ask yourself, gently:

What kind of “room” am I ready to step into next?

Where am I being called to learn, grow, or be poured into?

What would it feel like to walk beside people who inspire my next becoming?

You don’t need to have all the answers right now.

Just begin by honoring the whisper. Let it guide you, step by step, toward the environments, relationships, and experiences that reflect the version of you you’re becoming — not just the one you’ve always had to be.

This is your journey. Your vision. Your time.

And wherever you’re going next — may it feel like an unfolding, not an escape. A rising, not a rejection. A return, not a rebellion.

Because you already have what it takes. The next step is simply yours to choose.