It was International Women’s Day last week, a time to celebrate the economic, social, political and cultural achievement of women. A couple of questions arise from this.
1)Who is your role model?
2)Do you acknowledge your own achievements?
3)Are you happy?
4)How do you celebrate?
Firstly, a woman’s day is every day, by nature we are nurturers, creators, warriors and overall extraordinary! Looking back through the years, women could not vote, own a property, had no protection against genital mutation and no legal recourse against employees who pressured them into sexual favours to keep their job. In some countries, these things still happen but in most parts of the developing world, things have changed and its great to celebrate this achievement.
So, onto my first question, who is your role model?
Personally, I have great admiration for Malala Yousafzi, a Pakistani born activist for female education. From the tender age of 10, she has campaigned and voiced her beliefs on educational rights for girls. After being shot by the Taliban at 17, she continued to share her views on the right to education, discussed important topics with world leaders and donated 100s to charity. She is commendable in every way and makes me think about how I can make a difference in the world.
There are many women to admire: Rosa Parks, Anne Frank, Oprah, Harriet Tubman, Michelle Obama, Mary Seacole, Zadie Smith, Beyoncé, Princess Diana, Shonda Rhimes, and Kerry Washington to name a few. There are so many great women, all with unique roles, and diverse abilities. We can draw strength, wisdom and inspiration from all them. More importantly, those that sit within your immediate circle, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends, who teach us, support us and stimulate our growth.
When you go about your day, think about your roles models, who you aspire to be and how you can make a difference.
Do you acknowledge your own achievements?
Quite simply, what have you achieved, whether small or big, write it down and celebrate yourself. Everything takes time, even if you haven’t reached your ultimate goals yet, you still can. Your biggest blocker is yourself, so if things are not working the way you envisioned, your program needs to change and another strategy developed to get you where you need to be.
What makes you happy, and how do you sustain it?
First things first, money does not buy long-term happiness. Happiness comes from within, through loving yourself, your body, taking care of your well-being, soul and mind. If your own house is not in order, don’t expect your happiness to come externally.
How do you celebrate?
Reflection, plan and action. This is an ongoing, forever-changing process. Reflect on your role models, achievements, happiness, past endeavours, your negative and positive experiences and thoughts. Having a great picture and understanding of the past, will help shape the present and the future. Plan your days, weeks and months, not every little detail is necessary but to achieve things that are important to you, a written account can be reviewed and supported greater than a mental picture. Lastly, celebrate with action, move forward, lift your head high and achieve what you set out to do. Procrastination and fear plagues us all, but don’t let that stop you in your tracks!
A woman’s day is every day, wishing you love light and happiness!
