I feel like empowerment has been such a buzz word and it lead to me to thinking…does anyone really know what it is or what the person talking about it really means?
I started by blog with the intention of “empowering” others to believe in themselves, to not be afraid to be unique and not accept things as they are but as they can be. To me empowerment means lifting others up, helping them to see the true value in themselves! It most definitely is more about listening than talking – which can be very hard to do with a blog or social media. As a woman in business whether we like it or not we are NOT viewed equally to men, but I also feel like it hasn’t held me back in fact, sometimes it can work in our favor.
We live in a society where we have been fighting the sterotype that Women were made to be mothers and stay at home (and regardless of where you live or how far you have made it in the business world, there are times when you will be overlooked as a candidate for a position or promotion because you aren’t the “primary bread winner”). Things have improved from our parents generation but there have definitely been times in my career when things have happened and it has been explained to me that they were because the other person “had a family to support”. Rather than let that dictate my future, I chose to work my way through the adversity and succeed regardless of someone else’s prejudice (because ultimately that is what it is!)
With all of this being said, I do believe that empowerment is all about encouraging others to believe in themselves, because even if you are faced with similar challenges, you are in control of how you react to them and how much you let them dictate your future. It’s about having the confidence to create the life you want because you BELIEVE you deserve it and you are more than willing to put forth the effort to build it.
I have friends that have believed in me and encouraged me – even when they had no idea what I was thinking when I started this blog – because they know me! They know that I am determined, confident, hard working and willing to sacrifice in the name of growth.
I have been guilty in the past of looking at others and wondering how they got there or why they are so successful, but that didn’t help me. I realized that my focus needs to be on what I can do rather than what others are doing.
There are communities of Women all over the world that love and support each other, because they believe that a community of strong Women is so much greater than each individual Woman. With social media being as it is and us viewing what we perceive about someone from their pictures, there is less and less of that support and more and more judgement. The one thing I can say is 100% true is that you CAN NOT be empowering anyone if you are judging them. Life can be very competitive but that doesn’t mean we should tear others down to feel or look better ourselves. In fact, if you are someone that is worried about someone judging you, then chances are it is because you are someone that actually judges others…just a thought.
To summarize, empowerment is about making others feel good about themselves regardless of what is in if for you. It’s about not judging, actually caring and being there, and helping that person become stronger and more confident! Its about service – about doing something for someone else without needing something in return…
Confidence comes through knowing you are beautiful, strong, capable and loved – and it comes much faster when you have someone that cares enough about you to help reinforce these things for you! It is also a great opportunity to pay it forward…
As you head into the weekend think about how you can help others and see what happens 🙂