“One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in and where you want to go.”
– Sheila Murray Bethel
I often ask myself: “Am I, a strong woman?”. I want to ask you too, do you define yourself as a strong woman?
Well my second question is “What do you mean by that?”.
I googled what it means to be a strong woman and a whole list of characteristics and images came up. From images of women with muscles to thousands of quotes about strong women, to blog posts talking about the characteristics that a strong woman should possess.
So to summarise the qualities that you need to be a strong woman, here is a list of some of the most popular ones; and if you possess any of these qualities, you can then define yourself to be a strong woman:
You know what you want.
- You are courageous
- You are independent
- You believe in yourself
- You are not afraid to show your emotions
- You are considered a role model by others
- You love yourself
- You make your own happiness
History and the present day are full of courageous women, women who have changed the world of medicine or the fate of countries. Women who have influenced generations with their books and their inspired words.
I now ask you again “Are you a strong woman?”.
My answer is a resounding YES, even if you have swayed at times from the above commandments.
The one thing that I have learned from life is resilience. The wonderful feeling of not giving up no matter what. To me this is the most important quality of a strong woman. In all the women that I admire and that I am lucky to have in my circle of friends, these are the characteristics that I have found in them. Ordinary women, who have gone through unimaginable challenges are resilient and they defy life by not giving up, no matter what the challenge is.
Resilience is also accompanied, at times, by the heavy burden of taking responsibility for our choices. Our choices will determine if we will pursue our dreams and goals. We are all born with the innate gift and potential to be and achieve anything we wish and want to be; yet often times we feel that we don’t have in us what it takes to break free from limitations and limiting beliefs.
Yet many times over we are proven wrong, by life itself. Some of us have reached by choice or by force the tipping point in our life. The point where enough is enough and we had to go out there and find our greatness. Our greatness came to the surface when we acknowledged our strength.
So if you are not sure of what your answer should be, go in front of the mirror and say out loud “I AM A STRONG WOMAN”. If you have survived the challenges that life has thrown at you, whatever, they may have been, you are a strong woman. If you have defied any limiting belief that you or other people had of yourself, you are a strong woman. If you have raised your children to be caring, compassionate and courageous human beings, you are a strong woman. And if you have not gone through any of the above challenges you are still a strong woman, cause everyday you wake up wanting to live your life with passion and being the best person that you can be.
A few months ago I launched the #ChooseHappy Journal, a journal about pursuing our own happiness one day at a time. So I can check no. 8 off the strong woman list and guess what? I didn’t even know it was on the list.
It goes back to resilience and resourcefulness.
In my opinion the world is full of strong women, it’s just that some women have not yet acknowledged and recognised that they are indeed strong women.
If you have any doubt that you have it in you, then go out there find your purpose in life and see for yourself all of the above traits coming to the surface. No matter where you are in life at the present moment, START NOW!
Re-kindle with your passions and your essence as a woman, whatever motivation is in you even if you are experiencing the feeling of “I can’t take it any longer!”. Set your destiny in motion and live life on your own terms.