Uplifting words for Women’s Empowerment Month

In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s Empowerment Month, here are some words to encourage strength and confidence for women who find themselves in the spotlight, as entrepreneurs and leaders in business.

Give me the courage to show up and let myself be seen.” – Brené Brown

What would you dare attempt  if you knew you could not fail? It’s fascinating how we tend to view the failures of others as inspiring moments of vulnerability,  and yet we judge our own failings as being repulsive and inadequate, chalking them up as a good reason to never try that ever again—be it a relationship, a new business opportunity, a diet, etc.

As women living in a culture of “never enough,” we are always faced with the reality that someone else is smarter, more beautiful, more talented, and seemingly more put together. As women, we face the terror of shame. Often our self worth is tied to achievement, people-pleasing, and productivity or “busyness.” To add to that, we fall into the trap of comparison, and find ourselves occupied with looking online at everyone’s best image, all while we compare it to our worst. This leads to complete shutdown, because it’s easier to stay quiet, fall in line, and not rock the boat than to risk being seen and heard.

I could go on and on about how terrifying life experiences can be and how we always think we’re the only one who could possibly be experiencing this, but we’re not. Life is uncertain and incredibly risky, but you’ve heard it before: the risk is where the reward lies. If you have found the above to be true in your life—feeling ashamed, comparing yourself to others, or disengaging from taking any risks, I want to encourage you today to be BRAVE. Courage isn’t always comfortable, but courage is never a sign of weakness. Some of the most challenging and intimidating experiences of my career were under the pressure of much more accomplished and much older audiences. I wondered if they would take me seriously, while I over-critiqued my own abilities, and often felt scrutinized and judged.

But, I was brave. I kept showing up.

When we see others who are being vulnerable, we view them as courageous. We love seeing authenticity and rawness, real truth in other people. We are all flawed and imperfect, so the trick is to have a willingness to show up and to give it your very best shot. Doing so makes us a little braver each time. It doesn’t matter how we measure success, but I can tell you each time I would walk on stage or go LIVE on camera, whether I completely flopped or drew criticism, it was totally worth doing!

So, the question is, can you value your own willingness to show up and be seen the same way you value it in others? Yes, we are afraid, imperfect, and vulnerable, but we are also brave, courageous, and worthy of success and connection. We owe it to ourselves to be seen AND heard and live out our passion and purpose in life.

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