A Strong Woman

Is your goal to be a strong woman?  What is a strong woman? There is no actual definition but a good start is…

Knows what she wants, even though she may not get it. Keeps her focus on the goal regardless of the distance. Knows who she is, including strengths and weaknesses. Has standards and isn’t afraid of expressing them. Flexible but determined. Doesn’t hide nor flaunt her intelligence. Takes care of others around her but remembers she is also a priority. Knows when to withdraw and when to join. And, mostly, is comfortable in her own skin.

An easy description of a strong woman:  A woman with personal strength.

Most of us fit into some of those statements. Few of us fit in them all. Take notice that none of the above statements include financial wealth, level of college degree, marital status or level of career. That is not to say that those achievements are not important. They most certainly are, to the degree they are important to the individual. Those accomplishments are the results of goal setting and achievements for those specific successes. 

Being a strong woman is all about self-help, self improvement and more.

So, if being a strong woman is our goal, how do we get there?

A portion of the journey begins with goal setting for the actual, physical accomplishments. Let’s begin with those:

1.) First and foremost, make a plan. Decide what your goals are in life and what is the time table. Unfortunately we can’t accomplish everything all at once. When you lay your head down for the final time, what do you want people to remember about you?

You may truly want people to remember that your kids were the cleanest in school or that your house was immaculate. Or, you may want to be remembered for the flowers you grew. You might also want to cure cancer!

2.) Regardless of where in the spectrum of choices your goal is, bring it to life by voicing your dream. Tell the world what you want out of life and who you want to be. Telling others is committing.

3.) Keep it on your mind as you set about your day-to-day tasks and talk about it to your friends and family. You may be amazed at the opportunities that arise which will allow you to take a step closer to your goal.

You may find your goals change as life develops. That is normal. What we see today may look quite different tomorrow. That too is a sign of strength.

4.) The next obvious step is internally. Being aware of who we are and who we want to become takes much insight. Call it self help or self improvement, look inside and find the things you are most proud of. That needs to be done first.

Awareness of our strengths builds confidence and character. We need to know what we do well before we search our weaknesses.

5.) Then, start the task of naming the characteristics that we feel need improvement. Make a list. Some you may find only need tweaking, others are truly just fine and you realize that on your new journey. There may be a few that will require serious overhaul. Take one at a time. Start small. And, by all means, allow for discovery.

Just because you want to be funnier doesn’t mean you are going to become a standup comedian over night.

Throughout this journey, you may find that what you thought you wanted you really don’t. Or, you may find that you are exactly right for you. Explore and Enjoy! This is suppose to be about you. Personal strength comes from within and until we dig deep enough we won’t know if what we are is who we want to stay or if some changes or improvement are in order.