in fact, it is our fault
I am a highly sensitive person and an empath. I am soft by nature, a romantic, and I feel everything deeply. The greatest understatement of the year would be to say that I am a bit emotional.
Knowing all this about myself you can probably understand my confusion when a boss once told me that I am not sensitive at all and I could use being a bit more emotional. This was a good 10 years ago but it has stuck with me. No one had ever misjudged me so badly and this was coming from someone I worked closely with every single day.
The thing is, we as women think we need to be tough to get ahead in life - match with the men and so forth. We think power lies in being super independent, strong and definitely not sensitive. And we think that it is society that is making us become that and we blame other people for putting us in that hustle box. It is way easier to build up a wall around you, like an armor of tough appearance than to be soft, feminine and openly sensitive.
I for one, believe that we put ourselves there. Maybe it wasn’t like that before but in the society now, I do believe it is our own fault. At least, for a good part.
Women are different than men by nature. We are wired differently and that is okay. But the sensitivity, the softness and the strong emotions are strengths, not something to hide. Yet, somehow we still think we are safe to be all that only at home. The world needs us tough, right?
Wrong.
I once read a book about women in business and I swear it said that in order to succeed in life, you can’t wear red nail polish. I’m sorry but why ever not? And, just as a side note, this book was written by a woman for women.
When you think about the wonderful successful women in business and life, whether they are someone you know in person or someone in the public eye, do they look like men? Do they act like men? Or are they perhaps being women unapologetically and leaning into their strengths as amazing creative beings they are? For me at least, pretty much every single woman I admire is a woman with a capital W.
When I still worked at a corporate environment, I had a co-worker who was amazing at her job. She was successful, she was liked, she worked in a very high position in the company.. and, she was ladylike, kind, sensitive, always had long nails and red nail polish, high heels and long wavy blonde hair. She was stunning, feminine, soft and powerful. All in one package without trying to be something she was not.
I think we could all learn from her and others alike. Women are a creative force, imaginative and sensitive and all that can be such an asset in life.
For example, take me 10 years ago: I tried to be tough, hide my sensitivity and become a hustle being - and it lead pretty much nowhere but to a talk with the boss of being too cold. I believe the inauthenticity overpowered all the good work I was doing.
Once I scrapped all that and owned my sensitivity as a strength, everything in my life changed. Whether it be the red nail polish, my long hair or just the fact that I don’t try to be like men anymore, I have turned my life into a fairytale. Yes, I am a woman but I am also a CEO, a mother, a wife, a creator, a writer, a storyteller and so many other things. But most of all I am me. And that, my love, I recommend to you as well. From experience I can tell you that embracing your true nature is a key to way more freedom than hiding it ever could be.
