A short update on my life: (before I get into this week's topic, Fierce Females!)
My work in real estate this past week was out of control. So much so, things were falling through the cracks, but I thankfully had the forsight to ask for help before it really affected my work. I was also rudely awakened to the fact that people actually go to work by 8 AM LOL, I've been spoiled working in real estate, because you can do a lot of your work remotely without having to be in an office setting let alone dressed... so when I have days where I am out of the house by 8:45 AM that's an accomplishment. I feel like I should have a crowd cheering me on as I get in my car - if anyone know where I can get a hype crew, hit me up. Last week I had three consecutive super early days and the bigget takeway is that they are horrible. I ended up with a huge migraine come Thursday night (the kind that can really only be cured by going to sleep). Needless to say, Friday morning reverted back the usual 10/11 AM - my usual M.O.
I joked with my friends who have these early morning jobs asking them:
"What's it like to have to be at work so early like that? I don't know what that's like..."
To which they sarcastically replied,
"I don't work summers or any holidays, want me to tell you what that's like?"
Touche friends!
What's interesting about me is that I am a morning person, but truthfully, only for workouts. I like getting my gym sessions in early usually between 6 and 8 AM, I will even wake up and go to ealry morning yoga or a running session but once I am home, I am a turtle. I'm making breakfast, walking my dog, tidying up here and there, taking ridiculously long showers, you get the idea. The biggest culprit of my time suck are my showers - I LOVE SHOWERS. The hotter the shower, the better. My doctor says that's why I get dandruff, but I love them so much I'd rather buy Selsun Blue Shampoo lol. I am in the shower until my water turns cold - but hey, I pay my own water bill and I have no one waiting around to shower after me - perks of living alone. :) #LivingMyBestLife
Basically, the biggest takeaway is that I need workout plans to get out of the house early, otherwise just meet me after noon, preferably after my daily Starbucks to be safe. :) On to today's topic!
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Have you ever been around women that you just think, damn, 'That's a badass woman!' Well, I am lucky enough to be surrounded by a lot of these kinds of females. Women from all walks of life, different like night and day and yet still have a ferocity about them that makes you double take and think, I just met a woman who can hold her own. I wish it wasn't a big deal to find women who are these powerhouse females, but the reality is, it is a huge deal. There are so many famous women I look up to who have carved careers out of sheer will, and although their work is absolutely worth mentioning, I find it so empowering to find these fierce females in our day to day lives. I think my office is a reflection of what is going to be the new normal workplace. My boss is female, our administrative staff is all female, 98% of the company as a whole is female. It is insane in the best possible way. I bet when you really take a look around at your workplace, you will find that there is a lot more female presence than there used to be.
I want to get into some of the amazing women I have had the privilege to meet and in some cases work for/with and what made them so incredibly inspiring.
My current boss has such a grace about her when dealing with difficult situations. It takes so much for her to get even remotely upset, even though her stress level is probably off the charts, she never, ever complains. She is never the victim. Do you know how mentally strong you have to be to not allow yourself to play the 'poor me card' or the 'why is this happening to me' card or worse, let me just run away and hide from my reality. She always shows up. No matter how difficult the situation, no matter what is going on, she always shows up for her staff, for her family, for her friends. The biggest lesson I hope to take away from her as I grow in my career is that there is power in not being emotionally reactive. What does this mean? That you don't sweat the small stuff. Why? Because you know in the long, it really didn't matter.
Another female who definitely holds her own is my therapist. She has overcome some crazy things you would only think happen in the movies, but she lived it and found a way to make lemonade out of lemons. I find that my trust with her grew in relation to the openness and vulnerability she showed me about her own life. This is incredibly powerful because it takes a lot of guts to trust someone with the pieces of yourself you try to bury or forget. Brene Brown beautifully breaks down and dissects the word trust, a word with such an ambigious meaning, into something we can actually understand: Trust is feeling safe enough with a person to share this very vulnerable and often times painful piece of yourself. When you say you don't trust someone, you are essentially saying that you don't feel safe with that person. I feel one of the biggest lessons I will take from my therapist is how she opened her heart to me in order to empower me. I think it is sad to see women competing against each other whether it be in the workplace, for attention, for status in their looks or for whatever it may be, as if there wasn't enough good to go around. I want to be the kind of woman that opens her heart to those who need it in an effort to give them the strength to dust off, touch up their lipstick, check their lashes and go back out to try again. At the end of the day, we've all fallen, and if you haven't, sorry to tell you, you will.
The last female I would like to talk about is actually a group of females who share a characteristic I think is highly under valued, kindness. I never believed kindness was a sign of weakness until I heard a man say that to me in a very round about way. I was floored. What's even worse, I actually questioned my kindness. Thankfully I only momentarily lapsed in sanity because, I immediately went back to doing what I normally do and even leveled up my kindness radar, holding the door for people, smiling at people, thanking your Starbucks barista, wishing people a good day, asking people how they are, letting someone merge in during traffic, it's not even hard to be kind. The women I work with are the thank you card giving, homemade meal making and checking in to see if you need anything types and it makes them badass women in my book because they go the extra mile. If someone ever make you feel unappreciated by your gestures, just know, that person is going through something, has nothing to do with you, and the best thing would be to dial up the smile, say 'Is that so," and walk away.
In recap, if your goal is to be a badass female, you have to have a steady head on your shoulders. You should strive to keep your cool in tough situations, (go scream and cry at home, but out in public, you hold your head high), you are vulnerable with those who have earned your trust and the right to hear your story and last, you are kind to everyone you meet because nobody is beneath you.
“Be like a duck, paddling and working very hard inside the water, but what everyone sees is a smiling and calm face.” -Manoj Arora
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