“Above All, Be the Heroine Of Your Life, Not The Victim” -Nora Ephron-
Who are the women you admire and why? Have they inspired you in some way? Do they use their voice to make the world a better place?
The National Museum of American History has an online exhibit called Girlhood (It’s complicated), which commemorates the anniversary of women’s suffrage by exploring the concept of girlhood in the United States and how girls, like suffragists, have used their voices to make a difference.
How do you use your voice to make a difference? As women, it’s important to know our history and celebrate the women who came before us. One day, however, we will be the ones whose stories will be told. Here are two questions to ask yourself:
- What do I want my story to be?
You are the author of your own life; what story will you tell?
When you don’t succeed as planned, does the little voice in your head say that you are a failure or does it tell you that you just haven’t achieved your goal yet? In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck distinguishes between two different mindsets: growth and fixed. According to Dweck: “The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”
Your mindset can mean the difference between never stepping out of your comfort zone because you’re afraid to look bad or fail versus achieving your goals and dreams because you refused to give up. Your mindset can also be the difference between having a bad day and focusing on everything that’s wrong with your life or learning from whatever you’re experiencing and having a better day tomorrow.
- What stories do I want my loved ones to tell about me?
They can talk about your accomplishments and all the things you’ve done, but there’s another key ingredient. How do you make people feel? Do they feel worthy? Are they seen and heard? Do you help them believe in themselves? Are you the impetus for someone else’s greatness?
Asking yourself these questions now and actually answering them will help you create your future legacy. After all, what you do today will one day become another story in women’s history.