Have you ever witnessed women championing each other? There is a distinct empowering energy created when women support each other. When women encourage each other, they rise together.
I was recently the beneficiary of genuine encouragement and support from my friend De. De nominated four women (including me) for a business and community achievement award on Vancouver Island. The point of sharing this story has less to do with the award nomination and everything to do with De’s belief in the women around her.
The four women De nominated are from completely different professional backgrounds. The common thread we share, is that De saw the potential and goodness in each of us as women and leaders. By choosing to see our light, she set out to champion us.
When we celebrate and encourage others for their strengths – it’s second nature for the recipient to want to rise to the occasion. When we focus on seeing the good in others, we activate the same good feeling in ourselves as the champions.
As it relates to women’s empowerment, this is great news. Simply choose to see others for their strengths, be a champion and rise with the growing confidence of the women around you. It truly is this straightforward, but it can require a bit of practice and faith in the feminine.
Here are the 3 practices I’m using to tap into the feminine and be a champion of others around me. Give them a try and see what shifts for you.
Feminine Practice #1: There is Enough for Everyone
It can be challenging to let go and trust that being a generous champion will help everyone rise. We live in a competitive world. There can be a mistaken belief that pushing ahead of others will help us achieve our personal definition of success. But there isn’t a quota on happiness and success. One person’s success doesn’t rob another person of theirs. There is enough happiness and success for us all.
When we let go of the belief we are against each other, and instead notice how we are all in this together – it’s impossible to miss seeing the amazing qualities in others around us.
When we realize there is enough for everyone, we gain a sense of relief. Our relief helps us reduce our striving, pushing and competitive approach to work and life. We can replace our striving with allowing, trusting and connecting inward to our feminine wisdom.
Feminine Practice #2: Balance is Key
In today’s fast pace lifestyle, it has become common practice to tap into the drive of masculine energy to help us do it all. As women, we often wear many different hats and it can feel like we are in fact doing it all. When we don’t balance the masculine with the feminine, we pay a big price. Too much striving leads many women to the brink of burnout. The reason we burnout is because we stop hearing and honouring the wise voice within us.
Feminine energy is quiet knowing – it’s calm, open and grounded. Whereas masculine energy is decisive, driven, focused and lively. As human beings, we benefit from allowing both the masculine and feminine energies into our experience of life.
In order to balance our energies, it’s important to connect inward often and listen to our own wise voice. She will let you know when it’s time to take a step back and when it’s time to forge ahead. When we honour the feminine by following through on what we hear, we move with our lives instead of pushing against our lives.
When we strike a healthy balance of the masculine and feminine, through our example we help others do the same. By following the natural rhythm of our lives, we have more clarity and space to witness and champion others around us.
Feminine Practice #3: Lead by Example
All any of us can do, is empower our own lives and lead by example. It’s important to ensure we don’t attach ourselves to what happens next. Not everyone appreciates a champion and not everyone will follow suit– that’s okay, champion them anyway.
We can champion others from afar by sending well wishes and love. We can replace judgment with compassion. Instead of being offended or hurt by others, we can create healthy boundaries that honour our worth and remove us from the drama cycle.
Leading by example will inevitably create positive ripples. Sometimes the ripples will be hard to detect, other times they will make a big splash. Regardless of the size of your ripple, trust in yourself and have faith in others around you – that’s how we impact change.
When I see the goodness and potential in you, I’m recognizing that it also exists in me. When I champion you, I also champion me – we rise together.
What can you do today to be like De and champion the special people around you?
❤ Emily
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Originally published at emilymadill.com